NYT Connections Hint & AnswersPuzzle #1186 · September 9, 2026
Stuck on today's NYT Connections puzzle? Get a single-word clue, a category hint, or the full answer for Puzzle #1186 — you choose exactly how much help you need.
Written by Hint Team · Updated September 9, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Puzzle #1186 (September 9, 2026) is rated Medium difficulty.
- 16 words sort into 4 hidden categories — Yellow (easiest) to Purple (hardest).
- Every word and every category has its own spoiler-free hint below.
- Full answers are revealed only when you tap to see them — nothing spoils automatically.
Today's Tip
Looking for today's Connections hints or a Connections Hint 9 Sep? Today's NYT Connections puzzle has four very different connections. One group describes things that are difficult to understand. Another uses prefixes that indicate something small. A third group consists of horror movie titles. The final group is based on words that can come before FORCE.
Hint For Each Word
Tap any tile to see what it means in today's puzzle — no spoilers.
Hints For All Four Categories
Ordered from easiest to hardest — reveal only as much as you need.
Traps & Misdirects
Words placed on purpose to mislead you — spot these before you burn a guess.
ARACHNOPHOBIA, ESOTERIC, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, OPAQUE
ARACHNOPHOBIA can look like it belongs with ESOTERIC, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, and OPAQUE because it is a long and unfamiliar-looking word. But ARACHNOPHOBIA belongs to HORROR MOVIES. The other three belong to HARD TO UNDERSTAND.
MICROBREWERY, NANOTECHNOLOGY, PICOSECOND, ELECTROMAGNETIC
These words can all give you a science or technical feeling. MICROBREWERY, NANOTECHNOLOGY, and PICOSECOND belong together because of their smallness prefixes. ELECTROMAGNETIC belongs to WORDS BEFORE "FORCE".
MICROBREWERY, NANOTECHNOLOGY, PICOSECOND
MICROBREWERY naturally makes you think about beer or brewing. The puzzle is not interested in that meaning. It is interested in MICRO-, the prefix associated with something very small.
HALLOWEEN, IT, SAW, ARACHNOPHOBIA
HALLOWEEN can make you think of a holiday. IT can look like an ordinary pronoun. SAW can suggest a tool. ARACHNOPHOBIA describes a fear of spiders. Their actual connection is that all four are horror movie titles.
G, BRUTE, ELECTROMAGNETIC, TASK
G is only one letter so it can easily look like an irrelevant entry. The trick is to add FORCE. G becomes G-force, joining BRUTE FORCE, ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCE, and TASK FORCE.
OPAQUE, ELECTROMAGNETIC, NANOTECHNOLOGY
OPAQUE can describe something that blocks light, which can make it seem like a scientific term alongside ELECTROMAGNETIC and NANOTECHNOLOGY. In this puzzle its intended connection is the meaning unclear or difficult to understand.
ELECTROMAGNETIC, NANOTECHNOLOGY, PICOSECOND, MICROBREWERY
The technical feel of all four words can make them look like one group. The actual split is based on word structure. NANOTECHNOLOGY, PICOSECOND, and MICROBREWERY contain the relevant smallness prefixes, while ELECTROMAGNETIC forms ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCE.
SAW, IT, HALLOWEEN
SAW can refer to a cutting tool or the past tense of “see,” while IT is a common pronoun and HALLOWEEN is a holiday. In today's puzzle all three are movie titles and belong with ARACHNOPHOBIA.
PICOSECOND, ELECTROMAGNETIC
Both words sound strongly scientific. But PICOSECOND belongs to WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES because of PICO-, while ELECTROMAGNETIC belongs to WORDS BEFORE "FORCE".
BEWILDERING, ESOTERIC, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, OPAQUE
These four have different shades of meaning, but they all point toward something difficult to understand. ARACHNOPHOBIA can be the tempting fifth word because it looks complicated, but its correct home is the horror movie group.
Today's Full Answers
All four groups, revealed only when you're ready.
Answers are hidden by default so you can solve at your own pace. Tap below when you're ready to see everything.
Stuck on today's NYT Connections puzzle? Our Connections hints help you crack all 16 words into their four correct groups — without spoiling the fun. Start with gentle, spoiler-free clues, and only unlock more as you need them. We'll walk you step by step, from subtle hints to full category reveals and today's complete answers.
How to Use Our NYT Connections Hints
Every player gets stuck at a different point in the puzzle — knowing exactly where you're stuck is the fastest way to find the right hint. Match your situation below, use that hint, and get back to solving.
You Don't Recognize a Word's Meaning
Puzzle editor Wyna Liu often picks words with a specific or unusual meaning, especially in the green, blue, and purple groups. If you don't know what a word means in context, you can't confidently place it.
Use the Word Hint. It explains what that word means for today's puzzle. Just tap any word on the board to open its hint card.
None of the 16 Words Are Clicking Into Groups
Connections categories are built around a theme, not just word meaning — so the link between words isn't always obvious at first glance.
Use the Category Hint. It points you toward the theme of a group without naming the category or listing its words. Start with the Yellow Category Hint — yellow is always the easiest.
You Think You Have a Group, But You're Not Sure
A wrong guess costs you one of your four allowed mistakes, so it pays to confirm before you commit.
Use the Category Name. It reveals the exact name of a group without showing which words belong to it. If your guess matches, go for it; if not, you've dodged a mistake. Tap the color you're testing to see it.
A Word Seems to Fit More Than One Group
Wyna Liu deliberately plants misleading words that look like they belong in more than one category — these trip up more players than anything else in the puzzle.
Use the Traps and Misdirects Hint. It flags the tricky words in today's puzzle and explains why they don't belong where you'd expect.
You Know the Category, Just Not All the Words
You've spotted the theme but can't pin down every word that fits it.
Use the Word Reveal. It uncovers one word at a time, so you only see as much as you need — open your identified category and reveal words one by one until the group is complete.
New to Connections, or want to get better?
The full rules, what each difficulty color means, and strategies for spotting traps live in one place — our complete how-to-play guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Today's Connections hints give you a small clue about each group without revealing the full answers right away. You can use them when you're stuck but still want to solve the puzzle yourself.
Still have a question, or spotted a mistake in today's puzzle? Get in touch.
