If today’s New York Times Connections grid has you burning through your mistakes, you are not alone. Puzzle #1203 features some clever misdirection, with several words seemingly fitting into personal care or home 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 Gum and Spray could look like household items, while Wash and Fold might seem tied to general chores only.
Committing to those wrong connections early will cost you chances. We recommend looking at the pattern for each category first. Checking whether a group lists items that freshen breath, steps done when caring for a shirt, natural details found in wood, or phrases that use the word “cool” 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 items used to freshen your breath.
- 🟩 Green Group Hint (Medium): These are common things done to a dress shirt at the laundry.
- 🟦 Blue Group Hint (Hard): These are natural features or markings found in wood.
- 🟪 Purple Group Hint (Tricky): Each one appears in a common expression with the word “cool.”
Stuck on one word? If you have Beans, think “cool beans”, it belongs to the Purple group today! For the Green group, think about what happens when you drop a shirt off to be cleaned and pressed.
Here is my result for today’s puzzle:
Connections
Puzzle #1203
🟨🟨🟩🟨
🟨🟨🟩🟨
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟦🟪
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
⚠️ 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 26, 2026, Saturday Puzzle #1203
Here are the completed categories and groupings for today’s puzzle:
🟨 Yellow Category: Breath Fresheners
- Gum
- Mint
- Mouthwash
- Spray
🟩 Green Category: Things Done To A Dress Shirt At The Laundry
- Fold
- Press
- Starch
- Wash
🟦 Blue Category: Features Of Wood
- Burl
- Grain
- Knots
- Rings
🟪 Purple Category: “Cool” Things, In Expressions
- Beans
- Cat
- Cucumber
- Customer
Yesterday’s Answer
This is yesterday’s NYT Connections answer for September 25, 2026, Puzzle #1202.
🟨 Yellow Category: LUXE — Bougie, Fancy, Posh, Swank
🟩 Green Category: PARTS OF A MECHANICAL CLOCK — Escapement, Pendulum, Ratchet, Spring
🟦 Blue Category: FAMOUS DANS — Aykroyd, Levy, Rather, Savage
🟪 Purple Category: TAXONOMIC RANKS PLUS A LETTER — Border, Classy, Foamily, Genius
For older solutions, see our Connections answers archive.
How did you do?
Did today’s puzzle give you a perfect solve or did the tricky expressions group take you extra tries?
Share your results grid in the comments below.
A new puzzle becomes available every midnight based on your local time zone. It appears at different times around the world including United States UTC-4 to UTC-8, Philippine Standard Time UTC+8, Australia UTC+8 to UTC+11, and New Zealand UTC+12 or UTC+13.
Check back tomorrow for more Connections hints, strategy tips, and the next answer.
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