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Connections September 26, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1303)

edited by Wyna Liu.

Recap

The connections between the cards were based on their common themes, ranging from oral care products to wood characteristics and laundry tasks, as well as slang expressions used to describe something as cool.

The sixteen tiles

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

MINTPRESSGRAINBEANSSTARCHCATCUCUMBERRINGSGUMFOLDKNOTSCUSTOMERWASHMOUTHWASHBURLSPRAY

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
    Oral care
    Green
    Laundry tasks
    Blue
    Wood characteristics
    Purple
    Slang expressions
  2. What linked each group, described

    Still no titles and no tiles named.

    Yellow group

    Common products used to keep your mouth clean and fresh daily

    Green group

    Actions performed on a dress shirt to make it look crisp and neat

    Blue group

    Distinctive features or patterns found in wood, often used in furniture making

    Purple group

    Words or phrases used to describe something as cool or impressive in informal language

  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
    9 characters
    Shortest tile
    3 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 at first glance, be cautious with words that have multiple meanings or uses, especially 'GRAIN' and 'CUCUMBER'.

  5. The four category titles

    Half the answer.

    Yellow
    BREATH FRESHENERS
    Green
    THINGS DONE TO A DRESS SHIRT AT THE LAUNDRY
    Blue
    FEATURES OF WOOD
    Purple
    "COOL" THINGS, IN EXPRESSIONS
  6. One tile from each group

    The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.

    Yellow — BREATH FRESHENERS
    SPRAY
    Green — THINGS DONE TO A DRESS SHIRT AT THE LAUNDRY
    STARCH
    Blue — FEATURES OF WOOD
    RINGS
    Purple — "COOL" THINGS, IN EXPRESSIONS
    CUSTOMER
    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

    BREATH FRESHENERS

    GUM, MINT, MOUTHWASH, SPRAY. The yellow group, 'BREATH FRESHENERS', consists of GUM, MINT, MOUTHWASH, SPRAY.

  • Green group · 4 tiles

    THINGS DONE TO A DRESS SHIRT AT THE LAUNDRY

    FOLD, PRESS, STARCH, WASH. The green group, 'THINGS DONE TO A DRESS SHIRT AT THE LAUNDRY', consists of FOLD, PRESS, STARCH, WASH.

  • Blue group · 4 tiles

    FEATURES OF WOOD

    BURL, GRAIN, KNOTS, RINGS. The blue group, 'FEATURES OF WOOD', consists of BURL, GRAIN, KNOTS, RINGS.

  • Purple group · 4 tiles

    "COOL" THINGS, IN EXPRESSIONS

    BEANS, CAT, CUCUMBER, CUSTOMER. The purple group, ''COOL' THINGS, IN EXPRESSIONS', consists of BEANS, CAT, CUCUMBER, CUSTOMER.

This board by the numbers

Puzzle
(#1303) · Saturday, September 26, 2026
Tiles
16 in a 4 × 4 grid
Groups
4, yellow to purple
Multi-word tiles
0
Longest tile
MOUTHWASH
Mistakes allowed
4 before the board locked

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