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NYT Connections · #1192

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1192) — September 15, 2026

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Earlier Sep 14 This puzzle Sep 15 Later Sep 16

“Before you commit to any group, ask whether a word is a thing or an action — several words here swap between the two, and that swap is the key to placing them correctly.MOLE appeared in Connections #265 (Mar 2, 2024), where it was grouped among terms for a burrowing garden pest. Today it is being used in a very different sense.”

NYT Connections hints for September 15, 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 ASSETSpy jargon for a person recruited to provide information or assistance to an intelligence service.
2 CABOOSEThe final car on a freight train — its whole identity is being last.
3 COACHUsually a carriage or a bus, but here it's a verb: to prepare and advise someone.
4 DECEMBERThe twelfth and final month, the caboose of the calendar year.
5 DESSERTThe sweet course that closes a meal — nothing comes after it.
6 DIRECTTo give someone clear instructions on what to do and how to do it.
7 EPILOGUEThe closing section of a book or play, added after the main story ends.
8 GUIDETo lead someone through a process or skill, step by step.
9 HANDLEThe part you grip to lift the kettle safely off the heat.
10 LIDThe cover that sits on top and keeps the water in while it boils.
11 MOLEAn operative who burrows into an enemy organisation and feeds intelligence back over time.
12 PLANTLooks like a garden noun or a factory; here it's a person secretly placed inside a target group.
13 SLEEPERA dormant spy embedded in a community, waiting to be activated — not a railway car.
14 SPOUTThe narrow pour-channel that directs boiling water into your cup.
15 TRAINLooks like a railway vehicle; here it means to build someone's skills through practice.
16 WHISTLENot the sound itself — the small valve that produces the shriek when steam escapes.
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 What a good mentor does for someone learning the ropes.
See Group INSTRUCT
See WordCOACH
See WordDIRECT
See WordGUIDE
See WordTRAIN
See Hint Every piece you'd find on a stovetop before the screaming starts.
See Group PARTS OF A WHISTLING KETTLE
See WordHANDLE
See WordLID
See WordSPOUT
See WordWHISTLE
See Hint The tradecraft vocabulary for someone hiding in plain sight.
See Group UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE
See WordASSET
See WordMOLE
See WordPLANT
See WordSLEEPER
See Hint Four things that only show up once everything else is done.
See Group THINGS THAT APPEAR AT THE END
See WordCABOOSE
See WordDECEMBER
See WordDESSERT
See WordEPILOGUE
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 TRAIN Tap to see why this word traps.
You're almost certainly picturing a locomotive — that's the bait. Here it's a verb meaning to develop someone's skills, not a vehicle.
2 COACH Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of a carriage or a bus — both are valid transport meanings. Here it's used as a verb for mentoring or instructing someone.
3 SLEEPER Tap to see why this word traps.
You're likely picturing a railway sleeper car or a track tie — that's the trap. Here it refers to a dormant agent, not anything on a railway.
4 PLANT Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably reading it as something green and leafy, or a factory. Here it means a person secretly placed inside an organisation.
5 WHISTLE Tap to see why this word traps.
You're probably thinking of the sound or the act of whistling. Here it's a physical part — the steam-release component on top of a kettle.

NYT Connections answers for September 15, 2026

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

Y INSTRUCT · Yellow · easiest
  • COACH
  • DIRECT
  • GUIDE
  • TRAIN

COACH, DIRECT, GUIDE and TRAIN all mean to instruct or teach someone. TRAIN is the sneakiest — most solvers see a locomotive before they see a verb meaning to develop someone's abilities.

G PARTS OF A WHISTLING KETTLE · Green · easy
  • HANDLE
  • LID
  • SPOUT
  • WHISTLE

HANDLE, LID, SPOUT and WHISTLE are the four physical components of a whistling kettle. WHISTLE is the trickiest — it doubles as a sound and an action, but here it names the small steam-release valve that sits on the spout.

B UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE · Blue · medium
  • ASSET
  • MOLE
  • PLANT
  • SLEEPER

ASSET, MOLE, PLANT and SLEEPER are all intelligence terms for an undercover operative. SLEEPER is the most specific — it refers to an agent who lies dormant inside an organisation for years before being activated.

P THINGS THAT APPEAR AT THE END · Purple · hardest
  • CABOOSE
  • DECEMBER
  • DESSERT
  • EPILOGUE

CABOOSE, DECEMBER, DESSERT and EPILOGUE each mark the very end of something — a freight train, a year, a meal and a book respectively. CABOOSE is the cleverest choice: it's literally the last car on a train, yet it belongs here rather than with the railway-flavoured words elsewhere in the grid.

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