TodayHint

Connections September 18, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1294)

edited by Wyna Liu.

Recap

The connections for this puzzle were fairly straightforward, with clear categories and distinct terms. Players had to carefully consider the meanings of each card to place them correctly.

The sixteen tiles

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

PILLOWCRUISEUPPERSTEPFLIGHTSTAIRPLATTERLANDINGROUNDSTAGETAKEOFFMEDLEYBRIEFBOARDINGSAMPLERPHASE

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
    Sequence term
    Green
    Food variety
    Blue
    Air travel
    Purple
    Legal term
  2. What linked each group, described

    Still no titles and no tiles named.

    Yellow group

    These words describe a part of a larger process or journey.

    Green group

    These terms describe collections of different foods or drinks.

    Blue group

    These words are related to specific parts of an airplane journey.

    Purple group

    These words are part of a common phrase used in law.

  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
    8 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 multiple categories, especially 'ROUND' and 'SAMPLER' which might seem like they could belong elsewhere. Be cautious with 'STAIR' and 'STEP' as well.

  5. The four category titles

    Half the answer.

    Yellow
    SEGMENT OF A PROCESS
    Green
    ASSORTMENTS OF FOOD/DRINK
    Blue
    PARTS OF A FLIGHT
    Purple
    ___CASE
  6. One tile from each group

    The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.

    Yellow — SEGMENT OF A PROCESS
    STEP
    Green — ASSORTMENTS OF FOOD/DRINK
    SAMPLER
    Blue — PARTS OF A FLIGHT
    LANDING
    Purple — ___CASE
    PILLOW
    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

    SEGMENT OF A PROCESS

    PHASE, ROUND, STAGE, STEP. The yellow group is 'SEGMENT OF A PROCESS' with cards: PHASE, ROUND, STAGE, STEP

  • Green group · 4 tiles

    ASSORTMENTS OF FOOD/DRINK

    FLIGHT, MEDLEY, PLATTER, SAMPLER. The green group is 'ASSORTMENTS OF FOOD/DRINK' with cards: FLIGHT, MEDLEY, PLATTER, SAMPLER

  • Blue group · 4 tiles

    PARTS OF A FLIGHT

    BOARDING, CRUISE, LANDING, TAKEOFF. The blue group is 'PARTS OF A FLIGHT' with cards: BOARDING, CRUISE, LANDING, TAKEOFF

  • Purple group · 4 tiles

    ___CASE

    BRIEF, PILLOW, STAIR, UPPER. The purple group is '___CASE' with cards: BRIEF, PILLOW, STAIR, UPPER

This board by the numbers

Puzzle
(#1294) · Friday, September 18, 2026
Tiles
16 in a 4 × 4 grid
Groups
4, yellow to purple
Multi-word tiles
0
Longest tile
BOARDING
Mistakes allowed
4 before the board locked

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