Play Connections #1186
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 #1186 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
These words describe things that leave you scratching your head.
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Green group hintGentle hint
Each one opens with a piece that signals something on a tiny scale.
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Blue group hintHelpful hint
These titles might have you sleeping with the lights on.
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Purple group hintHelpful hint
Each one can come before a word for power or strength to make a common phrase.
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Where's the trap?Strong hint
The long, Greek-sounding fear-of-spiders title looks like it belongs with the science-flavored words that begin with a tiny-scale piece.
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The four group namesStrong hint
- HARD TO UNDERSTAND
- WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES
- HORROR MOVIES
- WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"
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Difficulty: Medium. The first two groups are fairly easy to spot, but a single letter and a couple of tiny everyday words make the last two groups trickier to pin down.
Connections #1186 answers
Spoiler zone. Below are all four groups for September 9, 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
BEWILDERING is in the yellow group. Look for three more words that share something with it.
Show the group name
The group is HARD TO UNDERSTAND.
Show all four words
BEWILDERING, ESOTERIC, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, OPAQUE
Show one word
MICROBREWERY is in the green group. Look for three more words that share something with it.
Show the group name
The group is WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES.
Show all four words
MICROBREWERY, MINIVAN, NANOTECHNOLOGY, PICOSECOND
Show one word
ARACHNOPHOBIA is in the blue group. Look for three more words that share something with it.
Show the group name
The group is HORROR MOVIES.
Show all four words
ARACHNOPHOBIA, HALLOWEEN, IT, SAW
Show one word
BRUTE is in the purple group. Look for three more words that share something with it.
Show the group name
The group is WORDS BEFORE "FORCE".
Show all four words
BRUTE, ELECTROMAGNETIC, G, TASK
All four groups at once
Show all four groups
- BEWILDERING: Confusing and puzzling, leaving you baffled
- ESOTERIC: Understood only by a small group of experts
- INCOMPREHENSIBLE: Impossible to grasp or make sense of
- OPAQUE: Unclear in meaning, like something you can't see through
- MICROBREWERY: Micro- means tiny; a small-batch beer maker
- MINIVAN: Mini- means small; a compact family vehicle
- NANOTECHNOLOGY: Nano- means extremely tiny; tech at molecular scale
- PICOSECOND: Pico- means a trillionth; an incredibly brief moment
- ARACHNOPHOBIA: 1990 comedy-horror film about deadly spiders
- HALLOWEEN: 1978 slasher classic featuring Michael Myers
- IT: Stephen King adaptation featuring Pennywise the clown
- SAW: 2004 horror film that launched a gruesome franchise
Purple group explained
- BRUTE: Brute force means raw, unsubtle strength
- ELECTROMAGNETIC: Electromagnetic force is one of physics' fundamental forces
- G: G-force is acceleration felt as extra weight
- TASK: A task force is a team assembled for a goal
What does ESOTERIC mean?
Understood or appreciated by only a small group with specialized knowledge or interest, so it seems obscure to everyone else. It fits the group of words meaning hard to understand.
What does PICOSECOND mean?
A unit of time equal to one trillionth of a second. It is used in physics and computing for extremely fast events. Its prefix 'pico' means tiny, which fits the small-prefix group.
Recent Connections puzzles
| Date | Puzzle | Purple group |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 8 | #1185 | CANDY BARS PLUS A LETTER |
| Sep 7 | #1184 | STARTING WITH DISNEY CHARACTERS |
| Sep 6 | #1183 | ENDING WITH WAYS TO CARVE A SURFACE |
| Sep 5 | #1182 | DESSERTS MINUS LAST LETTER |
| Sep 4 | #1181 | ACCESSORIES INSIDE STARTING AND ENDING LETTERS |
| Sep 3 | #1180 | SPREADSHEET FUNCTIONS |
| Sep 2 | #1179 | ___ DOGS (THAT AREN'T DOGS) |
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 9
Connections #1186 questions
What were the Connections answers on September 9, 2026?
HARD TO UNDERSTAND: BEWILDERING, ESOTERIC, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, OPAQUE. WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES: MICROBREWERY, MINIVAN, NANOTECHNOLOGY, PICOSECOND. HORROR MOVIES: ARACHNOPHOBIA, HALLOWEEN, IT, SAW. WORDS BEFORE "FORCE": BRUTE, ELECTROMAGNETIC, G, TASK.
What was the purple group in Connections #1186?
WORDS BEFORE "FORCE": BRUTE, ELECTROMAGNETIC, G, TASK.
What made Connections #1186 tricky?
The long, Greek-sounding fear-of-spiders title looks like it belongs with the science-flavored words that begin with a tiny-scale piece.