NYT Connections #1188 answer & hints: Friday, September 11, 2026

Updated: Friday, September 11, 2026 · Hints reviewed by Omer Liban · New puzzle daily at midnight US Eastern Time (5am UK). · Puzzle editor: Wyna Liu.

This page has every level of help for the NYT Connections puzzle #1188 of Friday, September 11, 2026: 3 spoiler-free hint tiers that narrow things down step by step, followed by the complete answers with explanations — each behind its own tap-to-reveal card.

Stuck on today's Connections? Work through the hint tiers below — each one gives away a little more, so you can get exactly as much help as you want and still keep the win.

New to Connections? The four answer groups are colour-coded by difficulty: 🟡 yellow is the easiest, then 🟢 green, 🔵 blue, and 🟣 purple — the trickiest, usually built on wordplay. The hints below use those colours.

Connections hints (September 11, 2026)

1One word from each group

Yellow (easiest): one of its words is “BAND”.
Green (easy): one of its words is “ABSORB”.
Blue (tricky): one of its words is “EXERCISE”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its words is “AGENDA”.

2Category hints (no answers)

Yellow (easiest): the theme is “People hired for an event”.
Green (easy): the theme is “Internalize”.
Blue (tricky): the theme is “Ways to practice self-care”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “Things that are pushed metaphorically”.

3One full group revealed

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “People hired for an event”, and its four words are: BAND, FLORIST, PHOTOGRAPHER, PLANNER.

Connections answers — September 11, 2026 (#1188)

★Today's full Connections answers, explained

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “People hired for an event”. The words: BAND, FLORIST, PHOTOGRAPHER, PLANNER.
Green (easy) — the connection is “Internalize”. The words: ABSORB, DIGEST, PROCESS, TAKE IN.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “Ways to practice self-care”. The words: EXERCISE, JOURNAL, MEDITATE, UNPLUG.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “Things that are pushed metaphorically”. The words: AGENDA, ENVELOPE, LIMITS, LUCK.

The puzzle, explained

The purple group's brilliance lies in the metaphorical "pushing"—you push an agenda (promote it), push the envelope (take risks), push your limits (challenge yourself), and push your luck (tempt fate). The real trap was "EXERCISE," which could absolutely feel like self-care you'd "push" yourself to do, making blue genuinely tricky to lock in. Similarly, "MEDITATE" and "UNPLUG" are things people *say* they should do for self-care, so they competed hard with the vague wellness vibe of the purple group before you realized the metaphorical angle. Once you spotted that "pushing" connection, though, it fell into place perfectly—such a satisfying wordplay reveal.

Next in today's routine: Wordle → · every game's answers on one page. New puzzle daily at midnight US Eastern Time (5am UK). Bookmark this page for tomorrow's hints. Or play Connections on the official site.

More of today's puzzles

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Connections — common questions

What time does NYT Connections reset?

A new Connections puzzle is released daily at midnight US Eastern Time — that's 5am in the UK (4am during US daylight-saving transitions) and 12:00am for US East Coast players.

What do the Connections colours mean?

Yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple is the trickiest — purple usually involves wordplay such as homophones, hidden words or 'words before/after X'.

How many mistakes are allowed in Connections?

You can make four mistakes before the puzzle ends. If you see 'one away…', exactly three of your four selected words belong together.

Previous Connections puzzles

Full Connections archive (137 puzzles) → · How to play Connections (and win more) →