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NYT Connections · #1187

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1187) — September 10, 2026

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Earlier Sep 9 This puzzle Sep 10 Later Sep 11

“Lock in the Springsteen songs first — that group is the clearest foothold — then use what's left to untangle the harder categories.LEAD has appeared in Connections more times than almost any other word. It was used as a verb meaning to command in Connections #1143 (Jul 28, 2026), and as a chemical element in Connections #1110 (Jun 25, 2026).”

NYT Connections hints for September 10, 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 →

1

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 ACTINIUMRadioactive element 89, the one that gives the actinide series its name.
2 ADULT CONTEMPORARYA radio format — but its last word, CONTEMPORARY, means existing or happening right now.
3 AIR CONDITIONERThe boxy unit wedged into a window frame on a hot summer day.
4 ALTERNATING CURRENTAn electrical term — but CURRENT at the end also means happening at this moment.
5 ATLANTIC CITYA bleak Springsteen ballad about desperation and a last shot at escape, from Nebraska.
6 BADLANDSThe opening track of Darkness on the Edge of Town, all defiance and driving guitars.
7 BORN TO RUNThe title track of his 1975 breakthrough album and arguably his signature song.
8 CATIOA cat patio — an enclosed window box that lets indoor cats get fresh air safely.
9 CLOTHESLINEStrung between windows or posts, draped with laundry drying in the open air.
10 FLOWER BOXA planter fixed to the outside of a window sill, usually full of geraniums.
11 KRYPTONNoble gas, element 36 — not Superman's planet, though the planet borrowed the name.
12 LEADElement 82, symbol Pb — the heavy, toxic metal that used to be in paint and pipes.
13 REPRESENTMeans to stand for something, but the puzzle hides PRESENT — a synonym for now — at its end.
14 SEXTANTA navigation instrument; the puzzle points to the '-ANT' ending it shares with INSTANT, though INSTANT itself isn't fully spelled out — the most contested entry of the four.
15 SULFURElement 16, the yellow one with the distinctive rotten-egg smell.
16 THUNDER ROADThe opening track of Born to Run, an invitation to hit the road and leave it all behind.
2

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 Mendeleev gave each of these a number and a symbol.
See Group CHEMICAL ELEMENTS
See WordACTINIUM
See WordKRYPTON
See WordLEAD
See WordSULFUR
See Hint Look up from the street and you might spot any of these.
See Group WHAT YOU MIGHT SEE STICKING OUT OF A WINDOW
See WordAIR CONDITIONER
See WordCATIO
See WordCLOTHESLINE
See WordFLOWER BOX
See Hint The Boss recorded all four of these.
See Group BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN CLASSICS
See WordATLANTIC CITY
See WordBADLANDS
See WordBORN TO RUN
See WordTHUNDER ROAD
See Hint Read the tail of each phrase, not the whole thing — something is hiding there.
See Group ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "HAPPENING NOW"
See WordADULT CONTEMPORARY
See WordALTERNATING CURRENT
See WordREPRESENT
See WordSEXTANT
3

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 LEAD Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as a verb meaning to guide — but the puzzle is using it as a noun, the heavy metal kind, not the action kind.
2 KRYPTON Tap to see why this word traps.
Superman's home planet is the first thing most people picture, but the puzzle is reaching for a different context entirely — one that has nothing to do with DC Comics.
3 REPRESENT Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of advocacy or standing in for someone — but the puzzle is interested in how this word ends, not what it means.
4 SEXTANT Tap to see why this word traps.
Looks like a navigation instrument, and it is — but the puzzle is interested in how this word ends, not what it does at sea.

NYT Connections answers for September 10, 2026

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

Y CHEMICAL ELEMENTS · Yellow · easiest
  • ACTINIUM
  • KRYPTON
  • LEAD
  • SULFUR

ACTINIUM, KRYPTON, LEAD and SULFUR are all chemical elements. KRYPTON and LEAD are the traps — most solvers think of Superman's planet and the verb 'to guide' before the element connection clicks.

G WHAT YOU MIGHT SEE STICKING OUT OF A WINDOW · Green · easy
  • AIR CONDITIONER
  • CATIO
  • CLOTHESLINE
  • FLOWER BOX

AIR CONDITIONER, CATIO, CLOTHESLINE and FLOWER BOX are all things that can protrude from or hang outside a window. A catio is the sneakiest — it's an enclosed outdoor enclosure for cats, often built onto a window ledge.

B BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN CLASSICS · Blue · medium
  • ATLANTIC CITY
  • BADLANDS
  • BORN TO RUN
  • THUNDER ROAD

ATLANTIC CITY, BADLANDS, BORN TO RUN and THUNDER ROAD are all classic Bruce Springsteen songs. ATLANTIC CITY is the sneakiest — it sounds like a geography clue, but it's a haunting track from the 1982 album Nebraska.

P ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "HAPPENING NOW" · Purple · hardest
  • ADULT CONTEMPORARY
  • ALTERNATING CURRENT
  • REPRESENT
  • SEXTANT

ADULT CONTEMPORARY, ALTERNATING CURRENT, REPRESENT and SEXTANT each conceal a synonym for 'now' at their end: CONTEMPORARY, CURRENT, PRESENT and — most debatably — the '-ANT' tail that closes INSTANT. The first three hide the full word cleanly; SEXTANT is the puzzle's roughest edge, sharing only the final letters of INSTANT rather than the complete word.

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