NYT Connections · #1193

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1193) — September 16, 2026

By Sneha Rajput·September 16, 2026

“Scan for hidden smaller words buried inside each entry — some are tucked at the start, some at the end, and at least one group requires spotting something that has been stretched by an extra letter.”

NYT Connections hints for September 16, 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 BARRETTThe middle name of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Victorian poet of the Sonnets from the Portuguese.

2 BORATBRAT (bratwurst) with an O inserted — the Sacha Baron Cohen character is pure misdirection.

3 CARLOSThe middle name of William Carlos Williams, known for 'The Red Wheelbarrow'.

4 CLINKLINK (a sausage type) with a C added at the front — sounds like clinking glasses or slang for jail.

5 DIMENSIONStarts with DIME — the ten-cent coin hiding before '-nsion'.

6 FRANK-N-FURTERFRANK and FURTER are both sausage names, joined here by the letter N — and a Rocky Horror costume.

7 LATINThe ancient language whose name ends in TIN, atomic number 50.

8 LONG JOHN SILVERTreasure Island's peg-legged pirate, whose surname is a precious metal element.

9 MARIGOLDThe orange garden flower whose name closes with GOLD, element 79.

10 NICKELODEONFamous as a kids' cable channel; the puzzle only needs the NICKEL at the front.

11 PENNYWISEStephen King's clown is the bait; PENNY, the one-cent coin, is the point.

12 QUARTERBACKThe football position is the bait; QUARTER, the 25-cent coin, opens the word.

13 STEAM IRONLooks like a laundry appliance; the puzzle only cares that it ends in IRON, element 26.

14 ST. VINCENTThe middle name of Edna St. Vincent Millay — also a Caribbean island and an indie musician, both red herrings.

15 WADSWORTHThe middle name of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who wrote 'The Song of Hiawatha'.

16 WIDENERWIENER with a D slipped in — reads like an adjective or a surname, hides a hot dog.

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

Each entry finishes with something a blacksmith works with.

See Group

ENDING IN METAL ELEMENTS

See Word

LATIN

See Word

LONG JOHN SILVER

See Word

MARIGOLD

See Word

STEAM IRON

See Hint

Reach into your pocket before you read the rest of each word.

See Group

STARTING WITH U.S. COINS

See Word

DIMENSION

See Word

NICKELODEON

See Word

PENNYWISE

See Word

QUARTERBACK

See Hint

Four famous poets share their second name with this grid.

See Group

POETS' MIDDLE NAMES

See Word

BARRETT

See Word

CARLOS

See Word

ST. VINCENT

See Word

WADSWORTH

See Hint

Something you'd grill is hiding inside each of these, one character too many.

See Group

SAUSAGES PLUS A LETTER

See Word

BORAT

See Word

CLINK

See Word

FRANK-N-FURTER

See Word

WIDENER

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 STEAM IRON Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably picturing the appliance you use on laundry — that's the bait. The puzzle is using it as a phrase that ends in a metal element, not a household object.

2 FRANK-N-FURTER Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking of the Rocky Horror character — but the puzzle is treating this as a wordplay construction built around sausage names, not a fictional villain.

3 BORAT Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably reading it as Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy character — but the puzzle is using it as a sausage name with an extra letter slipped in.

4 PENNYWISE Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably picturing Stephen King's clown — but the puzzle is treating it as a word that opens with a U.S. coin, not a horror character.

5 QUARTERBACK Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably thinking of the football position — but the puzzle is using it as a word that begins with a U.S. coin denomination.

NYT Connections answers for September 16, 2026

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

Y ENDING IN METAL ELEMENTS · Yellow · easiest

LATIN
LONG JOHN SILVER
MARIGOLD
STEAM IRON

LATIN, LONG JOHN SILVER, MARIGOLD and STEAM IRON all end in the name of a metal element: tin, silver, gold and iron respectively. STEAM IRON is the sneakiest — most solvers lock onto the appliance meaning and never look at the final four letters.

G STARTING WITH U.S. COINS · Green · easy

DIMENSION
NICKELODEON
PENNYWISE
QUARTERBACK

DIMENSION, NICKELODEON, PENNYWISE and QUARTERBACK each begin with the name of a U.S. coin: dime, nickel, penny and quarter. NICKELODEON is the craftiest trap — the TV channel association is so strong that the NICKEL prefix becomes invisible.

B POETS' MIDDLE NAMES · Blue · medium

BARRETT
CARLOS
ST. VINCENT
WADSWORTH

BARRETT, CARLOS, ST. VINCENT and WADSWORTH are the middle names of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Carlos Williams, Edna St. Vincent Millay and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. ST. VINCENT is the wildest misdirect — most solvers think of the Caribbean island or the indie musician Annie Clark before the poet connection surfaces.

P SAUSAGES PLUS A LETTER · Purple · hardest

BORAT
CLINK
FRANK-N-FURTER
WIDENER

BORAT, CLINK, FRANK-N-FURTER and WIDENER each hide a sausage type with one letter inserted: BRAT+O, LINK+C, FRANK+N+FURTER and WIENER+D. FRANK-N-FURTER is the most elaborate — it actually contains two sausage names (frank and furter) with the letter N wedged between them.

Try another puzzle

Two more NazoKai hints, ready when you are.

Wordle

Today's hint ladder & answer

Open

Spelling Bee

Answers, pangram & word list

Open