MEDIUMPuzzle #93

NYT Connections Hints & Answers (#93) – Today's Puzzle, Sep 12

TODAY'S NYT CONNECTIONS TIP

“Start by identifying HOT DRINKS (CHAI, COCOA...) to narrow down the remaining 16-word grid!”

Written by Naveed Ahmed · Updated: September 12, 2023

← Yesterday's Connections Hint (#92, Sep 11)

Connections Hint for Each Word Today

Tap any word to see its Connections hint — what it means in today's puzzle, no spoilers.

CHAI hint: In the context of hot drinks, "CHAI" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

COCOA hint: In the context of hot drinks, "COCOA" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

COFFEE hint: In the context of hot drinks, "COFFEE" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

TEA hint: In the context of hot drinks, "TEA" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

BUZZ hint: In the context of animal sounds, "BUZZ" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

CLUCK hint: In the context of animal sounds, "CLUCK" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

MEOW hint: In the context of animal sounds, "MEOW" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

OINK hint: In the context of animal sounds, "OINK" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

BARK hint: In the context of tree features, "BARK" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

BRANCH hint: In the context of tree features, "BRANCH" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

ROOT hint: In the context of tree features, "ROOT" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

TRUNK hint: In the context of tree features, "TRUNK" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

DIRT hint: In this wordplay group, "DIRT" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

DISH hint: In this wordplay group, "DISH" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

SCOOP hint: In this wordplay group, "SCOOP" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

SKINNY hint: In this wordplay group, "SKINNY" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

Hints uncovered0 / 16

Today's NYT Connections Hints for All Four Categories

Reveal progressively: see the category hint first, then the group name, then individual words — stop whenever you have enough.

🟡 Straightforward

🟢 Medium

🔵 Hard

🟣 Tricky

⚠️Traps & Misdirects Hints for Today’s Connections Puzzle

Today’s Connections puzzle includes words intentionally placed to misdirect you into wrong groups. These traps and misdirects hints reveal which words are designed to mislead, so you don’t burn your 4 allowed mistakes on deliberate decoys.

BUZZ, CLUCK, MEOW, OINK

In today's medium category (ANIMAL SOUNDS), pay close attention to subtle shifts in meaning. Words like BUZZ, CLUCK, MEOW, OINK may appear to belong to other everyday contexts, but their true connection lies in their shared relationship to ANIMAL SOUNDS.

DIRT, DISH, SCOOP, SKINNY

The trickiest grouping today is "INSIDE INFO". Words such as DIRT, DISH, SCOOP, SKINNY are designed as intentional misdirects. Look past their obvious surface meanings for hidden wordplay or secondary definitions.

BARK, BRANCH, ROOT, TRUNK

Be careful with overlap between BARK, BRANCH, ROOT, TRUNK and other categories on the board. The editor often places decoy pairings in "TREE FEATURES" to trap unsuspecting players into using up their 4 allowed mistakes.

Today's NYT Connections Answers

Click to reveal the complete solution — all four categories.

Category: HOT DRINKS (Straightforward) — Answers: CHAI, COCOA, COFFEE, TEA

Category: ANIMAL SOUNDS (Medium) — Answers: BUZZ, CLUCK, MEOW, OINK

Category: TREE FEATURES (Hard) — Answers: BARK, BRANCH, ROOT, TRUNK

Category: INSIDE INFO (Tricky) — Answers: DIRT, DISH, SCOOP, SKINNY

Today's NYT Connections Answers Explained

HOT DRINKS

The words CHAI, COCOA, COFFEE, TEA all share a unique thematic connection as hot drinks.

CHAI

In the context of hot drinks, "CHAI" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

COCOA

In the context of hot drinks, "COCOA" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

COFFEE

In the context of hot drinks, "COFFEE" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

TEA

In the context of hot drinks, "TEA" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

ANIMAL SOUNDS

The words BUZZ, CLUCK, MEOW, OINK all share a unique thematic connection as animal sounds.

BUZZ

In the context of animal sounds, "BUZZ" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

CLUCK

In the context of animal sounds, "CLUCK" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

MEOW

In the context of animal sounds, "MEOW" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

OINK

In the context of animal sounds, "OINK" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

TREE FEATURES

The words BARK, BRANCH, ROOT, TRUNK all share a unique thematic connection as tree features.

