NYT Connections Hints, Answers & Clues -
NYT Connections #1190 Tip
Three cartoon characters are hiding in a grid full of presidential surnames.
What Makes NYT Connections #1190 Tricky?
GARFIELD, DROOPY, ODIE, and HEATHCLIFF all read as cartoon characters, CLEVELAND and MADISON feel like cities, and FLACCID and SLACK sit in a completely different register — this grid collides pop culture, geography, politics, and body-language vocabulary in a way that makes every instinct feel slightly wrong.
The editor's main trick is that several words are famous as one thing — a cartoon cat, a British moor villain, a breakfast dish — but the puzzle is using a completely different identity buried inside or alongside each word.
This is a hard puzzle: one group is almost a giveaway once you hear the concept, one requires you to say words aloud slowly, and two demand that you abandon your first instinct entirely and look at the words from a different angle.
Connections Hints for Every Word in the September 13, 2026 Puzzle
PORRIDGE
Connections hint for PORRIDGE
A British breakfast dish of boiled oats — but look past the bowl and read the word itself carefully for something hidden inside it.
GARFIELD
Connections hint for GARFIELD
Yes, the cartoon cat — and also the 20th U.S. President, James A. Garfield, assassinated in 1881. The puzzle is using the presidential identity here.
DROOPY
Connections hint for DROOPY
The slow-talking, sad-eyed MGM cartoon dog — but in this puzzle the word describes something physically limp or lacking firmness, not the character.
EMPTY
Connections hint for EMPTY
Say it aloud as two letters: M and T. That is the trick — the word sounds like the names of two letters of the alphabet spoken together.
HEATHCLIFF
Connections hint for HEATHCLIFF
The brooding anti-hero of Wuthering Heights — and also a cartoon alley cat — but the puzzle is using neither of those identities. Read the word itself for something hidden at the end.
EXCESS
Connections hint for EXCESS
Say it aloud slowly: X and S. The word sounds like two letter names spoken in sequence, which is what this category is about.
GRANT
Connections hint for GRANT
Ulysses S. Grant, 18th U.S. President and Civil War general — the presidential reading is what matters here, not the verb meaning to give.
SLACK
Connections hint for SLACK
Lacking tension or firmness — a slack rope, a slack grip. Straightforwardly in the limp/droopy family of words.
ODIE
Connections hint for ODIE
Garfield the cat's cheerful, dim companion in the comic strip — but say the word aloud: O and D. It sounds like two letter names, which is the category it belongs to.
PARAMOUNT
Connections hint for PARAMOUNT
A major Hollywood studio — but read the end of the word: MOUNT. An elevated landform is hiding at the tail of this word.
SAGGING
Connections hint for SAGGING
Drooping downward under weight or without support — a sagging shelf, sagging skin. Firmly in the lacking-firmness group.
MADISON
Connections hint for MADISON
James Madison, 4th U.S. President and architect of the Constitution — also a city in Wisconsin, but the presidential identity is what the puzzle uses.
FLACCID
Connections hint for FLACCID
Soft and lacking firmness — the most clinical-sounding word in the limp/droopy group, but it belongs squarely there.
KEWPIE
Connections hint for KEWPIE
A brand of chubby-cheeked doll — say it aloud: Q and P. The word sounds like two letter names spoken together.
CLEVELAND
Connections hint for CLEVELAND
Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th U.S. President — the only person to serve two non-consecutive terms. Also a city in Ohio, but the puzzle wants the president.
DOUBLESPEAK
Connections hint for DOUBLESPEAK
Deliberately obscure or misleading language — but read the end: PEAK. A mountain peak is an elevated landform hiding at the end of this word.
Traps & Misdirects Hints for NYT Connections Puzzle (#1190)
GARFIELD is the lasagna-loving orange cat, DROOPY is the sad-faced MGM dog, ODIE is Garfield's dopey canine companion, and HEATHCLIFF is the streetwise alley cat — four cartoon animals in one grid feels like a slam-dunk group. That grouping is wrong. These four words belong to at least three different categories, and treating them as a cartoon cluster will cost you a mistake.
DROOPY, SAGGING, and SLACK all describe something hanging limply or without tension — they feel like three-quarters of the same group. They are, but the trap is assuming FLACCID is not the fourth member and reaching for something else; FLACCID is the word that completes this group, not any of the cartoon or presidential names.
CLEVELAND, MADISON, and GRANT are all U.S. city names — Cleveland, Ohio; Madison, Wisconsin; Grant is common in street and park names — and it is tempting to read them as a geography category. They are not here for geography. All three are also presidential surnames, and the fourth president in this puzzle is hiding behind a much more famous identity.
