Is your winning streak at risk today? We have all been there. You stare at the grid of 16 words, convinced that five of them fit together perfectly, only to see the dreaded “One Away” message shake across your screen.
If you are looking for a connections hint September 18, you have arrived at the right place. Today’s puzzle by Wyna Liu offers a mix of straightforward synonyms and a particularly tricky “Purple” category that requires a bit of lateral thinking.
In this guide, we will provide graduated hints starting with gentle nudges and moving toward the full category reveals so you can solve the puzzle on your own terms. We will also analyze the gameplay to help you sharpen your skills for tomorrow.
Table of Contents
How to Play NYT Connections: A Quick Refresher
Before we dive into the specific clues for September 18, it is crucial to understand the mechanics that govern the game. This isn’t just about finding similar words; it is about avoiding the traps.
The New York Times Connections game requires you to sort 16 words into four groups of four. Each group is color-coded by difficulty:
- Yellow Group: The easiest to spot. usually synonyms or broad categories.
- Green Group: Slightly more challenging, often involving functional relationships.
- Blue Group: Requires trivia knowledge, distinct jargon, or “types of” categories.
- Purple Group: The hardest. These often involve wordplay, homophones, or fill-in-the-blank phrases.
Pro Tip: If you spot five words that seem to belong to a category, you have found a “Red Herring.” The game deliberately includes words that fit multiple categories to trip you up.
Spoiler-Free Connections Hint September 18
Let’s start with some vague clues. If you want to keep your brain engaged but just need a little push in the right direction, these hints are for you.
Hint for the Yellow Group
Think about things that are visibly absent or empty. If something isn’t there, or a space is totally void of content, what words would you use to describe it?
Hint for the Green Group
Today’s green category relates to the physical world—specifically biology and anatomy. Think about the structural parts of a living organism.
Hint for the Blue Group
This one is for the foodies. Consider words that might appear on a menu, specifically relating to a certain type of savory, often Italian, dish. It’s all about shapes.
Hint for the Purple Group
This is the trickiest category today. You need to look at the start of each word. If you added a specific title of respect or a specific role before these words, they would create famous fictional or real names.
Category Breakdowns (The Groups Revealed)
Still stuck? No problem. Sometimes knowing the category name is all you need to slot the words into place. Here are the themes for the connections hint September 18:
- Yellow Category: Lacking Contents
- Green Category: Body Parts
- Blue Category: Pasta Shapes
- Purple Category: ____ [Title/Person]
Note: The Purple category often relies on word association that has nothing to do with the definition of the word itself. Always look for prefixes or suffixes when you are stuck.
Full Answers for September 18 Connections
If you have shuffled the board a dozen times and are down to your last mistake, it might be time to see the solution. Below is the complete breakdown of the groups and the words that belong to them.
Yellow: Lacking Contents
- BLANK
- EMPTY
- HOLLOW
- VACANT
Green: Body Parts
- CELL
- MUSCLE
- NERVE
- TISSUE
Blue: Pasta Shapes
- EAR (Orecchiette)
- ELBOW (Macaroni)
- RIBBON (Fettuccine/Tagliatelle)
- SHELL (Conchiglie)
Purple: Dr. ____
- EVIL (Dr. Evil)
- J (Dr. J)
- NO (Dr. No)
- PEPPER (Dr. Pepper)
Puzzle Analysis: Why Was Today Tricky?
The September 18 puzzle utilized a classic diversion tactic: The Cross-Over Category.
The Blue category (Pasta Shapes) and the Green category (Body Parts) had significant overlap. Words like “Ear” and “Elbow” are literally body parts, which likely caused many players to try and force them into the Green category alongside “Muscle” or “Nerve.”
However, once you realized “Ribbon” and “Shell” didn’t fit anatomy, you had to pivot to culinary terms. This “Red Herring” technique is a hallmark of NYT puzzle design.
Furthermore, the Purple category relied on the “Fill-in-the-Blank” mechanic using “Dr.” This is difficult because words like “No” and “J” are so short and abstract that they look like noise on the board until you find the linking key.
Strategies for Next Time
- Shuffle Often: This rearranges the words and can break your brain out of seeing false patterns (like grouping “Ear” and “Elbow” together visually).
- Solve Purple Last: By eliminating the groups you can define (like Synonyms), the abstract wordplay words are left over, making the final group easier to deduce by default.
Final Thoughts:
The connections hint September 18 reveals a puzzle that balances anatomical knowledge with pop culture wordplay. If you managed to spot the “Dr.” connection early, you likely cruised to victory. If the pasta shapes disguised as body parts tripped you up, you aren’t alone.
Remember, semantic SEO and lateral thinking are your best friends in this game. Don’t take words at face value look for what they represent in other contexts.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the hardest category in NYT Connections?
The Purple category is consistently the hardest. It rarely relies on definitions. Instead, it uses palindromes, anagrams, homophones, or “blank” phrases (e.g., words that follow “Green”).
When does the Connections puzzle reset?
The New York Times Connections puzzle resets daily at midnight local time. If you want to play the next day’s puzzle early, you can sometimes adjust your device’s clock, though this may mess up your streak stats.
Is there a penalty for wrong guesses?
Yes. You have four mistakes allowed. On your fourth mistake, the game ends and reveals the answers. However, getting a “One Away” message does not count as an extra penalty; it is just a warning.
Can I play previous Connections puzzles?
Currently, the New York Times Games app does not offer an official archive for Connections in the same way they do for the Crossword. You generally have to play the puzzle on the day it is released.
