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NYT Connections · #1190

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1190) — September 13, 2026

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Earlier Sep 12 This puzzle Sep 13 Later Sep 14

“Before you commit to any group, say each word out loud — a few of them are hiding something you can only hear, not read.GARFIELD appeared in Connections #54 (Aug 4, 2023) as part of a cartoon cats group. Today it belongs somewhere very different. GRANT has appeared many times before — as a classic Hollywood actor in Connections #952 (Jan 18, 2026), and as a U.S. President in Connections #803 (Aug 22, 2025). The presidential reading is the one that applies today.”

NYT Connections hints for September 13, 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 CLEVELANDA major Ohio city and also Grover Cleveland, the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms.
2 DOUBLESPEAKDeliberately misleading language — and it ends with PEAK, a mountain summit.
3 DROOPYYou're thinking of the cartoon dog, but here it means hanging limply without support.
4 EMPTYLooks like 'containing nothing'; say it aloud and you hear M then T.
5 EXCESSLooks like a surplus; say it aloud and you hear X then S.
6 FLACCIDThe most clinical of the four — a medical-register word for soft and without tone.
7 GARFIELDFar more famous today as a cartoon cat, but James A. Garfield was the 20th U.S. President.
8 GRANTUlysses S. Grant, 18th President — also a verb meaning to give, and a Hollywood surname.
9 HEATHCLIFFThe cartoon cat (or Brontë villain) — but the puzzle only cares that it ends with CLIFF.
10 KEWPIEThe doll or the mayo brand; say it aloud and you hear Q then P.
11 MADISONJames Madison, 4th President — also a New York avenue and a mermaid movie character.
12 ODIEGarfield's cartoon dog companion; say it aloud and you hear O then D.
13 PARAMOUNTThe Hollywood studio — ends with MOUNT, as in a mountain.
14 PORRIDGEThe breakfast oat dish — ends with RIDGE, a long narrow elevated landform.
15 SAGGINGDrooping under its own weight — the most visual of the group.
16 SLACKYou might think of the messaging app, but here it means loose and without tension.
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 A handshake with no grip behind it.
See Group LACKING IN FIRMNESS
See WordDROOPY
See WordFLACCID
See WordSAGGING
See WordSLACK
See Hint Four names that have lived in the White House.
See Group U.S. PRESIDENTS
See WordCLEVELAND
See WordGARFIELD
See WordGRANT
See WordMADISON
See Hint Read the alphabet out loud until two letters blur into one word.
See Group WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS
See WordEMPTY
See WordEXCESS
See WordKEWPIE
See WordODIE
See Hint Each one has a high point buried at the end.
See Group ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS
See WordDOUBLESPEAK
See WordHEATHCLIFF
See WordPARAMOUNT
See WordPORRIDGE
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 GARFIELD Tap to see why this word traps.
You're almost certainly picturing the lasagna-loving cartoon cat — but the puzzle is using it as a presidential surname, not a pop-culture one.
2 DROOPY Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of the slow-talking MGM cartoon dog, but here it's a plain adjective describing something that hangs without support.
3 HEATHCLIFF Tap to see why this word traps.
You're likely thinking of the cartoon cat (or the Brontë antihero), but the puzzle is interested in the last four letters of the word, not the character.
4 EMPTY Tap to see why this word traps.
You're reading it as 'containing nothing', but the puzzle is using it phonetically — say it aloud and listen for two alphabet letters.
5 PARAMOUNT Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of the Hollywood studio, but the puzzle is looking at the end of the word, where a landform is hiding.

NYT Connections answers for September 13, 2026

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

Y LACKING IN FIRMNESS · Yellow · easiest
  • DROOPY
  • FLACCID
  • SAGGING
  • SLACK

DROOPY, FLACCID, SAGGING and SLACK all mean lacking firmness or tension. DROOPY is the sneakiest — most solvers see the cartoon dog before they register it as a limp-and-lifeless adjective.

G U.S. PRESIDENTS · Green · easy
  • CLEVELAND
  • GARFIELD
  • GRANT
  • MADISON

CLEVELAND, GARFIELD, GRANT and MADISON are all U.S. Presidents — Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th), James Garfield (20th), Ulysses Grant (18th) and James Madison (4th). Every single one of them also carries a strong non-presidential identity, which is the whole trap.

B WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS · Blue · medium
  • EMPTY
  • EXCESS
  • KEWPIE
  • ODIE

EMPTY, EXCESS, KEWPIE and ODIE each sound like two consecutive alphabet letters spoken aloud: EMPTY = M+T, EXCESS = X+S, KEWPIE = Q+P, ODIE = O+D. This category is entirely phonetic — the spelling is a red herring.

P ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS · Purple · hardest
  • DOUBLESPEAK
  • HEATHCLIFF
  • PARAMOUNT
  • PORRIDGE

DOUBLESPEAK, HEATHCLIFF, PARAMOUNT and PORRIDGE each end with a word for an elevated landform: PEAK, CLIFF, MOUNT and RIDGE respectively. The landforms are embedded in longer words or names, making this the hardest category to spot without scanning every word's tail end.

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