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Connections September 13, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1287)

edited by Wyna Liu.

Recap

The groups for this puzzle included words for physical conditions, presidential names, letter-like sounds, and phrases ending with terms for high landforms.

The sixteen tiles

The sixteen tiles as dealt. Reveal a group below to tint and caption its tiles here.

PORRIDGEGARFIELDDROOPYEMPTYHEATHCLIFFEXCESSGRANTSLACKODIEPARAMOUNTSAGGINGMADISONFLACCIDKEWPIECLEVELANDDOUBLESPEAK

Connections hints, one rung at a time

Six rungs, softest first. The recap above already named the groups, so this ladder is here for anyone replaying the board fresh rather than as a spoiler shield.

  1. Four one-line nudges, one per group

    The softest hint there is.

    Yellow
    Limp or weak
    Green
    Presidential names
    Blue
    Letter-like sounds
    Purple
    Mountain tops
  2. What linked each group, described

    Still no titles and no tiles named.

    Yellow group

    These words describe something that lacks firmness or tautness in its appearance or feel.

    Green group

    These individuals have all held a specific high-ranking political office in the United States.

    Blue group

    These words are pronounced similarly to a pair of letters often used together in English.

    Purple group

    These phrases or words conclude with terms for elevated landforms or high points.

  3. Board facts

    Counted off the sixteen printed tiles.

    Sixteen tiles, four groups of four, ordered yellow → green → blue → purple from most to least obvious. Every tile was a single word.

    Tiles
    16 across 4 groups
    Longest tile
    11 characters
    Shortest tile
    4 characters
    Multi-word tiles
    0
    Back to the sixteen tiles
  4. The trap on this board

    Which tiles pulled in two directions.

    Some cards could fit into more than one group, especially those with multiple meanings or uses, like words that describe physical conditions or abstract concepts.

  5. The four category titles

    Half the answer.

    Yellow
    LACKING IN FIRMNESS
    Green
    U.S. PRESIDENTS
    Blue
    WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS
    Purple
    ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS
  6. One tile from each group

    The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.

    Yellow — LACKING IN FIRMNESS
    SLACK
    Green — U.S. PRESIDENTS
    MADISON
    Blue — WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS
    KEWPIE
    Purple — ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS
    PARAMOUNT
    Open the full groupings

Every Connections group from that board

All four groups, folded. Opening one tints its four tiles above and captions them with the category name.

  • Yellow group · 4 tiles

    LACKING IN FIRMNESS

    DROOPY, FLACCID, SAGGING, SLACK. The yellow group, described as 'LACKING IN FIRMNESS', includes the words DROOPY, FLACCID, SAGGING, and SLACK.

  • Green group · 4 tiles

    U.S. PRESIDENTS

    CLEVELAND, GARFIELD, GRANT, MADISON. The green group, described as 'U.S. PRESIDENTS', includes the words CLEVELAND, GARFIELD, GRANT, and MADISON.

  • Blue group · 4 tiles

    WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS

    EMPTY, EXCESS, KEWPIE, ODIE. The blue group, described as 'WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS', includes the words EMPTY, EXCESS, KEWPIE, and ODIE.

  • Purple group · 4 tiles

    ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS

    DOUBLESPEAK, HEATHCLIFF, PARAMOUNT, PORRIDGE. The purple group, described as 'ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS', includes the words DOUBLESPEAK, HEATHCLIFF, PARAMOUNT, and PORRIDGE.

This board by the numbers

Puzzle
(#1287) · Sunday, September 13, 2026
Tiles
16 in a 4 × 4 grid
Groups
4, yellow to purple
Multi-word tiles
0
Longest tile
DOUBLESPEAK
Mistakes allowed
4 before the board locked

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