What is the NYT Connections answer for September 9 (#1186)?

The four groups are HARD TO UNDERSTAND (BEWILDERING, ESOTERIC, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, OPAQUE); WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES (MICROBREWERY, MINIVAN, NANOTECHNOLOGY, PICOSECOND); HORROR MOVIES (ARACHNOPHOBIA, HALLOWEEN, IT, SAW); WORDS BEFORE "FORCE" (BRUTE, ELECTROMAGNETIC, G, TASK).

Which Connections group is hardest today?

The purple group — "WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"" — is the trickiest, as it usually relies on wordplay or a hidden connection rather than a straightforward category.

What do the Connections colors mean?

Yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple is the hardest — often involving wordplay or a hidden twist.

Wednesday, September 9, 2026#1186

NYT Connections Hints & Answer — Wednesday, September 9

DailyWordHints Editorial September 9

HARD TO UNDERSTAND

Easiest

WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES

Easy

HORROR MOVIES

Tricky

WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"

Hardest

Today's NYT Connections groups are HARD TO UNDERSTAND (yellow), WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES (green), HORROR MOVIES (blue), WORDS BEFORE "FORCE" (purple).

INCOMPREHENSIBLE

ELECTROMAGNETIC

NANOTECHNOLOGY

ARACHNOPHOBIA

MICROBREWERY

BEWILDERING

PICOSECOND

HALLOWEEN

ESOTERIC

MINIVAN

OPAQUE

BRUTE

TASK

SAW

Hints by group

yellowEasiest

greenEasy

blueTricky

purpleHardest

Full answers below

Today’s answers

yellowEasiest

greenEasy

blueTricky

purpleHardest

See all past Connections puzzles →

Today's Connections hints (no answers yet)

Here are spoiler-free nudges for NYT Connections #1186, Wednesday, September 9. Reveal one color at a time and work from the easiest group (yellow) to the trickiest (purple).

How to use these hints

Each clue is written so it never names any of the sixteen words — it just points you in the right direction. Open the full answer only once you're truly stuck.

Strategy for solving today's grid

Lock in the group you're most confident about first to shrink the board, but resist the obvious four-of-a-kind — the puzzle almost always plants a word that fits two themes. Save the purple group for last; it usually hides the wordplay twist.

Frequently asked questions

What is the NYT Connections answer for September 9 (#1186)?: The four groups are HARD TO UNDERSTAND (BEWILDERING, ESOTERIC, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, OPAQUE); WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES (MICROBREWERY, MINIVAN, NANOTECHNOLOGY, PICOSECOND); HORROR MOVIES (ARACHNOPHOBIA, HALLOWEEN, IT, SAW); WORDS BEFORE "FORCE" (BRUTE, ELECTROMAGNETIC, G, TASK).
Which Connections group is hardest today?: The purple group — "WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"" — is the trickiest, as it usually relies on wordplay or a hidden connection rather than a straightforward category.
What do the Connections colors mean?: Yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple is the hardest — often involving wordplay or a hidden twist.