TodayHint

Connections September 25, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1297)

edited by Wyna Liu.

Recap

The connections between the tiles on this puzzle included luxurious terms, mechanical clock parts, famous television personalities, and modified biological classification ranks.

The sixteen tiles

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

RATHERBOUGIEGENIUSSPRINGBORDERRATCHETSWANKSAVAGECLASSYLEVYPENDULUMFANCYESCAPEMENTPOSHFOAMILYAYKROYD

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
    High-end terms
    Green
    Clockwork components
    Blue
    TV personalities
    Purple
    Biological classification
  2. What linked each group, described

    Still no titles and no tiles named.

    Yellow group

    These words describe something luxurious or high-end, often used interchangeably to convey a sense of exclusivity.

    Green group

    These terms are related to the inner workings of a mechanical timepiece, crucial for its operation.

    Blue group

    These individuals are well-known for their work in television, often associated with news or comedy.

    Purple group

    These terms relate to the hierarchy used in biology to categorize living things, with a twist.

  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
    10 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 might seem like they could fit into more than one category, especially those with multiple meanings or uses. Be cautious with words that have broad applications.

  5. The four category titles

    Half the answer.

    Yellow
    LUXE
    Green
    PARTS OF A MECHANICAL CLOCK
    Blue
    FAMOUS DANS
    Purple
    TAXONOMIC RANKS PLUS A LETTER
  6. One tile from each group

    The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.

    Yellow — LUXE
    SWANK
    Green — PARTS OF A MECHANICAL CLOCK
    ESCAPEMENT
    Blue — FAMOUS DANS
    SAVAGE
    Purple — TAXONOMIC RANKS PLUS A LETTER
    FOAMILY
    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

    LUXE

    BOUGIE, FANCY, POSH, SWANK. The yellow group, 'LUXE', consists of the words 'BOUGIE', 'FANCY', 'POSH', and 'SWANK', all describing something luxurious.

  • Green group · 4 tiles

    PARTS OF A MECHANICAL CLOCK

    ESCAPEMENT, PENDULUM, RATCHET, SPRING. The green group, 'PARTS OF A MECHANICAL CLOCK', includes 'ESCAPEMENT', 'PENDULUM', 'RATCHET', and 'SPRING', which are components of a mechanical clock.

  • Blue group · 4 tiles

    FAMOUS DANS

    AYKROYD, LEVY, RATHER, SAVAGE. The blue group, 'FAMOUS DANS', comprises 'AYKROYD', 'LEVY', 'RATHER', and 'SAVAGE', all names of notable individuals associated with television.

  • Purple group · 4 tiles

    TAXONOMIC RANKS PLUS A LETTER

    BORDER, CLASSY, FOAMILY, GENIUS. The purple group, 'TAXONOMIC RANKS PLUS A LETTER', features 'BORDER', 'CLASSY', 'FOAMILY', and 'GENIUS', which relate to biological classification with a unique modification.

This board by the numbers

Puzzle
(#1297) · Friday, September 25, 2026
Tiles
16 in a 4 × 4 grid
Groups
4, yellow to purple
Multi-word tiles
0
Longest tile
ESCAPEMENT
Mistakes allowed
4 before the board locked

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