If you’re looking for NYT Connections hints today, puzzle #1201 for Thursday, September 24, 2026, has some clever traps waiting for you. The 16-word grid mixes Halloween-themed items, spring-loaded objects, famous pointing images, and a particularly sneaky set of anagrams.
Need the answers right away? The four groups are Parts of a Vampire Costume, Things With Spring/S, Featuring Pointing, and Anagrams.
If you want to keep your streak intact without seeing all the answers immediately, start with the hints below and work your way down.
NYT Connections #1201 Words for September 24
Here are all 16 words in today’s puzzle:
THE BEAR, FOAM FINGER, POGO STICK, FACE PAINT, BOBBLEHEAD, BEER HAT, UNCLE SAM, CAPE, CREATION OF ADAM, TRAMPOLINE, FANGS, BREATHE, FAKE BLOOD, I’M WITH STUPID , SHIRT, SNAKES IN A CAN, HERB TEA
The goal is to divide these 16 entries into four groups of four. Each group has a shared connection, but several words are designed to look like they belong together when they actually do not.
NYT Connections Hints for September 24
Here are spoiler-light clues for each category.
- Yellow Hint – Think about a classic monster costume. You might see these items around Halloween.
- Green Hint – These objects have something mechanical in common. Think about coils, bouncing, and sudden movement.
- Blue Hint – Look for things where a finger or hand points.
- Purple Hint – This group is all about letters. The four answers can be rearranged using the same set of letters.
Stronger Hints for Connections #1201
Still stuck?
- Yellow: Dracula-inspired costume pieces.
- Green: Items that use a spring or springs.
- Blue: Famous examples that feature pointing.
- Purple: Four entries are anagrams of one another.
That’s enough to give you a fair shot at solving the grid without immediately giving away every answer.
NYT Connections Answers for September 24, 2026
Warning: Full spoilers are below.
Yellow: Parts of a Vampire Costume
CAPE, FACE PAINT, FAKE BLOOD, FANGS
This group is built around the classic vampire costume. A cape and fangs are obvious choices, while face paint and fake blood complete the spooky look.
The category is fairly direct once you spot the Halloween connection, but some of the other words in the grid can make you second-guess it.
Green: Things With Spring/S
BOBBLEHEAD, POGO STICK, SNAKES IN A CAN, TRAMPOLINE
The key word here is spring.
A pogo stick and trampoline use springs to create movement, while a bobblehead relies on a spring to produce its familiar bouncing motion. A snakes-in-a-can gag also uses a spring mechanism to make the fake snake pop out.
This is one of those Connections categories where the wording matters. The answers aren’t simply things that bounce.
Blue: Featuring Pointing
CREATION OF ADAM, FOAM FINGER, I’M WITH STUPID SHIRT, UNCLE SAM
This group connects through pointing.
Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam is famous for the nearly touching fingers of Adam and God. A foam finger commonly points upward, while the classic “I’m With Stupid” shirt design uses a pointing reference. Uncle Sam is also famously depicted pointing directly toward the viewer in the iconic recruitment poster.
The category can be easy to miss because the four entries come from completely different contexts.
Purple: Anagrams
BEER HAT, BREATHE, HERB TEA, THE BEAR
This is the puzzle’s biggest wordplay trick.
All four entries use the same seven letters:
A, B, E, E, H, R, T
Rearrange those letters and you can create each of the four answers. Once you notice the pattern, the final category becomes much easier to identify.
Today’s NYT Connections Answers at a Glance
- Yellow: Parts of a Vampire Costume – CAPE, FACE PAINT, FAKE BLOOD, FANGS
- Green: Things With Spring/S – BOBBLEHEAD, POGO STICK, SNAKES IN A CAN, TRAMPOLINE
- Blue: Featuring Pointing – CREATION OF ADAM, FOAM FINGER, I’M WITH STUPID SHIRT, UNCLE SAM
- Purple: Anagrams – BEER HAT, BREATHE, HERB TEA, THE BEAR
The complete solution for puzzle #1201 is consistent across multiple published answer guides.
What Makes Today’s Connections Puzzle Tricky?
The biggest challenge is that several words create tempting connections that aren’t part of the final solution.
For example, FOAM FINGER, BEER HAT, BOBBLEHEAD, and FACE PAINT can all remind players of sports fans. That makes them an easy false group, especially before the pointing category becomes clear. TechRadar’s puzzle walkthrough also noted this as a potential trap.
The purple group is another major hurdle. BEER HAT, BREATHE, HERB TEA, and THE BEAR look completely unrelated until you compare their letters.
How NYT Connections Works
NYT Connections gives players a grid of 16 words or phrases. The goal is to find four groups containing four related entries each.
The categories are represented by four colors:
- Yellow: Usually the most straightforward group.
- Green: A little more challenging.
- Blue: Often requires a less obvious connection.
- Purple: Usually contains the most difficult wordplay or an unusual connection.
Players can make up to four mistakes, so there’s some room to experiment before the puzzle ends.
Tips for Solving NYT Connections
If you want to improve your Connections streak, don’t lock onto the first connection you see.
Start by looking for an obvious group of four. Once you identify one category, remove those words from consideration and examine the remaining entries.
Also watch for wordplay, multiple meanings, phrases, and misleading similarities. Connections often includes words that appear to fit together but are deliberately placed to distract you.
For today’s puzzle, checking the letters in seemingly unrelated phrases is particularly useful because the purple group depends entirely on anagramming.
Final Answer for NYT Connections #1201
The September 24, 2026, NYT Connections puzzle has four categories:
- Parts of a Vampire Costume: CAPE, FACE PAINT, FAKE BLOOD, FANGS
- Things With Spring/S: BOBBLEHEAD, POGO STICK, SNAKES IN A CAN, TRAMPOLINE
- Featuring Pointing: CREATION OF ADAM, FOAM FINGER, I’M WITH STUPID SHIRT, UNCLE SAM
- Anagrams: BEER HAT, BREATHE, HERB TEA, THE BEAR
If you solved today’s puzzle without looking at the answers, nice work. The anagram group in particular can be difficult to spot until the letter pattern clicks.
Check back with GamerUrge tomorrow for the latest NYT Connections hints and answers, along with other daily gaming news, guides, and puzzle coverage.
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