If you’re looking for the August 31 Connections hints and answers, we’ve got you covered right here:

Hey there, Connectors! I hope your week is off to a great start.

I had a fun time hanging out with my partner and her little one at the weekend. We went to mini golf (which we rushed through a little faster than I’d hoped), played some arcade machines and went to a Korean barbecue place for dinner.

I don’t have a big takeaway here. I just needed that time with them. Weird that spending time with people you care about is nourishing. Who could have imagined? (I suppose I did learn that it’s impossible for me to take it easy on a six-year-old at air hockey.)

Before we start, we’ve got a lovely community on Discord , where we chat about Connections , the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of things. You’re more than welcome to join us!

Also, my weekend editions of this column are available over on my newsletter, Pastimes . I sometimes write about other things that are on my mind there as well.

Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, September 1 are coming right up. Let’s get rolling!

Connections is a free New York Times daily word game that you can play on the NYT ’s website or Games app. If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the Connections archive, which includes every previous game.

Connections presents you with a grid of 16 words (sometimes phrases, symbols or numbers). The aim is to arrange them into four groups of four. You don’t know how they hit together or what the category for each group is: that’s what you have to figure out.

There’s only one correct solution and there are often red herrings. You can guess incorrectly three times. A fourth wrong guess, and it’s game over.

Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to deduce, followed by green, blue and purple. Often, the yellow and green groups have synonyms, the blues have cultural references and the purples have some kind of wordplay involved. But this is not a hard and fast rule. Be ready for curveballs – part of the fun of Connections is in how the NYT shakes things up to keep you on your toes.

As with Wordle and similar games, it’s easy to share results with your friends using an emoji-based grid. The game tracks your progress too.

Many players take pride in having long win streaks or getting a reverse rainbow – correctly guessing the purple, blue, green and yellow groups in that order with no mistakes. That adds an extra little challenge.

Today’s NYT Connections Word List

After today’s Connections word list, I’ll give you a hint for each category. After that, I’ll reveal one word that goes into each group. Then I’ll reveal the categories, followed by the full answers.

  • PLANETARIUM
  • ARROW
  • HOPE DIAMOND
  • FOR REAL
  • SAM SPADE
  • WISHY-WASHY
  • MIKE HAMMER
  • GOLF CLUB
  • CROSS MY HEART
  • PICK-UP STICK
  • SHELOCK HOLMES
  • AIMEE MANN
  • PINKY SWEAR
  • HERCULE POIROT
  • SPAGHETTO
  • ON GOD

Today’s NYT Connections Hints

The hints for today’s Connections categories are:

  • 🟨 Yellow group — honestly...
  • 🟩 Green group — on the straight and narrow, like decent members of society
  • 🟦 Blue group — they usually get to the bottom of things by the end
  • 🟪 Purple group — as they say, start as you mean to go on

One Answer For Each NYT Connections Group

Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.

Let’s take a look at one answer for each group.

  • 🟨 Yellow group — CROSS MY HEART
  • 🟩 Green group — ARROW
  • 🟦 Blue group — MIKE HAMMER
  • 🟪 Purple group — AIMEE MANN

Today’s NYT Connections Categories

Today’s Connections groups are...

  • 🟨 Yellow group — "I promise!"
  • 🟩 Green group — long, skinny things often seen together
  • 🟦 Blue group — private investigators of fiction
  • 🟪 Purple group — staring with words of intention

Today’s NYT Connections Answer

Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.

This is your last chance to look away.

This is your final warning!

Today’s Connections answers are...

  • 🟨 Yellow group — "I promise!" (CROSS MY HEART, FOR REAL, ON GOD, PINKY SWEAR)
  • 🟩 Green group — long, skinny things often seen together (ARROW, GOLF CLUB, PICK-UP STICK, SPAGHETTO)
  • 🟦 Blue group — private investigators of fiction (HERCULE POIROT, MIKE HAMMER, SAM SPADE, SHERLOCK HOLMES)
  • 🟪 Purple group — staring with words of intention (AIMEE MANN, HOPE DIAMOND, PLANETARIUM, WISHY-WASHY)

I was about to go for the "ending in playing card suits" bunch when ON GOD drew my eye. I felt that CROSS MY HEART would have to go with that, which led to me getting the yellows.

The greens were up next after I eliminated MIKE HAMMER from contention. I figured fictional detectives would be next, even though I didn't know of MIKE HAMMER or SAM SPADE. I do know who AIMEE MANN is and what the HOPE DIAMOND is.

That left the purples. I felt like I had to break those terms down into smaller chunks to figure out what was going on. And sure enough, I was able to deduce that category and extend my streak to 548 games.

How did you get on this time? Here's my grid:

Want to know more about how everything fits together? Let’s explore today’s game in more depth in my NYT Connections Answers Explained column. You can check that out by visiting my author page .

Be sure to check my blog for hints and the answer for tomorrow’s game of Connections if you need them.

P.S. I enjoy pretty much everything I hear from The Big Push, and that includes their cover of “Mambo No. 5” by Lou Bega. The trumpet and trombone are icing on the cake:

Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!

Please follow my blog for more NYT Connections hints and help with other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. I’d really appreciate that as it helps me out. If you share this column with others who play Connections, that would be lovely too. You can also read my weekend editions of this column and more of my writing at my newsletter, Pastimes .