NYT Connections Hints & Answers Today: September 18, 2026 (Puzzle #1195)

If today’s New York Times Connections grid has you burning through your mistakes, you are not alone. Puzzle #1195 features some clever misdirection, with several words seemingly fitting into travel or food 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 Boarding and Landing look like they belong together, while Flight could fit in more than one group. 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 parts of a process, assortments of food and drink, stages of a flight, or words that come before Case 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 refer to a portion or step within a larger process.
• 🟩 Green Group Hint (Medium): These are collections or varieties of food or drink served together.
• 🟦 Blue Group Hint (Hard): These are specific parts or moments during an air travel journey.
• 🟪 Purple Group Hint (Tricky): Each word can be followed by the word Case to form a common term.

Stuck on one word? If you have Flight, think food sampling rather than travel. It belongs to the Green group today! For the Purple group, look for words that pair naturally with Case.

⚠️ 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 18, 2026, Friday Puzzle #1195

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

🟨 Yellow Group: SEGMENT OF A PROCESS

• Phase
• Round
• Stage
• Step

🟩 Green Group: ASSORTMENTS OF FOOD AND DRINK

• Flight
• Medley
• Platter
• Sampler

🟦 Blue Group: PARTS OF A FLIGHT

• Boarding
• Cruise
• Landing
• Takeoff

🟪 Purple Group: _ CASE

• Brief
• Pillow
• Stair
• Upper

Here is my result for today’s puzzle.
🟩🟨🟨🟨
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟩🟦🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪

Yesterday’s Answer

This is yesterday’s NYT Connections answer for September 17, 2026, Puzzle #1194.

🟨 Yellow Group: ELASTICITY
🟩 Green Group: THINGS THAT ARE UNDERGROUND
🟦 Blue Group: HUGH JACKMAN MOVIES, WITH “THE”
🟪 Purple Group: LOVE _

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.