Connections Hints for September 13, 2026
Yellow Connections Hints
Yellow Category Hint
All four describe something limp, loose, or without tension
Think: Think: slack rope, deflated balloon
Yellow Category Name
LACKING IN FIRMNESS
Yellow Category Words
Reveal word 1
DROOPYReveal word 2
FLACCIDReveal word 3
SAGGINGReveal word 4
SLACKGreen Connections Hints
Green Category Hint
Four surnames that belong to occupants of the White House
Think: Think: one is hiding in plain sight
Green Category Name
U.S. PRESIDENTS
Green Category Words
Reveal word 1
CLEVELANDReveal word 2
GARFIELDReveal word 3
GRANTReveal word 4
MADISONBlue Connections Hints
Blue Category Hint
Each word, spoken aloud, sounds like two alphabet letter names
Think: Think: say them slowly, out loud
Blue Category Name
WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS
Blue Category Words
Reveal word 1
EMPTYReveal word 2
EXCESSReveal word 3
KEWPIEReveal word 4
ODIEPurple Connections Hints
Purple Category Hint
Each longer word has a high-altitude landform buried at its end
Think: Think: summit, ridge, peak, cliff
Purple Category Name
ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS
Purple Category Words
Reveal word 1
DOUBLESPEAKReveal word 2
HEATHCLIFFReveal word 3
PARAMOUNTReveal word 4
PORRIDGENYT Connections Answers for September 13, 2026
NYT Connections Answers Explained: September 13, 2026
LACKING IN FIRMNESS
DROOPY, FLACCID, SAGGING, and SLACK all describe something that lacks tension, rigidity, or support — hanging loosely or going soft. The trap is that DROOPY is also a cartoon character, but here it is purely a physical descriptor.
- DROOPY
- Hanging limply downward — droopy eyelids, droopy ears — the same word as the cartoon dog's name, but used here as a plain adjective meaning lacking firmness.
- FLACCID
- Soft and lacking muscle tone or tension — the most clinical word in the group, often used in medical or anatomical contexts to describe tissue without firmness.
- SAGGING
- Sinking or drooping under weight or gravity — a sagging ceiling, sagging skin — the progressive form emphasising the ongoing loss of support.
- SLACK
- Without tension — a slack rope or slack grip has gone loose and limp, the opposite of taut or firm.
U.S. PRESIDENTS
CLEVELAND, GARFIELD, GRANT, and MADISON are all surnames of U.S. Presidents — the trap is that GARFIELD is far more famous as a cartoon cat and CLEVELAND and MADISON are well-known city names, but all four served in the White House.
- CLEVELAND
- Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th U.S. President — the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms, which is why he counts as both the 22nd and 24th.
- GARFIELD
- James A. Garfield was the 20th U.S. President, who served only a few months before being assassinated in 1881 — his presidential identity is completely overshadowed by the cartoon cat.
- GRANT
- Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th U.S. President and the Union general who won the Civil War — his surname also means to give or allow, but the puzzle uses the presidential reading.
- MADISON
- James Madison was the 4th U.S. President, primary author of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights — also the name of Wisconsin's capital city, which is the surface-level distraction.
WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE TWO LETTERS
EMPTY, EXCESS, KEWPIE, and ODIE each sound exactly like two alphabet letter names spoken aloud in sequence — M-T, X-S, Q-P, and O-D.
- EMPTY
- Say it aloud: emp-tee — that is the letter M followed by the letter T. EMPTY sounds like M-T spoken as a word.
- EXCESS
- Say it aloud: ek-sess — that is the letter X followed by the letter S. EXCESS sounds like X-S spoken as a word.
- KEWPIE
- Say it aloud: kyoo-pee — that is the letter Q followed by the letter P. KEWPIE, the chubby doll brand name, sounds like Q-P spoken as a word.
- ODIE
- Say it aloud: oh-dee — that is the letter O followed by the letter D. ODIE, Garfield's cartoon dog companion, sounds like O-D spoken as a word — which is why it belongs here and not in a cartoon group.
ENDING IN ELEVATED LANDFORMS
DOUBLESPEAK, HEATHCLIFF, PARAMOUNT, and PORRIDGE each end with the name of an elevated landform — PEAK, CLIFF, MOUNT, and RIDGE — hidden inside a longer word.
- DOUBLESPEAK
- Deliberately misleading or obscure language — the word ends in PEAK, a pointed mountain summit, hidden at the tail: double-SPEAK contains PEAK if you read the last four letters.
- HEATHCLIFF
- The brooding anti-hero of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, and also a cartoon alley cat — the word ends in CLIFF, a steep vertical rock face, an elevated landform: heath-CLIFF.
- PARAMOUNT
- Meaning supreme or of highest importance, and also a major Hollywood film studio — the word ends in MOUNT, a mountain or high peak: para-MOUNT.
- PORRIDGE
- The British breakfast of boiled oats — the word ends in RIDGE, a long narrow elevated crest of land: por-RIDGE.
