# Connections hints for Sept. 14: birds, snitches, grass

> Sixteen word meanings for the Sept. 14 Connections puzzle, laid out without giving away a single answer.
- Title: Connections hints for Sept. 14: birds, snitches, grass
- Summary: Sixteen word meanings for the Sept. 14 Connections puzzle, laid out without giving away a single answer. When half the words on the board have nothing to do…
- Keywords: connections, puzzles, word games, nyt, hints, technology, culture, Sept, birds, snitches, grass, Mashable
- Source: Mashable — https://mashable.com/entertainment/nyt-connections-hints-meanings-september-14-2026
- Author: Mashable Team
- Published: 2026-09-14T02:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: connections, puzzles, word games, nyt, hints, technology, culture
## Meanings, not spoilers
Mashable lays out what each of the 16 words means for the Sept. 14, 2026 board. No groups, no answers, just definitions you can work with.

> We've got what you need to understand the clues for today's puzzle without spoiling any of the answers.
## Unrelated is the hint
When a word carries two meanings that share nothing, that gap is doing work. Connections leans on words inside words and visual tricks.

> sometimes learning that many of the words have completely unrelated meanings is a clue in and of itself
## Four actual birds
Coot is a duck lookalike. Goose sits between duck and swan. Loon dives with sharp red eyes. Teal is a small European dabbling duck.

> Loon meaning: Large diving birds with sharp red eyes.
## Four words for informant
Canary is a finch or someone talking to police. Rat is a rodent or a betrayer. Snitch is a tattletale. Stoolie is short for stool pigeon.

> Stoolie meaning: Slang for stoole pigeon. A bird that's used to lure other birds into a trap.
## Things on a table
Bag holds stuff. Cutlery means edged cutting tools. Stirrer is the long-stemmed utensil for drinks. Straw is the tube you sip through.
## Every one of these is grass
Blue is a sky hue or pasture grass. Crab is a crustacean or invasive grass. Lemon is a fruit or a southern Indian grass. Wheat is grain or feed grass.

> Crab meaning: A decapod crustacean or a type of invasive grass species.
## Key takeaway

When half the words on the board have nothing to do with each other, that spread is the clue.