NYT Connections Hints for September 9, 2026 — Puzzle #1186

Sixteen words, four hidden categories. Hints reveal structure, then the grouping.

Hints and answers for NYT Connections #1186 on September 9, 2026: how many groups there are, a masked theme for each group, then the four categories one at a time, then all sixteen words and the full grouping.

Puzzle date: September 9, 2026 (2026-09-09) · #1186 · Source: the game's public daily data (https://www.nytimes.com/svc/connections/v2/2026-09-09.json). Hints are derived from that day's verified answer data — no invented clues, difficulty scores or word claims.

1. The shape of the puzzle

There are 4 categories of 4 words each (16 words total).

2. The four themes, masked

Each theme below keeps its word shapes and the first letter of every word:

H _ _ _ T _ U _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
W _ _ _ _ W _ _ _ S _ _ _ _ P _ _ _ _ _ _ _
H _ _ _ _ _ M _ _ _ _ _
W _ _ _ _ B _ _ _ _ _ F _ _ _ _

3. Reveal a theme, one at a time

Show theme 1

HARD TO UNDERSTAND

Show theme 2

WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES

Show theme 3

HORROR MOVIES

Show theme 4

WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"

NYT Connections answer for September 9, 2026 — puzzle #1186

HARD TO UNDERSTAND

INCOMPREHENSIBLE, BEWILDERING, ESOTERIC, OPAQUE

WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXES

NANOTECHNOLOGY, MICROBREWERY, PICOSECOND, MINIVAN

HORROR MOVIES

ARACHNOPHOBIA, HALLOWEEN, SAW, IT

WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"

ELECTROMAGNETIC, BRUTE, TASK, G

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