If today’s New York Times Connections grid has you burning through your mistakes, you are not alone. Puzzle #1194 features some clever misdirection, with several words seemingly fitting into a movie or relationship theme before pulling the rug out from under you.
Here are helpful hints to guide you through today’s puzzle, with the full answers listed further down.
Today’s Connections Strategy & Commentary
Watch out for the red herrings today. At first glance, words like Fountain and Wolverine look like movie titles, while Handles and Love Language could be grouped together right away.
Committing to those wrong groups early will cost you chances. We recommend looking at the pattern for each category first. Checking whether a group describes elasticity, places underground, Hugh Jackman films with “The”, or phrases that follow the word Love will make the remaining words much easier to sort.
Connections Hints Today: Category Clues
If you just need a nudge to get your brain moving in the right direction, here are clues for the four color-coded groups:
- 🟨 Yellow Group Hint (Easiest): These words all relate to elasticity or the ability to stretch and bounce back.
- 🟩 Green Group Hint (Medium): These are all things found or built underground.
- 🟦 Blue Group Hint (Hard): These are Hugh Jackman movies when you add “The” before the title.
- 🟪 Purple Group Hint (Tricky): Each word completes the phrase “Love __“.
Stuck on one word? If you have Sheep Detectives, think movie title starting with The rather than a description. It belongs to the Blue group today! For the Green group, look for structures or spaces that go beneath the surface.
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: The full answers are listed below. If you still want to solve the grid yourself using the clues above, do not scroll down.
NYT Connections Answers Today for September 17, 2026, Thursday Puzzle #1194
Here are the completed categories and groupings for today’s puzzle:
🟨 Yellow Group: ELASTICITY
- Bounce
- Flexibility
- Give
- Spring
🟩 Green Group: THINGS THAT ARE UNDERGROUND
- Mine Shaft
- Sewer Line
- Subway Station
- Well
🟦 Blue Group: HUGH JACKMAN MOVIES, WITH “THE”
- Fountain
- Prestige
- Sheep Detectives
- Wolverine
🟪 Purple Group: LOVE _
- Handles
- Language
- Tap
- Triangle
Here is my result for today’s puzzle.
Connections
Puzzle #1194
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟨🟩🟨🟨
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
Yesterday’s Answer
This is yesterday’s NYT Connections answer for September 16, 2026, Puzzle #1193.
🟨 Yellow Group: ENDING IN METAL ELEMENTS
🟩 Green Group: STARTING WITH U.S. COINS
🟦 Blue Group: POETS’ MIDDLE NAMES
🟪 Purple Group: SAUSAGES PLUS A LETTER
For older solutions, see our Connections answers archive.
How did you do?
Did today’s puzzle give you a perfect Reverse Rainbow or did the tricky categories wipe out your board?
Share your results grid or vent about today’s trickiest crossover words in the comments below.
