Connections Hint
Puzzle #1204 · September 27, 2026

NYT Connections Hints for September 27, 2026

Start with the spoiler-free hints. Go deeper only when you need to. Reveal answers on your own terms.

Sunday, September 27, 2026
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Today’s 16 Puzzle Words
Tap any word to see how it’s used in this puzzle
CARRIERHOMINGBOOTHCLAYBRONZEWU-TANGPLASTERPROVIDERCHAIRBBQINGLOHANSTOOLMARBLEOPERATORBANQUETTENETWORK

Spoiler-Free Hints

Three levels — warmer as you read down
i Ultra safe

A direction for each group — no names given.

  • Something solid and tangible ties these four together — think with your hands.
  • Everyday objects that fill ordinary rooms — easily ignored, hiding in plain sight.
  • Four abstract ideas about connection — nothing here can be touched.
  • An unexpected bond runs through these — their meanings offer no clue.
ii Warmer

What kind of thinking each group asks for.

  • The domain is visual art — the substances a maker forms into a figure or a cast.
  • Think of the kind of furniture found in a place that serves meals and drinks.
  • The domain is the industry that keeps phones, data and broadcasts connected.
  • The answer hides something historical, and it lives in sound rather than spelling.
iii Mild spoilers

Pointed nudges on the words built to fool you.

  • Four raw substances an artist shapes, pours or carves into three-dimensional work.
  • All four are seats in a dining room, distinguished only by their shape and setting.
  • Four interchangeable corporate terms for the companies that supply phone or internet service.
  • Each word ends with a syllable that sounds like the name of a historic Chinese dynasty — say them aloud.

Today’s Trap Words

The words engineered to mislead

Every Connections board plants a few decoys. Here are today’s, and why they pull you the wrong way.

BOOTH

Reads instantly as a phone booth, tugging solvers toward the communications cluster. It actually belongs with ordinary furniture.

WU-TANG

Screams pop-culture music trivia, sending solvers hunting for other band or artist names instead of listening to the syllables.

LOHAN

Looks like a celebrity surname meant to pair with the rap group, but the famous actress is the decoy — the final syllable is the real clue.

CARRIER

Pairs seductively with HOMING to suggest a bird-themed group that does not exist. The two words never belong together.

Connections Answers — September 27, 2026

Tap any group to reveal it
Answers are hidden — tap a group to peek, or reveal all at once.
SCULPTURE MEDIA
MARBLE · CLAY · BRONZE · PLASTER
Tap to reveal
RESTAURANT SEATING OPTIONS
BOOTH · STOOL · BANQUETTE · CHAIR
Tap to reveal
TELECOM
CARRIER · OPERATOR · NETWORK · PROVIDER
Tap to reveal
ENDING IN CHINESE DYNASTIES
WU-TANG · HOMING · BBQING · LOHAN
Tap to reveal
SEE ALSO:
NYT Wordle hints for September 27, 2026 NYT Pips hints for September 27, 2026 NYT Strands hints for September 27, 2026

Category Breakdown — Puzzle #1204

Why each group works — not just what it is

SCULPTURE MEDIA

BRONZE, CLAY, MARBLE and PLASTER are all substances a sculptor shapes, casts or carves. Straightforward once you notice the words are raw materials rather than finished objects.

RESTAURANT SEATING OPTIONS

BANQUETTE, BOOTH, CHAIR and STOOL are all places a diner can park themselves. The set is united by function, not shape, which keeps it easy but not trivial.

TELECOM

CARRIER, NETWORK, OPERATOR and PROVIDER all describe companies or systems that keep phones and data moving. Four loose synonyms that feel corporate and interchangeable.

ENDING IN CHINESE DYNASTIES

BBQING, HOMING, LOHAN and WU-TANG each end in a syllable that sounds like a Chinese dynasty: Qing, Ming, Han and Tang. Nothing about the written words gives it away.

Word Guide — All 16 Puzzle Words

What each word means in this puzzle
CARRIER
A business that transmits signals or hauls freight, and more generally anything that bears a load. Also used of pigeons bred to fly long distances.
HOMING
The act of returning to a fixed point, whether a pigeon, a missile or a signal. Pronounced carefully, the ending points somewhere unexpected.
BOOTH
A seat walled in on several sides, popular in diners for privacy. The same word names small enclosed stalls, from voting to phone calls.
CLAY
Fine-grained earth that turns soft and moldable when wet and hardens when fired. It is the most forgiving medium for building a figure by hand.
BRONZE
A metal made mostly of copper with tin added, cast for centuries into statues, medals and bells. It darkens over time into a warm patina.
WU-TANG
Most familiar as the name of a celebrated hip-hop collective, but here the music is a red herring — listen to the second half and something Chinese and ancient surfaces.
PLASTER
A powdery substance mixed with water into a paste that sets hard. Artists pour it into molds or spread it for quick studies, and it also patches walls.
PROVIDER
A business that supplies something customers need, especially internet or mobile service. The word sounds corporate and vague, which is exactly how it blends in.
CHAIR
A single seat with a back and legs, the most ordinary furniture in any room. It doubles as a verb meaning to lead a meeting or committee.
BBQING
Cooking meat slowly over smoke and low heat, and the backyard gathering built around it. Spoken aloud, the ending hides a much older reference.
LOHAN
A surname carried by a famous actress, and also a term in Buddhist tradition for a person who has reached enlightenment. The last syllable is the one that counts.
STOOL
A backless seat for one, usually perched at a counter or bar. In medicine, the word describes a bodily sample instead.
MARBLE
A veined stone that takes a high polish and holds fine detail, long favored by carvers for figures and monuments.
OPERATOR
A person who runs a machine or a switchboard, or a company that runs a service. Once it meant the human voice connecting your call.
BANQUETTE
A long upholstered bench fixed against a wall, a fixture of cozy cafes and dining rooms. It seats several people side by side in a row.
NETWORK
A web of linked people, machines or broadcast stations. Phone and internet companies use the term for the infrastructure that carries traffic.

Puzzle Design Analysis

Why the editor constructed it this way

Wyna Liu builds this board on ordinary language, then hides the payoff in pronunciation: four everyday gerunds and proper nouns that only crack open when spoken. The corporate cluster is a deliberate decoy of interchangeable synonyms, while BOOTH and WU-TANG pull solvers toward phones and hip-hop. Notably, almost no words straddle two groups — the difficulty is acoustic, not semantic.

Difficulty & Analysis

How tough today’s board really plays
Overall
6.8/10
Most deceptive
WU-TANG

a textbook decoy

Hardest group
Dynasty homophones

requires lateral thinking

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