It’s triple digits time! The word-matching game has hit puzzle number 100. Whether you’re finishing your 100th or just joining us for the first time, read on—I’ve got the Connections answer for Tuesday, September 19, 2023. I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 19, NYT Connections #100! Scroll to the end if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game.
By the way, if you want an easy way to come back to our Connections hints every day, bookmark this page. You can also find our past hints there as well, in case you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.
How to play Connections
I have a full guide to playing Connections, but here’s a refresher on the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Crossword app. You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with one word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often they are all the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there is wordplay involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists: bucket list, guest list, and so on).
Select four items and hit the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you’ll get a chance to try again.
You win when you’ve correctly identified all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to win Connections
The most important thing to know to win Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle seemed to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only those four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to have no connection to the others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be on to something. When I solved that one, I ended up googling whether there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes, either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is, obviously, to read a few helpful hints. Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Connections answers. And further down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need!
Does today’s Connections game require any special knowledge?
Everything is pretty straightforward today. Familiarity with a certain Ernest Borgnine movie may help you recognize one of the groups, but it’s not required.
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
- Yellow category – If you can read this, the answer is all around you.
- Green category – Well dressed.
- Blue category – This is Connections, after all.
- Purple category – Downright filthy.
Does today’s Connections game involve any wordplay?
There’s one fill-in-the-blank category. Everything else is based on meaning.
Ready to hear the answers? Keep scrolling if you want a little more help.
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Connections puzzle!
We’re about to give away some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want the whole thing spoiled. (The full solution is a bit further down.)
What are the ambiguous words in today’s Connections?
- A LINK can join two concepts, or two web pages. Or it can be part of a chain, or a character in a Zelda video game. Today it’s the first of these, the more abstract meaning.
- LAUNDRY is not in the same group as any of the clothing-related words today.
- MARTINIs come in many types: shaken, stirred, dirty, extra dry.
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
- Yellow: WEB BROWSER-RELATED
- Green: SHIRT FEATURES
- Blue: CONNECTION
- Purple: DIRTY ____
DOUBLE BEWARE: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all away below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow grouping is considered to be the most straightforward. The theme for today’s yellow group is WEB BROWSER-RELATED and the words are: BOOKMARK, HISTORY, TAB, WINDOW.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green grouping is supposed to be the second-easiest. The theme for today’s green category is SHIRT FEATURES and the words are: BUTTON, COLLAR, CUFF, POCKET.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is CONNECTION and the words are: BOND, LINK, RELATION, TIE.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple grouping is considered to be the hardest. The theme for today’s purple category is DIRTY ____ and the words are: DOZEN, JOKE, LAUNDRY, MARTINI.
How I solved today’s Connections
At first glance I saw plenty of pairs, many of them menswear related: CUFF and LINK. BOND and MARTINI. TAB and COLLAR. But where are the four-item groups?
I started with one of the words that didn’t seem to match anything: BOOKMARK. When I thought of browser bookmarks, I realized that TAB and HISTORY could join it to describe the untold number of web pages I work through in a day. WINDOW is slightly off-topic, but still relates to a browser, so I submitted that grouping, and got a hit.
Next, what could BOND be if not James Bond? Why, it could be a RELATION or LINK or TIE. I got a hit with that grouping, too.
With TAB and TIE gone, how many clothing-related words are left? Just four: CUFF, COLLAR, POCKET, BUTTON. Which leaves MARTINI, LAUNDRY, and JOKE, all things that can be dry. I submitted that grouping, unsure why DOZEN would fit with them. Turns out it’s things that are dirty, not things that are dry. Hey, I was close.
Connections Puzzle #100 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪
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