Connections Hints

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — September 16, 2026

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Show the word gridAll 16 words — you figure out the groups
Show the themesCategory names only, no words revealed
One word per groupTheme name + one word per category
Full solutionAll words and explanations
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Word grid

All 16 words, sorted alphabetically. Group them into four categories of four.

BARRETT
BORAT
CARLOS
CLINK
DIMENSION
FRANK-N-FURTER
LATIN
LONG JOHN SILVER
MARIGOLD
NICKELODEON
PENNYWISE
QUARTERBACK
ST. VINCENT
STEAM IRON
WADSWORTH
WIDENER
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Themes

The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.

ENDING IN METAL ELEMENTSStraightforward
STARTING WITH U.S. COINSModerate
POETS' MIDDLE NAMESTricky
SAUSAGES PLUS A LETTERDevious
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One word per group

Theme name plus one word from each category.

ENDING IN METAL ELEMENTSStraightforward
EACH OF THESE CONTAINS A CHEMICAL ELEMENT FROM THE PERIODIC TABLE AT ITS TAIL END+ 3 more…
STARTING WITH U.S. COINSModerate
THESE WORDS OR PHRASES BEGIN WITH THE NAME OF AN AMERICAN COIN+ 3 more…
POETS' MIDDLE NAMESTricky
THESE ARE THE MIDDLE NAMES OF FAMOUS POETS+ 3 more…
SAUSAGES PLUS A LETTERDevious
TAKE A TYPE OF SAUSAGE AND ADD A LETTER TO GET EACH OF THESE+ 3 more…
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Full solution
ENDING IN METAL ELEMENTSStraightforward
LATIN,LONG JOHN SILVER,MARIGOLD,STEAM IRON

LATIN ends in TIN, LONG JOHN SILVER ends in SILVER, MARIGOLD ends in GOLD, and STEAM IRON ends in IRON — all metal elements

STARTING WITH U.S. COINSModerate
DIMENSION,NICKELODEON,PENNYWISE,QUARTERBACK

DIMENSION starts with DIME, NICKELODEON starts with NICKEL, PENNYWISE starts with PENNY, and QUARTERBACK starts with QUARTER — all U.S. coins

POETS' MIDDLE NAMESTricky
BARRETT,CARLOS,ST. VINCENT,WADSWORTH

BARRETT is Elizabeth Barrett Browning's middle name, CARLOS is William Carlos Williams's, ST. VINCENT is Edna St. Vincent Millay's, and WADSWORTH is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's

SAUSAGES PLUS A LETTERDevious
BORAT,CLINK,FRANK-N-FURTER,WIDENER

BORAT = BRAT + O, CLINK = LINK + C, FRANK-N-FURTER = FRANKFURTER + N, and WIDENER = WIENER + D — each is a sausage with an extra letter inserted

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