BARK

In the context of tree features, "BARK" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

BRANCH

In the context of tree features, "BRANCH" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

ROOT

In the context of tree features, "ROOT" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

TRUNK

In the context of tree features, "TRUNK" stands out as a clear, defining example within this group.

INSIDE INFO

The words DIRT, DISH, SCOOP, SKINNY all share a unique thematic connection as inside info.

DIRT

In this wordplay group, "DIRT" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

DISH

In this wordplay group, "DISH" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

SCOOP

In this wordplay group, "SCOOP" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

SKINNY

In this wordplay group, "SKINNY" fulfills the structural letter condition (such as anagrams, hidden words, or double letters).

What Makes Today’s NYT Connections Puzzle Tricky?

BUZZ, CLUCK, MEOW, OINK sit alongside BARK, BRANCH, ROOT, TRUNK and phrases like DIRT, DISH, SCOOP, SKINNY — a collision of distinct word groups and subtle misdirects.

The editor's sharpest trick is hiding a word-within-a-word: some of the multi-word phrases are not grouped by their topic but by what their first word secretly means.

How to Use Connections Hints

Everyone playing NYT Connections puzzle gets stuck at a different point. Some players can’t figure out a single word. Others have three groups solved and can’t find the fourth. Where you are stuck determines which connection hint you need.

A word in the puzzle has an unfamiliar meaning

Some words in today’s NYT Connections puzzle are uncommon. Connections editor Wyna Liu often uses words with specific or less familiar meanings, particularly in the green, blue, and purple categories. If you don’t know what a word means, you cannot reliably place it in a group.

Recommendation: Use the Word Hint. It tells you what the word means in the context of today’s puzzle. Tap any word directly on the board above to see its hint.

No groups are forming after reading all sixteen words

The connection between words is often not obvious from their meanings alone — categories are built around themes that require a specific angle to see. These category-level clues are the most useful hints.

Recommendation: Use the Category Hint. It points you toward the theme of a category without revealing the category name or which words belong to it. Tap “Yellow Category Hint” first.

You have a possible group but aren’t ready to guess

You think four words belong together but you’re not confident enough to guess. If you’re unsure, don’t guess yet — a wrong guess costs you one of your four mistakes.

Recommendation: Use the Category Name. It reveals the exact name of the category without showing you which words belong to it.

One word seems to fit more than one group

You have built a group of four words but one word in it could also fit somewhere else. NYT Connections editor Wyna Liu deliberately places misleading words on the board.

Recommendation: Use the Traps and Misdirects Hints. It identifies the specific misleading words in today’s puzzle and explains why they don’t belong where you think they do.

You know the category but can’t find all four words

You have identified the theme of a category but can’t find all four words that belong to it.

Recommendation: Use the Word Reveal. It uncovers one masked word at a time without revealing the full group. This is the most precise connection hint available.

One mistake left with two groups unsolved

You have one mistake remaining and two groups unsolved. If you guess wrong here, the game ends and NYT reveals all the answers automatically.

Recommendation: Do not guess yet. Use the Category Name for both remaining groups first. If that is still not enough, tap “Category Words” and reveal one word at a time.

You want today’s answers without solving the puzzle

Use the Answers section. It shows all four category names and the four words that belong to each one.

Recommendation: Go to the Answers section.

The puzzle is over but a category still doesn’t make sense

You can see the four groups and their words but the connection between them isn’t clear.

Recommendation: Use the Answer Explanation. It tells you exactly what connects the words in each category and why each individual word belongs there.

Browse Past Puzzles

View answers and hints for every previous NYT Connections puzzle.

Puzzle Archive →

Frequently Asked Questions

NYT Connections is a daily word puzzle by The New York Times where you group 16 words into 4 categories of 4 words each. Each category has a hidden theme color-coded by difficulty.

Yellow is the most straightforward category, Green is medium difficulty, Blue is harder, and Purple contains the trickiest, most misleading groupings.

Yes, NYT Connections is free to play once per day on the New York Times Games website.

A new NYT Connections puzzle releases every day at midnight in your local time zone (12:00 AM ET for US Eastern Time).

Naveed Ahmed

@NaveedAhmedDev•@naveedcolab

Lead Writer & Connections Puzzle Analyst

Naveed is a dedicated puzzle strategist and word game analyst who breaks down daily NYT Connections categories, uncovers tricky wordplay patterns, and delivers progressive, spoiler-free clues to help thousands of players solve every puzzle.