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Connections September 30, 2026: Hints & Answers (#1311)

edited by Wyna Liu.

Recap

The connections between the cards were based on their meanings and associations. Players had to think creatively to link the cards in each group.

The sixteen tiles

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

TAMBOURINESEPTUMDECENTBONDMARTINIOPTIONNOVELTYCASINOSPRAY PAINTOCTOPUSSYDONNIE BRASCOFUTUREBUGSYETCH A SKETCHSTOCKSCARFACE

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
    Financial terms
    Green
    Mixed up
    Blue
    Tough guys
    Purple
    Calendar clues
  2. What linked each group, described

    Still no titles and no tiles named.

    Yellow group

    These words are commonly used in the world of finance and investing

    Green group

    These items all involve some kind of agitation or movement to function

    Blue group

    These movie titles are all associated with the crime genre and tough characters

    Purple group

    These words all start with abbreviations for months of the year

  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. 3 of the sixteen tiles were more than one word.

    Tiles
    16 across 4 groups
    Longest tile
    13 characters
    Shortest tile
    4 characters
    Multi-word tiles
    3
    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 'BOND' and 'NOVELTY', which could both fit into multiple categories at first glance.

  5. The four category titles

    Half the answer.

    Yellow
    SECURITIES
    Green
    THINGS THAT ARE SHAKEN (NOT STIRRED)
    Blue
    GANGSTER MOVIES
    Purple
    STARTING WITH MONTH ABBREVIATIONS
  6. One tile from each group

    The anchor most people misplaced, matched to its title.

    Yellow — SECURITIES
    OPTION
    Green — THINGS THAT ARE SHAKEN (NOT STIRRED)
    SPRAY PAINT
    Blue — GANGSTER MOVIES
    CASINO
    Purple — STARTING WITH MONTH ABBREVIATIONS
    SEPTUM
    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

    SECURITIES

    BOND, FUTURE, OPTION, STOCK. The yellow group is 'SECURITIES', consisting of 'BOND', 'FUTURE', 'OPTION', 'STOCK'.

  • Green group · 4 tiles

    THINGS THAT ARE SHAKEN (NOT STIRRED)

    ETCH A SKETCH, MARTINI, SPRAY PAINT, TAMBOURINE. The green group is 'THINGS THAT ARE SHAKEN (NOT STIRRED)', consisting of 'ETCH A SKETCH', 'MARTINI', 'SPRAY PAINT', 'TAMBOURINE'.

  • Blue group · 4 tiles

    GANGSTER MOVIES

    BUGSY, CASINO, DONNIE BRASCO, SCARFACE. The blue group is 'GANGSTER MOVIES', consisting of 'BUGSY', 'CASINO', 'DONNIE BRASCO', 'SCARFACE'.

  • Purple group · 4 tiles

    STARTING WITH MONTH ABBREVIATIONS

    DECENT, NOVELTY, OCTOPUSSY, SEPTUM. The purple group is 'STARTING WITH MONTH ABBREVIATIONS', consisting of 'DECENT', 'NOVELTY', 'OCTOPUSSY', 'SEPTUM'.

This board by the numbers

Puzzle
(#1311) · Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Tiles
16 in a 4 × 4 grid
Groups
4, yellow to purple
Multi-word tiles
3
Longest tile
ETCH A SKETCH
Mistakes allowed
4 before the board locked

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