NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, September 20 (game #1197)

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Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing ‘today’s game’ while others are playing ‘yesterday’s’. If you’re looking for Saturday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, September 19 (game #1196).

Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc’s Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1197) – today’s words

Today’s NYT Connections words are…

NYT Connections today (game #1197) – hint #1 – group hints

What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?

GREEN: Connected to a southern state
PURPLE: Add a word the rhymes with “chord”

Need more clues?

We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1197) – hint #2 – group answers

What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?

YELLOW: ROUND FLAT THINGS
GREEN: ASSOCIATED WITH KENTUCKY
PURPLE: _____BOARDS YOU RIDE ON

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1197) – the answers

The answers to today’s Connections, game #1197, are…

YELLOW: ROUND FLAT THINGS: BLU-RAY, COASTER, SAND DOLLAR, TORTILLA
GREEN: ASSOCIATED WITH KENTUCKY: BLUEGRASS, BOURBON, DERBY, FRIED CHICKEN
BLUE: VAMPIRE MOVIES: BLADE, NEAR DARK, SINNERS, TWILIGHT
PURPLE: _____BOARDS YOU RIDE ON: HOVER, SKATE, SNOW, SURF

I would like to propose a new Connections achievement badge: Yellow First.

I know it doesn’t happen by design but, for me at least, it’s also quite rare that I haven’t managed to spot the so-called easiest group of the game — although today I think any group could have been classified as a yellow on any other day.

There is also the fact that the only thing I was unfamiliar with, SAND DOLLAR, was one of the tiles in ROUND FLAT THINGS. My excuse is that we don’t have this type of urchin in the UK — in my ignorance I thought it was something to do with Las Vegas casinos.

Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Saturday, September 19, 2026, game #1196)

YELLOW: WIDEN ONE’S SCOPE: BRANCH OUT, DIVERSIFY, EXPAND, GROW
GREEN: FEATURES OF A KID’S DRAWING: HOUSE, STICK FIGURE, SUN, TREE
BLUE: ASSOCIATED WITH SWINGING LONDON IN THE 1960S: CARNABY STREET, MINISKIRT, MOD, TWIGGY
PURPLE: STARTING WITH ABBREVIATED MATH FUNCTIONS: COS LETTUCE, LOG CABIN, SIN CITY, TAN LINE

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don’t technically need to solve the final one, as you’ll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What’s more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It’s a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It’s playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.