Waking up to a grid of sixteen words should be a relaxing way to start the morning. It isn't. Not when Wyna Liu and the New York Times games team decide to throw a curveball that makes you question your own grasp of the English language. If you spent your morning staring at the Connections September 9 grid, you probably felt that familiar itch of "I know these words, but I have absolutely no idea what they want from me." It’s a specific kind of mental friction.
Sometimes the game feels like a breeze. You see four types of cheese, you click, you move on. But September 9 wasn't like that. It was a masterclass in "red herrings," those annoying little traps designed to make you waste your four precious mistakes on connections that don't actually exist. Honestly, the overlap was brutal.
Breaking Down the Connections September 9 Categories
Let's get into the actual meat of the puzzle. Every day, the difficulty scales from Yellow (the straightforward stuff) to Purple (the "what on earth were they thinking" stuff). On September 9, the distribution felt skewed.
The Yellow category, usually the easiest, focused on vocal qualities. We're talking about words like Breathy, Gravely, Hoarse, and Raspy. It’s the kind of category where you see two words and immediately know the vibe. If you’ve ever had a cold or listened to a jazz singer, you got this one. It’s low-hanging fruit, but even here, the game tries to mess with your head by making you wonder if "Gravely" refers to a voice or actual rocks.
Then things got tricky. The Green category was all about increasing in size or intensity. The words were Balloon, Mushroom, Snowball, and Swell. This is where the NYT editors show their teeth. "Balloon" and "Mushroom" are nouns, right? Sure. But here, they are verbs. If you were looking for "Things Found in a Garden," you were already doomed. This shift in parts of speech is exactly how the Connections September 9 puzzle tripped up so many casual players. It’s about flexibility. If you can’t see a noun as a verb, you’re stuck.
The Overlap Trap
The Blue category was things that are yellow. Yeah, they did that. They used the color yellow as a theme for the Blue group. The items were Canary, Lemon, Mustard, and School Bus. Now, look back at the Green category. "Mushroom" can be yellow. "Swell" can... okay, maybe not swell. But the word "Lemon" often gets grouped with "Raspberry" or other flavors in different puzzles.
This is the psychological warfare of Connections. You see "Lemon" and "Raspy" (from Yellow) and your brain tries to make a "Things that are sour or sharp" connection. It’s a fake-out. A total ruse.
Why the Purple Category Felt Like a Personal Attack
Finally, we have the Purple category. For Connections September 9, the theme was Words that follow "Baby." - Boomer
- Bumper
- Shower
- Steps
"Baby steps." "Baby shower." "Baby bumper." "Baby boomer."
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Purple categories are rarely about what the words mean. They are almost always about how the words function or what they attach to. This is where most people lose their winning streak. If you’re looking for a logical link between a Boomer and a Bumper, you’ll never find it. They have nothing in common. The only link is the invisible word "Baby" sitting in front of them.
Honestly, "Bumper" was the meanest word in this set. Most people think of car parts or "Bumper to Bumper" traffic. Linking it to a crib accessory is a stretch unless you’ve recently decorated a nursery. This is why E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) matters in puzzle solving—or at least, having a broad enough vocabulary to realize that words wear many hats.
The Strategy Behind the NYT Selection Process
The New York Times doesn't just pick words at random. Wyna Liu, who often edits these, has spoken about the "tightness" of a puzzle. A good puzzle has multiple "internal clusters."
On September 9, they leaned heavily into the "Things that grow" vs "Things that are yellow" conflict. It’s clever. It’s also incredibly frustrating when you’re on your last life and you’re trying to decide if a "Canary" is a "Vocal Quality" because it sings. (It’s not, but you see how the brain gets there?)
Common Mistakes to Avoid Next Time
- Don't click the first four words you see. This is the most common error. The "Yellow" group is often hiding a word that actually belongs in the "Purple" group.
- Look for the "spoilers." If you see five words that fit one category, stop. One of them is a spy. On September 9, if you thought you saw five yellow things, you had to figure out which one served a dual purpose.
- Say the words out loud. Sometimes hearing "Baby Bumper" makes more sense than seeing the word "Bumper" next to "Mushroom."
Actionable Tips for Future Grids
To stay ahead of the NYT editors, you need to change how you look at the board. Stop looking for what the words are and start looking for what they can do.
- Identify the Parts of Speech: Are they all nouns? Or is one a sneaky verb? "Balloon" and "Snowball" as verbs was the pivot point for the September 9 success.
- Check for Compound Words: This is almost always the key to the Purple category. If you see words that seem totally unrelated, try adding a common prefix or suffix like "Sun," "Back," "Baby," or "Fire."
- Use the Shuffle Button: Seriously. Your brain gets locked into a visual pattern. Shuffling the tiles breaks those false connections and helps you see the grid with fresh eyes.
If you missed the Connections September 9 solve, don't beat yourself up. It was a high-variance day. Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. The best way to improve is to study the "Red Herrings" of past puzzles. It builds a sort of mental library of how the editors think. You start to anticipate the traps before you fall into them.
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The real win isn't just getting the "Correct" screen. It's the moment of clarity when you realize "Mushroom" isn't a fungus—it's an action. That’s the "Aha!" moment that keeps everyone coming back every single morning at midnight. Keep your eyes peeled for those overlaps. They are always there.