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Need help with the NYT Connections puzzle for September 8, 2026? Start with the spoiler-free clues below and reveal the complete groups only when you’re ready. The 16 words form four groups of four, as described by Angel Yahir Loredo Lopez, Tyler McDonald, and Ali Emami in their 2024 paper on Connections.
Spoiler-free hints for September 8
Try the clues in order. Stop at any point if you want to keep solving.
- Broad clue: Think about cars, a stage performer’s wardrobe, familiar phrases ending in the same word, and candy bars.
- Category nudge: Two words may first look like animals, but they also name cars. Another set consists of clothing or accessories. For the phrase group, add the same word to the end of each entry.
- Spelling clue: In the last group, each word contains a candy-bar name with one extra letter.
The 16 words
TWIXT, CORVETTE, VIPER, PURPLE, MUSTANG, GLOVES, FIREBIRD, SKORT, BERET, SUSPENDERS, MARSH, DOVES, STRIPES, ARTICHOKE, TAKE TO, SACRED.
Spoiler warning: September 8 answers
The complete category names and answers follow.
CLASSIC AMERICAN PERFORMANCE CARS
- CORVETTE
- VIPER
- MUSTANG
- FIREBIRD
FEATURES OF A MIME COSTUME
- STRIPES
- GLOVES
- BERET
- SUSPENDERS
___ HEART
- PURPLE
- ARTICHOKE
- SACRED
- TAKE TO
CANDY BARS PLUS A LETTER
- SKORT
- DOVES
- MARSH
- TWIXT
Why the groups can be tricky
Cars that can look like animals
VIPER and FIREBIRD can suggest animals at first glance. Here they belong with CORVETTE and MUSTANG as American performance-car names.
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A mime’s wardrobe
The costume group combines four wearable details: striped clothing, gloves, a beret, and suspenders.
Four ways to complete “heart”
The entries span different contexts: an artichoke heart, a Purple Heart, the Sacred Heart, and the phrase “take to heart.”
Candy names hidden by one letter
Each word in this group adds one letter to a candy-bar name: SKORT contains SKOR, DOVES contains DOVE, MARSH contains MARS, and TWIXT contains TWIX.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is this puzzle #1185 or #1274?
The puzzle number is not settled by the available sources. Connection Hint labels the September 8 board #1185, while Anagrammer labels it #1274. Both list the same 16 words and four answer groups, but no accessible official NYT source resolves the numbering conflict, so the date is the reliable identifier.
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