# Connections #1191: the waterbird trap

> Monday's puzzle hid a duck among the songbirds and a whole lawn inside four plain words.
- Title: Connections #1191: the waterbird trap · TechRadar | Shortify
- Summary: Monday's puzzle hid a duck among the songbirds and a whole lawn inside four plain words. When a bird category shows up in Connections, check whether the…
- Keywords: connections, nyt games, word games, puzzle hints, wordplay, technology, 1191, waterbird, trap, TechRadar
- Source: TechRadar — https://techradar.com/gaming/nyt-connections-today-answers-hints-14-september-2026
- Published: 2026-09-13T23:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: connections, nyt games, word games, puzzle hints, wordplay, technology
## Monday's grid, all sixteen
Game #1191 opens with STRAW, CRAB, COOT, LEMON, BLUE, CANARY, TEAL, RAT, LOON, BAG, WHEAT, CUTLERY, SNITCH, GOOSE, STIRRER, STOOLIE.
## The four soft clues
Before any answers: yellow is aquatic fowl, green is tell-tale, blue is disposable things, purple asks you to add a green word.

> PURPLE: Add a green word
## Category names, no words yet
Step two gives the headings only. WATERBIRDS, INFORMANT, COMMON SINGLE-USE PLASTIC ITEMS, and ____GRASS.
## Yellow: waterbirds
COOT, GOOSE, LOON and TEAL. Teal is the one that hides, because most people file it as a color before they file it as a duck.

> I got there eventually though, after remembering that TEAL was a type of duck.
## Green and blue fall fast
Informant takes CANARY, RAT, SNITCH and STOOLIE. Single-use plastic takes BAG, CUTLERY, STIRRER and STRAW, all things a coffee shop hands you.
## Purple was the easy one
BLUE, CRAB, LEMON and WHEAT all take GRASS. The writer rated the whole game hard at three mistakes, then admitted purple looked simplest in hindsight.

> purple seemed the easiest of the lot
## Why the birds bite
CANARY sits in two categories at once, bird and snitch, so the grid baits you into a wrong group before you spot the water. Watch for overlaps like that.

> watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers
## Key takeaway

When a bird category shows up in Connections, check whether the trick is the type of bird, not the bird itself.