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For Monday, March 16, 2026, the archived NYT Connections puzzle is #1009. Start with the graduated hints below if you want to solve it yourself; the category names and complete word groups are farther down, after a spoiler warning.
The reported answers are grouped around animal collectives, slowness, a silent W, and words that sound like state abbreviations. These are reported by Tom’s Guide, Parade, and CNET; the puzzle groups and wording are secondary-source reporting, not direct confirmation from an official NYT page.
Hints for Connections #1009
Use these one at a time to preserve as much of the puzzle as you like. The hints paraphrase the reported category ideas; they are not presented as official NYT clues.
- One set names groups of animals.
- Another set has a connection to moving or happening slowly.
- In one group, each word contains a W that is not pronounced.
- The last group sounds, when spoken, like two-letter state abbreviations.
Spoilers: category names and answers
Stop here if you still want to solve the puzzle without seeing its categories or word groups.
#1 Best Overall
Animal group names
GAGGLE, PACK, POD, PRIDE
Things associated with being slow
GLACIER, MOLASSES, SLOTH, TRAFFIC
Silent “W”
CARTWRIGHT, TWO, WRATH, WRESTLE
Words that sound like state abbreviations
ANY, EMMY, ENVY, OKAY
The last set is based on pronunciation: ANY sounds like NE, EMMY like ME, ENVY like NV, and OKAY like OK. The sound—not the written letters—is the link.
How to read the trickier connections
Two groups are mainly meaning-based: animal collective nouns and things associated with slowness. The other two rely on word form or sound. CARTWRIGHT, TWO, WRATH, and WRESTLE share a silent W; ANY, EMMY, ENVY, and OKAY sound like state abbreviations.
SLOTH is the likely distraction: it is also an animal, but in this solution it belongs with GLACIER, MOLASSES, and TRAFFIC because all are associated with slowness.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the puzzle format means
A secondary guide describes Connections as a puzzle in which players sort sixteen words into four hidden groups of four, with four mistakes allowed. That is general game context rather than a special rule for puzzle #1009.
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