The NYT Connections answer for September 6, 2026 reveals a puzzle where the blue group hides its trick in plain sight.
Before the full reveal, here are four spoiler-free hints – one per colour group, from easiest to hardest.
| Colour | Hint |
|---|---|
| 🟨 Yellow | Go right ahead. |
| 🟩 Green | Tech-related places. |
| 🟦 Blue | You don’t need that word. |
| 🟪 Purple | Hidden words in phrases. |
Here are all four Connections groups for Sunday, September 6, 2026.
| Colour | Theme | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| 🟨 Yellow | Unrestricted permission | BLANK CHECK, CARTE BLANCHE, FREE REIGN, FULL AUTHORITY |
| 🟩 Green | Places to insert something on a computer | CARD SLOT, HEADPHONE JACK, OPTICAL DRIVE, USB PORT |
| 🟦 Blue | Abbreviations followed by redundant word | ATM MACHINE, LCD DISPLAY, PIN NUMBER, UPC CODE |
| 🟪 Purple | Ending with ways to carve a surface | COURT SCRIBE, DIRECTOR’S CUT, PIZZA SLICE, SAT SCORE |
The blue group is the puzzle’s cleverest construction. ATM MACHINE, LCD DISPLAY, PIN NUMBER and UPC CODE all repeat a word already buried inside the abbreviation: ATM stands for Automated Teller Machine, LCD for Liquid Crystal Display, PIN for Personal Identification Number, and UPC for Universal Product Code. The phenomenon even has a formal name – RAS syndrome, short for Redundant Acronym Syndrome, which is itself an example of the same pattern.
Purple was the hardest to crack. COURT SCRIBE, DIRECTOR’S CUT, PIZZA SLICE and SAT SCORE each end with a word meaning to carve or incise a surface: SCRIBE, CUT, SLICE and SCORE. The connection hides inside familiar phrases, making it easy to read past the operative word entirely.
The yellow group – BLANK CHECK, CARTE BLANCHE, FREE REIGN and FULL AUTHORITY – clusters around the idea of unlimited permission or latitude. CARTE BLANCHE, from the French for a blank document, and BLANK CHECK carry the same meaning across two languages, which may have thrown players scanning for surface differences.
A few tips that help with any Connections puzzle: say each word aloud slowly and pause before and after, since the puzzle editors love to group words by shared phrasing rather than shared definitions. Press the shuffle button to reset your mental picture if you get stuck. And whenever a word feels like an obvious fit for one category, ask whether it might belong to a less intuitive one.
If you play other NYT word games today, the Wordle answer for September 6, 2026 is also on site. The NYT Spelling Bee answers for September 5, and the Quordle answers for September 5 are published too.
