Stuck on today’s NYT Connections? You’re in the right place. The puzzle for Wednesday, September 30, 2026, is #1207, and there are a few sneaky connections that can easily throw you off.
This guide starts with spoiler-free hints for all four colors. If you’re still stuck, you’ll find one starter word from each group before the full answers. Stop reading whenever you’re ready to solve the rest yourself.
Today’s four categories are Securities, Things That Are Shaken (Not Stirred), Gangster Movies, and Starting With Month Abbreviations. Want to play puzzle? Visit the official puzzle website.
What Are the Words in NYT Connections Today?
Here are all 16 words in today’s grid:
Tambourine, Septum, Decent, Bond, Martini, Option, Novelty, Casino, Spray Paint, Octopussy, Donnie Brasco, Future, Bugsy, Etch A Sketch, Stock, Scarface
At first glance, several of these words seem like they could belong to more than one group. That’s where today’s puzzle gets tricky.
NYT Connections Hints for September 30
Before looking at the answers, try these clues. They point you in the right direction without giving away the category names.
- Yellow: Think about money and investing. A broker might help you buy or sell these.
- Green: Give these things a good shake before or while using them.
- Blue: Think mobsters, organized crime, and famous crime movies.
- Purple: Pay attention to the first three letters. They hide shortened names of months.
Need a Bigger Hint? One Word From Each Group
Still trying to crack the grid? Here’s one word from each category:
- Yellow: Stock
- Green: Tambourine
- Blue: Casino
- Purple: Septum
That should narrow things down without completely giving away the puzzle.
NYT Connections Answers Today (#1207)
Spoilers ahead! If you want to solve the puzzle yourself, this is your last chance to stop.
- Yellow: Securities – BOND, FUTURE, OPTION, STOCKS
- Green: Things That Are Shaken (Not Stirred) – ETCH A SKETCH, MARTINI, SPRAY PAINT, TAMBOURINE
- Blue: Gangster Movies – BUGSY, CASINO, DONNIE BRASCO, SCARFACE
- Purple: Starting With Month Abbreviations – DECENT, NOVELTY, OCTOPUSSY, SEPTUM
How Each Group Works
Yellow: Securities
Bond, Future, Option, and Stock are all financial securities or investment-related instruments.
This is probably one of the easier groups to spot once you notice the money connection. The tricky part is Bond, which can send your brain in a completely different direction because of its connection to James Bond.
Green: Things That Are Shaken (Not Stirred)
This category plays on the famous James Bond phrase, but the words themselves are all things you can physically shake.
A Martini can be shaken, while you shake a Tambourine to make music. Spray Paint cans are shaken before use, and an Etch A Sketch needs to be shaken to clear the screen.
So, yes, James Bond is lurking around this group too.
Blue: Gangster Movies
Bugsy, Casino, Donnie Brasco, and Scarface are all movies centered around organized crime, gangsters, or the criminal underworld.
If you’ve watched a few classic crime movies, this group may stand out fairly quickly.
Purple: Starting With Month Abbreviations
This is where today’s wordplay comes in.
Each answer begins with the first three letters commonly used as an abbreviation for a month:
- Decent → December
- Novelty → November
- Octopussy → October
- Septum → September
The trick is to ignore what the words mean and focus on how they begin. That makes purple particularly easy to miss if you’re only looking for semantic connections.
Why Was Today’s Connections Tricky?
Today’s puzzle has several convincing red herrings, especially if you notice the James Bond theme.
Bond, Octopussy, and Martini immediately bring James Bond to mind. It would be easy to assume they belong together, but there’s no James Bond category in today’s puzzle.
Instead:
- Bond belongs with the securities.
- Octopussy belongs with the month abbreviations.
- Martini belongs with the things that are shaken.
There’s another sneaky overlap with Martini. It starts with Mar, which is the abbreviation for March. That makes it look like a possible purple answer. However, purple already has its four correct words with Dec, Nov, Oct, and Sep.
Casino can also cause some confusion. It might make you think of James Bond movies, but today it belongs with the gangster movies.
Tips for Solving NYT Connections
If you’re trying to protect your streak, a few simple habits can make these puzzles much easier.
- Start with the group that feels most obvious.
- Be careful with words that clearly fit multiple themes.
- If a category seems impossible, look at the spelling and first few letters.
- Don’t lock in a group just because three words seem to fit. Find the fourth.
- Save the purple category for later if the wordplay isn’t immediately obvious.
- Remember that you only get four mistakes, so don’t rush a questionable guess.
Final Thoughts
Puzzle #1207 is a clever mix of investing terms, movie references, physical objects, and wordplay. The biggest trap is the James Bond connection, with Bond, Martini, and Octopussy all tempting you toward a category that doesn’t actually exist.
Once those red herrings are out of the way, the rest of the grid becomes much easier to untangle.
Check back tomorrow for the next NYT Connections hints and answers, and follow GamerUrge for more daily puzzle guides, gaming news, and helpful tips.
