Connections archive · Puzzle #1186
NYT Connections Hints & Answers — September 9, 2026 (#1186)
Group hints and answers for the NYT Connections puzzle on . Get a spoiler-free nudge for each group, or reveal the full solution — your call.
Difficulty: Hard
Spoiler control
Choose how much to reveal
Reveal one step at a time — nudges first, full answers only if you ask.
1. Group nudges spoiler-free
- Yellow: Synonyms for murky meaning — you just don’t get it.
- Green: Common words that start with tiny-scale prefixes.
- Blue: Scary cinema titles — spiders, October, clowns, and traps.
- Purple: Fill-in-the-blank before FORCE — raw, physics, gravity, and a team.
2. One word from each group a foothold
- Yellow: BEWILDERING
- Green: MICROBREWERY
- Blue: ARACHNOPHOBIA
- Purple: BRUTE
3. The four category names no words yet
- Yellow: HARD TO UNDERSTAND
- Green: WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES
- Blue: HORROR MOVIES
- Purple: WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"
4. Reveal groups one by one
Yellow group
HARD TO UNDERSTAND
- BEWILDERING
- ESOTERIC
- INCOMPREHENSIBLE
- OPAQUE
Green group
WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES
- MICROBREWERY
- MINIVAN
- NANOTECHNOLOGY
- PICOSECOND
Blue group
HORROR MOVIES
- ARACHNOPHOBIA
- HALLOWEEN
- IT
- SAW
Purple group
WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"
- BRUTE
- ELECTROMAGNETIC
- G
- TASK
5. Reveal everything full spoilers
Yellow — HARD TO UNDERSTAND
- BEWILDERING
- ESOTERIC
- INCOMPREHENSIBLE
- OPAQUE
Green — WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES
- MICROBREWERY
- MINIVAN
- NANOTECHNOLOGY
- PICOSECOND
Blue — HORROR MOVIES
- ARACHNOPHOBIA
- HALLOWEEN
- IT
- SAW
Purple — WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"
- BRUTE
- ELECTROMAGNETIC
- G
- TASK
NYT Connections #1186 — quick answers
What are today's Connections categories?
HARD TO UNDERSTAND; WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES; HORROR MOVIES; WORDS BEFORE "FORCE".
What are all the answers?
- HARD TO UNDERSTAND: BEWILDERING, ESOTERIC, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, OPAQUE
- WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES: MICROBREWERY, MINIVAN, NANOTECHNOLOGY, PICOSECOND
- HORROR MOVIES: ARACHNOPHOBIA, HALLOWEEN, IT, SAW
- WORDS BEFORE "FORCE": BRUTE, ELECTROMAGNETIC, G, TASK
Also for: Connections hints 9/9/26, 9-9-26, 9 9 26, 9/9/2026, and puzzle #1186.
Also stuck on Strands, Wordle, Spelling Bee or Mini Crossword ?
Today's puzzle, in a nutshell
Horror titles and “hard to understand” synonyms are the cleaner groups. Purple is the trap — G and TASK only click once you hear FORCE after them.