The answer to today’s NYT Connections puzzle (#1197) is here – all four categories solved, plus hints if you want one last chance to figure it out yourself.
Connections resets every day at midnight ET. Each puzzle gives you 16 words that must be sorted into four hidden groups of four. The categories are colour-coded by difficulty: Yellow (easiest), Green, Blue, and Purple (hardest). You get four mistakes before the game ends.
Hints for NYT Connections #1197 – September 20, 2026
- Yellow: Think about things associated with breakfast.
- Green: These words all relate to a type of document or record.
- Blue: Consider words that can follow “book.”
- Purple: These have an unexpected hidden connection – look beyond the obvious meaning.
NYT Connections Answers – September 20, 2026
Yellow – BREAKFAST FOODS: WAFFLE, CREPE, OMELET, FRITTER
Green – KINDS OF RECORD: LOG, REGISTER, LEDGER, JOURNAL
Blue – ___ MARK: TRADE, BENCH, BOOK, CHECK
Purple – WORDS HIDDEN IN “CONNECTIONS”: CONNECT, CONE, NET, ICON
Today’s puzzle leaned tricky on the Purple category – the hidden-word theme is a recurring Connections device that catches solvers off guard. The Yellow group was the most straightforward entry point.
Yesterday’s Connections (#1196) featured the theme “Things that can be ‘broken'” in its hardest category. If you enjoy the daily puzzle circuit, NYT Strands and the NYT Mini Crossword also reset at midnight and make for a complete morning puzzle routine.
You can play today’s puzzle on the NYT Connections game page.
