If you’re looking for the September 16 Connections hints and answers, we’ve got you covered right here:

Hey there, Connectors! I hope you’ve had a great week so far.

The new Scotland men’s national team manager announced his first squad this week and it’s hard to fault his selections. There are quite a few newcomers and an emphasis on talented young players. I love that. There are still a few older players players in the mix who probably won’t be around too much longer, but you still need experienced leaders in the team.

I won’t waffle on here. I was just happy with this squad. It’s nice to feel excited about something that matters to me.

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 Wednesday, September 16 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.

  • SPRING
  • SUBWAY STATION
  • PRESTIGE
  • TRIANGLE
  • TAP
  • GIVE
  • LANGUAGE
  • FOUNTAIN
  • WELL
  • BOUNCE
  • SEWER LINE
  • HANDLES
  • SHEEP DETECTIVE
  • MINE SHAFT
  • FLEXIBILITY
  • WOLVERINE

Today’s NYT Connections Hints

The hints for today’s Connections categories are:

  • 🟨 Yellow group — remember to stretch for maximum pliability
  • 🟩 Green group — [ YouTube link ]
  • 🟦 Blue group — definitely linked to a monster hunter, pet rat and showman
  • 🟪 Purple group — it’s a crazy little thing that might be tainted or in an elevator, but it’s only in one spot here, not all around

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 — GIVE
  • 🟩 Green group — SUBWAY STATION
  • 🟦 Blue group — FOUNTAIN
  • 🟪 Purple group — TRIANGLE

Today’s NYT Connections Categories

Today’s Connections groups are...

  • 🟨 Yellow group — elasticity
  • 🟩 Green group — things that are underground
  • 🟦 Blue group — Hugh Jackman movies, with “The”
  • 🟪 Purple group — love ____

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 — elasticity (BOUNCE, FLEXIBILITY, GIVE, SPRING)
  • 🟩 Green group — things that are underground (MINE SHAFT, SEWER LINE, SUBWAY STATION, WELL)
  • 🟦 Blue group — Hugh Jackman movies, with “The” (FOUNTAIN, PRESTIGE, SHEEP DETECTIVES, WOLVERINE)
  • 🟪 Purple group — love ____ (HANDLES, LANGUAGE, TAP, TRIANGLE)

I avoided the red herring of water sources, thanks to SHEEP DETECTIVES. I thought that had to go with the movie titles including FOUNTAIN (a film I like very much). I didn’t even clock that they were all Hugh Jackman films.

The yellows were up next. I thought they were mattress-related things. The greens, I figured, were cylindrical things. Not quite!

That left the purples. HANDLES and LANGUAGE clued me into the category there for my 564th win in a row.

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 right here :

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

P.S. Since I referenced it in the purple hint (along with “Tainted Love,” “Love In An Elevator” and “Love Is All Around”), here’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” Not quite one of my favorite Queen songs, but I still love it:

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 .