# Today's Connections words, decoded

> Four groups hide inside sixteen words, and the definitions alone tell you where the traps are.
- Title: Today's Connections words, decoded · Mashable | Shortify
- Summary: 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…
- Keywords: connections, nyt games, word puzzles, hints, wordplay, technology, culture, Today's, words, decoded, Mashable
- Source: Mashable — https://mashable.com/entertainment/nyt-connections-hints-meanings-september-13-2026
- Author: Mashable Team
- Published: 2026-09-13T02:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: connections, nyt games, word puzzles, hints, wordplay, technology, culture
## 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.
## Key takeaway

Define every word plainly first, because the odd definitions out are usually the puzzle's real grouping.