If today’s New York Times Connections grid has you burning through your mistakes, you are not alone. Puzzle #1187 features some heavy misdirection, with several words seemingly fitting into a music or home improvement 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 Atlantic City and Thunder Road look like they belong together as place names or road names, while Flower Box and Clothesline could easily be sorted as general household items rather than things seen outside a window.
Committing to those wrong groups early will cost you chances. We recommend looking at the pattern for each category first. Checking whether a phrase refers to elements on the periodic table, something attached to an exterior wall, a well-known song, or a word that ends with a term meaning happening right now 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): Substances found on the periodic table.
- 🟩 Green Group Hint (Medium): Things you might see attached to or extending from a window.
- 🟦 Blue Group Hint (Hard): Famous songs by Bruce Springsteen.
- 🟪 Purple Group Hint (Tricky): Each word ends with a term that means happening right now.
Stuck on one word? If you have Lead, think chemistry rather than being in charge. It belongs to the Yellow group today! For the Purple group, take Represent, the last part is a synonym for now.
⚠️ 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 10, 2026, Thursday Puzzle #1187
Here are the completed categories and groupings for today’s puzzle:
🟨 Yellow Group: CHEMICAL ELEMENTS
- Actinium
- Krypton
- Lead
- Sulfur
🟩 Green Group: WHAT YOU MIGHT SEE STICKING OUT OF A WINDOW
- Air Conditioner
- Catio
- Clothesline
- Flower Box
🟦 Blue Group: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN CLASSICS
- Atlantic City
- Badlands
- Born To Run
- Thunder Road
🟪 Purple Group: ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR “HAPPENING NOW”
- Adult Contemporary
- Alternating Current
- Represent
- Sextant
Yesterday’s Answer
This is yesterday’s NYT Connections answer for September 9, 2026, Puzzle #1186.
🟨 Yellow Group: HARD TO UNDERSTAND
🟩 Green Group: WORDS WITH SMALL PREFIXES
🟦 Blue Group: HORROR MOVIES
🟪 Purple Group: WORDS BEFORE FORCE
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.
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