If you’re looking for the September 20 Connections hints and answers, we’ve got you covered right here.

Hey there, Connectors! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I’m beyond happy to be back here with you for another weekday run of this here column.

Let’s get things started (as we always do in the Monday edition) with a fun, upbeat song. I hope it helps you get the week under way on a positive note.

As it turned out, I haven’t used this all-time classic before, so I’m going with it. Please enjoy “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles:

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 Monday, September 21 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.

  • COMPOSE
  • CHECK
  • FLY
  • BEET
  • BRAH
  • WORM
  • SPAM
  • MATE
  • CASTLE
  • CHUM
  • VIVA
  • SENT
  • CHOP
  • CAPTURE
  • DRAFTS
  • SPINNER

Today’s NYT Connections Hints

The hints for today’s Connections categories are:

  • 🟨 Yellow group — comms choices
  • 🟩 Green group — they could help you have a reel good time on a boat
  • 🟦 Blue group — after you select one of the thousands of openings
  • 🟪 Purple group — classic way to begin

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 — DRAFTS
  • 🟩 Green group — WORM
  • 🟦 Blue group — MATE
  • 🟪 Purple group — CHOP

Today’s NYT Connections Categories

Today’s Connections groups are...

  • 🟨 Yellow group — email buttons
  • 🟩 Green group — ways to attract fish
  • 🟦 Blue group — chess verbs
  • 🟪 Purple group — starts of composers’ names

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 — email buttons (COMPOSE, DRAFTS, SENT, SPAM)
  • 🟩 Green group — ways to attract fish (CHUM, FLY, SPINNER, WORM)
  • 🟦 Blue group — chess verbs (CAPTURE, CASTLE, CHECK, MATE)
  • 🟪 Purple group — starts of composers’ names (BEET, BRAH, CHOP, VIVA)

SPAM and COMPOSE made the yellows clear enough, then CHECK and MATE landing next to each other helped me get the blues. SPINNER and WORM then helped me deduce the greens.

I probably should have figured out the purples, but I whiffed. Turns out, I was looking for Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin and Vivaldi. In any case, I’m happy to lock in win number 568 on my current streak.

BRAH, MATE and CHUM can all be used to refer to a friend, so I guess that’s a sort of red herring.

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

P.S. Since we’re all about trying to keep things upbeat here on Mondays, let’s go with the fourth movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s incredible Symphony No. 9, a.k.a. “Ode to Joy.” That’s now the anthem of the European Union. This performance by the London Symphony Orchestra is all great, but it goes to another level when the vocalists join:

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 .