Play Connections #1181
These are the 16 words in the order NYT shows them. Tap four words you think belong together and press Submit. You get four mistakes, and we'll tell you when you are one word away. Nothing is saved, so you can practise without touching your real streak.
Connections #1181 hints
Yellow is usually the easiest group and purple the trickiest. Start with one colour and see if the rest falls into place.
Hints used: 0
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Yellow group hintGentle hint
Think of shapes with no corners or edges anywhere.
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Green group hintGentle hint
Each name doubles up on edibles, blending two tasty things into one.
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Blue group hintHelpful hint
Picture long, slippery swimmers gliding through the water.
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Purple group hintHelpful hint
Look between the first and last letters to find something you might wear.
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Where's the trap?Strong hint
Several food items are round, especially a citrus fruit and a small tomato, which tempts you to put them with the round objects.
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The four group namesStrong hint
- SPHERICAL THINGS
- FOOD WHOSE NAME IS TWO FOODS
- KINDS OF EELS
- ACCESSORIES INSIDE STARTING AND ENDING LETTERS
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Difficulty: Hard. Spotting the hidden items inside the odd-looking words takes real effort, and one group relies on knowing some less common sea creatures.
Connections #1181 answers
Spoiler zone. Below are all four groups for September 4, 2026, with why each word fits.
Reveal one group at a time
Each colour opens in three steps: one word from the group, then the group name, then all four words. Stop as soon as you can finish it yourself.
Show one word
BOWLING BALL is in the yellow group. Look for three more words that share something with it.
Show the group name
The group is SPHERICAL THINGS.
Show all four words
BOWLING BALL, EYE, MOON, ORANGE
Show one word
CAKE DONUT is in the green group. Look for three more words that share something with it.
Show the group name
The group is FOOD WHOSE NAME IS TWO FOODS.
Show all four words
CAKE DONUT, CANDY CORN, CHERRY TOMATO, PIZZA PIE
Show one word
CONGER is in the blue group. Look for three more words that share something with it.
Show the group name
The group is KINDS OF EELS.
Show all four words
CONGER, GULPER, MORAY, RIBBON
Show one word
CRINGY is in the purple group. Look for three more words that share something with it.
Show the group name
The group is ACCESSORIES INSIDE STARTING AND ENDING LETTERS.
Show all four words
CRINGY, OPINE, STIED, THAT'S
All four groups at once
Show all four groups
- BOWLING BALL: A heavy sphere rolled down a lane.
- EYE: The eyeball is a sphere.
- MOON: Earth's natural satellite is nearly a perfect sphere.
- ORANGE: This citrus fruit is a sphere.
- CAKE DONUT: Cake and donut combined in one pastry name.
- CANDY CORN: Candy plus corn, though it is a Halloween sweet.
- CHERRY TOMATO: Cherry plus tomato in one small produce name.
- PIZZA PIE: Pizza plus pie, a common nickname.
- CONGER: A large marine eel found in the ocean.
- GULPER: A deep-sea eel with a huge mouth.
- MORAY: A reef eel with a toothy gape.
- RIBBON: A slender, colorful eel named for its shape.
Purple group explained
- CRINGY: C-RING-Y has a ring hidden inside.
- OPINE: O-PIN-E has a pin hidden inside.
- STIED: S-TIE-D has a tie hidden inside.
- THAT'S: T-HAT-'S has a hat hidden inside.
What does GULPER mean?
A deep-sea eel with an enormous mouth and a whip-like tail, also called the pelican eel. It lives in dark ocean depths and swallows prey much larger than its slim body suggests.
What does STIED mean?
An old past-tense form of the verb 'sty', meaning to keep or lodge in a pigsty, or in older usage to climb or ascend. It is rarely seen outside word games.
Recent Connections puzzles
| Date | Puzzle | Purple group |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | #1180 | SPREADSHEET FUNCTIONS |
| Sep 2 | #1179 | ___ DOGS (THAT AREN'T DOGS) |
| Sep 1 | #1178 | STARTING WITH WORDS OF INTENTION |
| Aug 31 | #1177 | ___ BOWL |
| Aug 30 | #1176 | WORDS ON AN OLD WEST WANTED POSTER |
| Aug 29 | #1175 | STARTING WITH FIGURES FROM GREEK MYTH |
| Aug 28 | #1174 | TOP OF THE ___ |
About Connections
Connections is a daily New York Times puzzle where you sort 16 words into four groups of four. Groups are colour-coded from yellow, the most direct, to purple, which usually relies on wordplay. You can make four mistakes. Looking back at past puzzles is one of the best ways to learn the kinds of tricks the editors like to use.
Other puzzles on Sep 4
Connections #1181 questions
What were the Connections answers on September 4, 2026?
SPHERICAL THINGS: BOWLING BALL, EYE, MOON, ORANGE. FOOD WHOSE NAME IS TWO FOODS: CAKE DONUT, CANDY CORN, CHERRY TOMATO, PIZZA PIE. KINDS OF EELS: CONGER, GULPER, MORAY, RIBBON. ACCESSORIES INSIDE STARTING AND ENDING LETTERS: CRINGY, OPINE, STIED, THAT'S.
What was the purple group in Connections #1181?
ACCESSORIES INSIDE STARTING AND ENDING LETTERS: CRINGY, OPINE, STIED, THAT'S.
What made Connections #1181 tricky?
Several food items are round, especially a citrus fruit and a small tomato, which tempts you to put them with the round objects.