Connections Today: Hints and Answers for #1301 — September 23
Sixteen tiles, four hidden groups of four, ordered yellow to purple. The hints start with a two-word nudge per group and only name a category five rungs later.
Today's board
The sixteen tiles as dealt. Reveal a group below to tint and caption its tiles here.
Connections hints, one rung at a time
Six rungs, softest first. This page remembers which ones you opened while this board is current.
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Hint 1: Four one-line nudges, one per group
The softest hint there is.
- Yellow
- Daily essentials
- Green
- Online barriers
- Blue
- Canned goods
- Purple
- Terminating phrases
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Hint 2: What links each group, described
No titles, no tiles named.
Yellow group
Items commonly checked for before heading out the door
Green group
Obstacles encountered while browsing the internet
Blue group
Products often packaged in cylindrical metal containers
Purple group
Phrases that conclude with words meaning a period or limit
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Hint 3: Board facts
5 of the sixteen tiles are more than one word — often where a category hides.
- Tiles
- 16 across 4 groups
- Longest tile
- 16 characters
- Shortest tile
- 4 characters
- Multi-word tiles
- 5
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Hint 4: The trap on this board
No group is named.
Some cards could fit into multiple categories, consider 'RECORD LABEL' and 'RUB-A-DUB' carefully, as well as 'SURINAME', and be cautious with 'SPAM' and 'PAINT'.
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Hint 5: The four category titles
Half the answer; the groupings are still yours.
- Yellow
- THINGS YOU GRAB BEFORE LEAVING THE HOUSE
- Green
- WEBSITE HURDLES
- Blue
- THINGS THAT COME IN CANS
- Purple
- ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "TERM"
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Hint 6: One tile from each group
The anchor most people misplace.
- Yellow — THINGS YOU GRAB BEFORE LEAVING THE HOUSE
- SUNGLASSES
- Green — WEBSITE HURDLES
- CAPTCHA
- Blue — THINGS THAT COME IN CANS
- CONDENSED MILK
- Purple — ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "TERM"
- BITCOIN
Today's Connections answers, group by group
Spoilers below. Opening a group tints and captions its four tiles on the board above.
Yellow group · 4 tiles
THINGS YOU GRAB BEFORE LEAVING THE HOUSE
KEYS, PHONE, SUNGLASSES, WALLET. The yellow group consists of 'KEYS', 'PHONE', 'SUNGLASSES', 'WALLET', all things you grab before leaving the house.
Green group · 4 tiles
WEBSITE HURDLES
AGE VERIFICATION, CAPTCHA, COOKIE CONSENT, PAYWALL. The green group consists of 'AGE VERIFICATION', 'CAPTCHA', 'COOKIE CONSENT', 'PAYWALL', all website hurdles.
Blue group · 4 tiles
THINGS THAT COME IN CANS
CONDENSED MILK, PAINT, SHAVING CREAM, SPAM. The blue group consists of 'CONDENSED MILK', 'PAINT', 'SHAVING CREAM', 'SPAM', all things that come in cans.
Purple group · 4 tiles
ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "TERM"
BITCOIN, RECORD LABEL, RUB-A-DUB, SURINAME. The purple group consists of 'BITCOIN', 'RECORD LABEL', 'RUB-A-DUB', 'SURINAME', all ending in synonyms for 'term'.
This board by the numbers
edited by Wyna Liu.
- Puzzle
- #1301 · Wednesday, September 23, 2026
- Tiles
- 16 in a 4 × 4 grid
- Groups
- 4, yellow to purple
- Multi-word tiles
- 5
- Longest tile
- AGE VERIFICATION
- Mistakes allowed
- 4 before the board locks
The last board we archived
The newest archived page is Connections answers for #1307, Tuesday, September 22, 2026, created once its date stopped being current everywhere on Earth.
More puzzles today
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Today's NYT Pips hints and answers
Easy, medium and hard boards, rules first and walkthroughs last.
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Today's NYT Wordle hints and answer
Letter shape, vowels and meaning, with the answer kept last.
How Connections works, in short
Submit four tiles you think belong together. Correct ones lock in; a wrong guess costs one of four lives, and "one away" means three were right. Solve by elimination: clear the group you are surest of, then re-read what is left. Our full Connections guide covers the traps.
NYT Connections questions we get asked
When does a new NYT Connections puzzle appear?
At midnight in your own time zone, not New York time. This page resolves your local date first.
What are the Connections categories for September 23?
In difficulty order: THINGS YOU GRAB BEFORE LEAVING THE HOUSE; WEBSITE HURDLES; THINGS THAT COME IN CANS; ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "TERM". Yellow is the giveaway, purple the wordplay one.
Which tiles are the traps in Connections #1301?
Some cards could fit into multiple categories, consider 'RECORD LABEL' and 'RUB-A-DUB' carefully, as well as 'SURINAME', and be cautious with 'SPAM' and 'PAINT'.
How do I get a Connections hint without spoiling the grid?
Work down the ladder: a nudge per group, the link described, the board counted, the trap. Titles arrive at rung five, members at rung six.
What are all the Connections answers for September 23?
Yellow — THINGS YOU GRAB BEFORE LEAVING THE HOUSE: KEYS, PHONE, SUNGLASSES, WALLET. Green — WEBSITE HURDLES: AGE VERIFICATION, CAPTCHA, COOKIE CONSENT, PAYWALL. Blue — THINGS THAT COME IN CANS: CONDENSED MILK, PAINT, SHAVING CREAM, SPAM. Purple — ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR "TERM": BITCOIN, RECORD LABEL, RUB-A-DUB, SURINAME.
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No — TodayHint is independent. Strands, Connections, Pips and NYT are trademarks of The New York Times Company.