NYT Connections Hints & Answers Today: September 21, 2026 (Puzzle #1198)

If today’s New York Times Connections grid has you burning through your mistakes, you are not alone. Puzzle #1198 features some clever misdirection, with several words seemingly fitting into games or writing themes 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 Capture and Mate could look like they belong with other game terms, while Compose and Drafts might seem tied to writing.

Committing to those wrong connections early will cost you chances. We recommend looking at the pattern for each category first. Checking whether a group describes common email actions, things used to catch fish, chess moves, or the start of famous composers’ names 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 are all common buttons or folders you see in an email app.
• 🟩 Green Group Hint (Medium): These are lures or methods used to attract fish when angling.
• 🟦 Blue Group Hint (Hard): These are verbs that describe actions you can take during a game of chess.
• 🟪 Purple Group Hint (Tricky): Each word is the first part of a well-known composer’s full name.

Stuck on one word? If you have Mate, think chess first rather than a partner. It belongs to the Blue group today! For the Purple group, look for short syllables that match the start of familiar composer names.

⚠️ 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 21, 2026, Monday Puzzle #1198

Here are the completed categories and groupings for today’s puzzle:

🟨 Yellow Group: EMAIL BUTTONS

• Compose
• Drafts
• Sent
• Spam

🟩 Green Group: WAYS TO ATTRACT FISH

• Chum
• Fly
• Spinner
• Worm

🟦 Blue Group: CHESS VERBS

• Capture
• Castle
• Check
• Mate

🟪 Purple Group: STARTS OF COMPOSERS’ NAMES

• Beet
• Brah
• Chop
• Viva

Here is my result for today’s puzzle.

Connections
Puzzle #1198
🟨🟩🟨🟨
🟨🟨🟨🟪
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪

Yesterday’s Answer

This is yesterday’s NYT Connections answer for September 20, 2026, Puzzle #1197.

🟨 Yellow Group: ROUND FLAT THINGS
🟩 Green Group: ASSOCIATED WITH KENTUCKY
🟦 Blue Group: VAMPIRE MOVIES
🟪 Purple Group: _ BOARDS YOU RIDE ON

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.