The NYT Connections hints and answers for September 3, 2026 are here for anyone who has one stubborn group left or wants a small push before using another mistake.
Connections #1180 gives you 16 words to divide into four groups of four. Today’s board covers several very different subjects, which can actually make the puzzle easier once you spot the first category. However, a few individual words can fit more than one possible idea at first glance.
We’ll start with spoiler-free category hints and gradually make them stronger. The complete Connections answers appear in a separate section below, so you can stop as soon as you have enough help.
Connections Hints for September 3
Try these category clues before revealing the groups.
- Yellow hint: Think about something happening in an extremely short amount of time.
- Green hint: These are all specific variations of the same warm color.
- Blue hint: These names should look familiar if you ever played with miniature vehicles.
- Purple hint: Open a spreadsheet and think about common calculations.
The New York Times rates Connections #1180 at 2 out of 5 for difficulty.
If those clues were enough, stop here. The full solutions are next.
Today’s Connections Answers
Those are the four groups for Connections #1180.
| Group | Category | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| 🟨 Yellow | Two Shakes of a Lamb’s Tail | BLINK, FLASH, HEARTBEAT, TRICE |
| 🟩 Green | Shades of Red | CARMINE, CINNABAR, MAROON, VERMILLION |
| 🟦 Blue | Toy Car Brands | HOT WHEELS, MATCHBOX, MICRO MACHINES, TONKA |
| 🟪 Purple | Spreadsheet Functions | AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX, SUM |
The Trickiest Connections Group Today
The yellow group may cause the most trouble because the four words do not look like an obvious set.
BLINK, FLASH, HEARTBEAT, and TRICE all describe or reference something happening very quickly. TRICE is probably the word most likely to slow players down because it is much less common in everyday conversation.
The purple group can also hide in plain sight. AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX, and SUM look like ordinary mathematical terms until you recognize them as spreadsheet functions.
Meanwhile, the toy-car group becomes much easier once HOT WHEELS and MATCHBOX are paired together.
Yesterday’s Connections Answers
Yesterday’s puzzle was Connections #1179 for September 2.
Its categories were:
- Flabbergast
- Things in a violin case
- ___ dogs that are actually dogs
- ___ dogs that are not dogs
That puzzle was rated 3 out of 5 for difficulty, making it slightly tougher than today’s board.
How to Play Connections
Connections presents 16 words or phrases and asks you to divide them into four groups of four.
Every correct group shares one specific connection. However, the game deliberately includes words that could appear to belong together for other reasons.
You can make up to four mistakes before the puzzle ends. The completed categories also use a difficulty color system, with yellow generally representing the most straightforward connection and purple representing the trickiest.
Tips for Solving Connections
Avoid submitting a group just because you found two or three obvious matches. Connections frequently uses those partial matches as traps.
Instead, look for four words that fit one definition cleanly. If you have five possible members of a category, there is probably another connection hiding somewhere.
It can also help to solve the most specialized group first. Brand names, technical terms, titles, or very specific categories often have fewer believable alternatives than broad words.
Check back tomorrow for the next NYT Connections hints and answers.
