From Mashable · Mashable Team · · 1m 10s
Today's Connections words, decoded
Four groups hide inside sixteen words, and the definitions alone tell you where the traps are.
In brief
Four groups hide inside sixteen words, and the definitions alone tell you where the traps are. Define every word plainly first, because the odd definitions out are usually the puzzle's real grouping. Originally reported by Mashable.
Hints without the answers
This is the spoiler-free version: meanings for each of today's sixteen words, September 13, 2026. No groups revealed, no grid solved for you.
“We've got what you need to understand the clues for today's puzzle without spoiling any of the answers.”
Definitions are the clue
When a batch of words turn out to have wildly unrelated meanings, that gap is itself the signal. Connections also loves words hidden inside words and visual tricks.
“Sometimes learning that many of the words have completely unrelated meanings is a clue in and of itself.”
Four ways to say limp
Droppy signal means to hang downward. Flaccid is lacking firmness. Sagging drifts down. Slack is simply not tight.
Four presidents, numbered
Cleveland was the 24th president, Garfield the 20th, Grant the 18th, Madison the 4th. Four surnames, four very different eras.
Containers, dolls and doublespeak
Empty contains nothing, excess contains too much. Kewpie is a small chubby doll with a topknot. Doublespeak is deceptive language.
Names that carry baggage
Odie is a gender-neutral name of British origin. Heathcliff is the Wuthering Heights character. Paramount means superior to others, and porridge is boiled grains in milk.
The key point
Define every word plainly first, because the odd definitions out are usually the puzzle's real grouping.
