Looking for today’s NYT Connections hints and answers? The New York Times Connections puzzle for Monday, September 14, 2026, is game #1191. The daily word game asks players to arrange 16 words into four groups of four based on a hidden connection.
Today’s grid includes waterbirds, informants, single-use plastic items and words that can be followed by “grass.” If you are trying to protect your winning streak, use the hints below before checking the complete NYT Connections answers.
NYT Connections Hints for September 14
Need a little help without seeing the full solution? Here are spoiler-light clues for each category:
- Yellow: Birds associated with water.
- Green: Someone who gives information to authorities or others.
- Blue: Common plastic products designed for one-time use.
- Purple: Words that can come before “grass.”
These clues should make the NYT Connections today puzzle easier while still leaving some of the challenge intact. The purple group is particularly dependent on recognizing compound words, while the green category uses several informal terms for an informant.
Today’s NYT Connections Answers
If you have already used your guesses or simply want the solution, here are the complete NYT Connections answers for September 14, 2026.
Yellow: Waterbirds
- COOT
- GOOSE
- LOON
- TEAL
These four are all types of waterbirds. The group can be deceptive because several words in the grid may initially appear to have other meanings.
Green: Informant
- CANARY
- RAT
- SNITCH
- STOOLIE
Each word can refer to someone who provides information about another person. “Canary” is commonly used in the phrase “sing like a canary,” while “snitch” and “rat” are familiar informal terms for an informant.
Blue: Common Single-Use Plastic Items
- BAG
- CUTLERY
- STIRRER
- STRAW
This group focuses on everyday plastic items that are commonly used once and then discarded. The category is straightforward once the four words are viewed from an environmental or disposable-products perspective.
Purple: ___ Grass
- BLUE
- CRAB
- LEMON
- WHEAT
Add “grass” after each word to form familiar terms: bluegrass, crabgrass, lemongrass and wheatgrass. This is likely the trickiest group because the four words do not have an obvious relationship until the shared ending is spotted.
How to Solve NYT Connections
In NYT Connections, you receive a grid of 16 words and must divide them into four groups of four. Each group has a common theme, but some words are deliberately placed to create misleading connections.
A good strategy is to start with the most obvious group. Once four words are removed, examine the remaining terms again. Also watch for words with multiple meanings, because Connections frequently uses them to create false patterns. The four groups are assigned yellow, green, blue and purple difficulty levels, with purple generally involving the most challenging wordplay.
Conclusion
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle combines nature, slang, everyday products and compound words. The waterbirds group is a useful starting point, while the “___ grass” category rewards players who recognize familiar word combinations.
If you needed help with NYT Connections today, the complete groups are COOT, GOOSE, LOON, TEAL; CANARY, RAT, SNITCH, STOOLIE; BAG, CUTLERY, STIRRER, STRAW; and BLUE, CRAB, LEMON, WHEAT.
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