NYT Connections · #1179

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#1179) — September 2, 2026

By Sneha Rajput·September 2, 2026

“Pick a word that feels obvious and ask yourself whether it could mean something completely different — several words here are wearing a disguise so comfortable you might not notice until it's too late.”

NYT Connections hints for September 2, 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 BOWThe horsehair-strung stick used to draw sound from the strings — not a ribbon or a gesture of respect.

2 CORNA corn dog is a hot dog dipped in cornmeal batter and deep-fried — fairground food, not an animal.

3 DAZZLETo overwhelm someone with brilliance or spectacle — the most straightforward member of this group.

4 FLOORLooks like a building's level; here it's a verb meaning to knock someone speechless with amazement.

5 HUNTINGA hunting dog is bred and trained to assist in tracking or retrieving game — a broad category covering many breeds.

6 MUTELooks like an adjective meaning silent; here it's a small rubber or metal clamp placed on the bridge to soften the violin's tone.

7 PRAIRIEA prairie dog is a small burrowing rodent of the squirrel family — the name is entirely misleading.

8 RESCUEA rescue dog is trained to locate missing people — think avalanche or disaster search teams.

9 ROSINThe amber resin cake that players rub on the bow hair to create the friction needed to produce sound.

10 SALTYA salty dog is a grapefruit-juice cocktail with a salted rim — nothing canine about it.

11 SAUSAGELooks like a food item; sausage dog is a common nickname for the dachshund, named for its long low body.

12 SHEEPA sheepdog herds and guards livestock — breeds like the Border Collie are the classic example.

13 SHOULDER RESTA clip-on support that cushions the gap between the violin and the player's shoulder — easy to miss if you've never played.

14 STUNCan mean to hit someone unconscious, but here it means to freeze them with sheer astonishment.

15 TOPThe top dog is the person in charge — an idiom for dominance, not a breed or a role.

16 WOWThe exclamation that doubles as a verb — to wow an audience is to leave them open-mouthed.

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

The look on someone's face when they can't believe what just happened.

See Group

FLABBERGAST

See Word

DAZZLE

See Word

FLOOR

See Word

STUN

See Word

WOW

See Hint

Everything the musician unpacks before a single note is played.

See Group

THINGS IN A VIOLIN CASE

See Word

BOW

See Word

MUTE

See Word

ROSIN

See Word

SHOULDER REST

See Hint

Add a four-letter word and you get something that wags its tail.

See Group

___ DOGS (THAT ARE DOGS)

See Word

HUNTING

See Word

RESCUE

See Word

SAUSAGE

See Word

SHEEP

See Hint

The animal in the name is doing something other than barking.

See Group

___ DOGS (THAT AREN'T DOGS)

See Word

CORN

See Word

PRAIRIE

See Word

SALTY

See Word

TOP

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 FLOOR Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably picturing the ground level of a building — that's the bait. Here it's a verb meaning to leave someone completely speechless, not an architectural term.

2 SAUSAGE Tap to see why this word traps.

You're almost certainly reading it as food — but the puzzle is using it in a completely different context, one that has nothing to do with what's on your plate.

3 CORN Tap to see why this word traps.

You're probably reading it as a vegetable or a grain — but the puzzle uses it to name something that isn't a plant or an animal, even though it sounds like it could be either.

4 MUTE Tap to see why this word traps.

You're likely thinking of silence or the adjective meaning unable to speak — but here it's a small physical object that clips onto an instrument to soften its tone.

NYT Connections answers for September 2, 2026

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

Y FLABBERGAST · Yellow · easiest

DAZZLE
FLOOR
STUN
WOW

DAZZLE, FLOOR, STUN and WOW all mean to astonish or flabbergast someone. FLOOR is the sneakiest — most solvers picture a building's ground level before the verb sense clicks into place.

G THINGS IN A VIOLIN CASE · Green · easy

BOW
MUTE
ROSIN
SHOULDER REST

BOW, MUTE, ROSIN and SHOULDER REST are all items you would find inside a violin case. SHOULDER REST is the most obscure — it's a clip-on pad that sits between the violin body and the player's collarbone to make holding the instrument easier.

B ___ DOGS (THAT ARE DOGS) · Blue · medium

HUNTING
RESCUE
SAUSAGE
SHEEP

HUNTING, RESCUE, SAUSAGE and SHEEP all precede DOG to name an actual dog breed or a recognised working-dog role. SAUSAGE is the trap — it sounds like food, but sausage dog is a well-worn nickname for the dachshund, named for its long low body.

P ___ DOGS (THAT AREN'T DOGS) · Purple · hardest

CORN
PRAIRIE
SALTY
TOP

CORN, PRAIRIE, SALTY and TOP all precede DOG to make a compound word or phrase where the result is not actually a dog. A corn dog is fried fairground food, a prairie dog is a burrowing rodent, a salty dog is a cocktail, and a top dog is whoever holds the most power.

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