NYT Connections · #1176

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1176) — August 30, 2026

By Sneha Rajput·August 30, 2026

“If you feel stuck, ask which words are the most visually concrete — things you could point to in a photograph. Those tend to cluster first and clear the board for the trickier groups.DECANTER has history worth noting: it appeared in Connections #1112 (Jun 27, 2026) as part of a group of words that each hide a horse gait inside them — DECANTER contains CANTER, which had nothing to do with wine that day.”

NYT Connections hints for August 30, 2026

Three levels of help — a definition for every word, colour-coded group nudges, and a heads-up on the traps. Skip to all answers →

Word clues

A spoiler-free definition for every word in the grid. Tap the eye on any card to reveal which colour-group it belongs to.

1 AERATORA device that exposes wine to air as it pours, speeding up the breathing process.

2 ALIASThe 'also known as' line listing a fugitive's other names — easy to misread as a tech or espionage term.

3 CADBURYThe British chocolate brand whose pastel bunny appears every Easter.

4 CORKSCREWThe spiral tool used to pull a cork out of a bottle — its helical shape gave it a very different role in a previous Connections puzzle.

5 DECANTERA glass vessel wine is poured into to breathe and separate from sediment — in a previous puzzle this word was grouped for an entirely different reason involving its hidden syllables.

6 ENERGIZERThe battery brand whose pink drumming bunny became a pop-culture shorthand for endurance.

7 GYMNASIUMThe most formal name of the four — also what you call the room in a school where PE class happens.

8 HEALTH CLUBA private, often membership-based facility with weights, classes and sometimes a pool.

9 OUTLAWThe label for the criminal being sought — a word so tied to the frontier era that it practically conjures a ten-gallon hat on its own.

10 PLAYBOYHugh Hefner's magazine empire, whose tuxedoed rabbit silhouette is one of the most recognised logos in the world.

11 REC CENTERShort for recreation center — usually community-run and cheaper than a private gym.

12 REWARDThe cash amount offered for information or capture — the number printed in big type below the portrait.

13 STOPPEREasy to read as a general blocking concept, but here it's the physical plug you press into the neck of an open bottle to keep it fresh.

14 TRIXThe General Mills cereal fronted by a cartoon rabbit who is perpetually told the cereal isn't for him.

15 WANTEDThe headline word at the top of the poster — easy to read as a plain adjective meaning 'desired', but here it's a printed label on a specific document.

16 YMCAThe Young Men's Christian Association — a nonprofit gym chain with a famous disco song attached to its name.

Group hints

Four colour-coded groups, easiest → hardest. Every button reveals the hint, the category name, or a single word — tap only what you need.

See Hint

Swipe your membership card at the front desk.

See Group

EXERCISE FACILITIES

See Word

GYMNASIUM

See Word

HEALTH CLUB

See Word

REC CENTER

See Word

YMCA

See Hint

Everything you need once the bottle is open — and before.

See Group

WINE ACCESSORIES

See Word

AERATOR

See Word

CORKSCREW

See Word

DECANTER

See Word

STOPPER

See Hint

Each of these brands put a long-eared animal on their packaging.

See Group

BRANDS WITH BUNNY RABBIT MASCOTS

See Word

CADBURY

See Word

ENERGIZER

See Word

PLAYBOY

See Word

TRIX

See Hint

Picture a piece of paper nailed to a saloon wall in 1880.

See Group

WORDS ON AN OLD WEST WANTED POSTER

See Word

ALIAS

See Word

OUTLAW

See Word

REWARD

See Word

WANTED

Words the puzzle wants you to mis-group

Read these before you guess — they're the words most likely to break a streak. Tap for the trap.

1 ALIAS Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking of a tech term — a file alias, an email alias — but the puzzle is using it in an older sense tied to identity and crime, not computers or digital systems.

2 STOPPER Tap to see why this word traps.

You're likely reading it as a general word for anything that blocks or halts, but here it's a specific physical object — think of it as a noun, not a verb or concept.

3 ENERGIZER Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking batteries — and that's right — but the puzzle isn't grouping it with other battery brands. Think about what the Energizer Bunny actually is.

NYT Connections answers for August 30, 2026

All four groups revealed, easiest first. Each card holds the theme, the four words, and why the group works.

Y EXERCISE FACILITIES · Yellow · easiest

GYMNASIUM
HEALTH CLUB
REC CENTER
YMCA

GYMNASIUM, HEALTH CLUB, REC CENTER and YMCA are all places people go to exercise. The YMCA is the most culturally layered of the four — it's also a Village People song — but here it's simply a workout venue.

G WINE ACCESSORIES · Green · easy

AERATOR
CORKSCREW
DECANTER
STOPPER

AERATOR, CORKSCREW, DECANTER and STOPPER are all accessories used alongside a bottle of wine. The AERATOR is the most niche — it mixes air into the wine as you pour, softening the tannins without the wait of decanting.

B BRANDS WITH BUNNY RABBIT MASCOTS · Blue · medium

CADBURY
ENERGIZER
PLAYBOY
TRIX

CADBURY, ENERGIZER, PLAYBOY and TRIX all use a bunny rabbit as their brand mascot. CADBURY is the most seasonal — its bunny is tied to Easter chocolate — while ENERGIZER's bunny is arguably the most famous, having run in ads since 1989.

P WORDS ON AN OLD WEST WANTED POSTER · Purple · hardest

ALIAS
OUTLAW
REWARD
WANTED

ALIAS, OUTLAW, REWARD and WANTED are all words you would find printed on a classic Old West wanted poster. ALIAS is the sneakiest — most solvers' first instinct is a tech or spy context, but it's the 'also known as' line that identifies a fugitive's other names.

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