NYT Connections Answer Today (#1202) – 25 Sep 2026 Solution & Hints
- About Today’s Connections
- The 16 Words
- Definitions of the 16 Words
- General Hints
- Category Titles
- One Word per Category
- Complete Solution (Click to Reveal)
About Today’s Connections
Puzzle #1202 (published 25 Sep 2026). Sort 16 words into four groups of four, based on a hidden connection. Some words look like they belong together and don’t — that’s by design.
The 16 Words
Here are the 16 words, sorted alphabetically to avoid spoilers:
- Aykroyd
- Border
- Bougie
- Classy
- Escapement
- Fancy
- Foamily
- Genius
- Levy
- Pendulum
- Posh
- Ratchet
- Rather
- Savage
- Spring
- Swank
Definitions of the 16 Words
| Aykroyd | The surname of a Canadian actor and comedian best known as an original Saturday Night Live cast member and Ghostbusters co-star. |
| Border | A line separating two regions or territories, or a decorative edge around something. |
| Bougie | A slang term for something pretentiously upscale or trying hard to look expensive. |
| Classy | Having a stylish, elegant, or refined quality. |
| Escapement | The mechanism in a mechanical clock that releases the gear train in small, regular steps to keep time. |
| Fancy | Decorative, elaborate, or of noticeably higher quality than the everyday version. |
| Foamily | Not a standard dictionary word — a made-up term combining ‘foam’ with a familiar suffix. |
| Genius | Exceptional intellectual or creative ability, or a person who possesses it. |
| Levy | The surname of a Canadian actor and writer known for co-creating and starring in a beloved sitcom about a wealthy family losing their fortune. |
| Pendulum | A weighted rod that swings back and forth at a steady rate, used to regulate a clock’s timing. |
| Posh | Stylish and associated with wealth or high social status, often with a hint of exclusivity. |
| Ratchet | A toothed bar or wheel that allows motion in only one direction, used to advance clock gears. |
| Rather | The surname of a veteran American broadcast journalist who anchored a major network’s evening news for decades. |
| Savage | The surname of an American columnist and podcaster known for a long-running relationship and sex advice column. |
| Spring | A coiled piece of metal that stores tension and slowly releases it to power a mechanism. |
| Swank | Showy, stylish elegance, especially the kind meant to impress onlookers. |
General Hints
- One group is all about looking expensively stylish, whether or not the price tag agrees.
- One group hides inside the workings of a ticking timepiece, not on its face.
- One group shares first names with several well-known men, but only the last names made the cut.
- One group hides a legitimate scientific classification level if you peel back a single letter.
Category Titles
- 🟨 Yellow: Words for Fancy/Luxe
- 🟩 Green: Parts of a Mechanical Clock
- 🟦 Blue: Famous Dans
- 🟪 Purple: Taxonomic Ranks Plus a Letter
One Word per Category
- 🟨 Yellow: Bougie
- 🟩 Green: Escapement
- 🟦 Blue: Aykroyd
- 🟪 Purple: Border
Complete Solution
The full breakdown is below — tap to reveal all four groups:
[CLICK TO REVEAL: Full Solution]
NYT Connections #1202 — Full Groups
- 🟨 Yellow: Words for Fancy/Luxe → BOUGIE, FANCY, POSH, SWANK
- 🟩 Green: Parts of a Mechanical Clock → ESCAPEMENT, PENDULUM, RATCHET, SPRING
- 🟦 Blue: Famous Dans → AYKROYD, LEVY, RATHER, SAVAGE
- 🟪 Purple: Taxonomic Ranks Plus a Letter → BORDER, CLASSY, FOAMILY, GENIUS
The purple group is the sneaky one — each word looks like a plain English adjective or noun until you notice a single letter has been slipped in, quietly disguising a genuine taxonomic rank.
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