A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #89
hints & answers for September 8, 2023

Keep the satisfaction of the solve. Get a nudge for one group, reveal a category, or check the answers at your own pace.

This reference always shows September 8, 2023. It is released in at least one timezone; every answer stays closed until you reveal it.

Which group has you stuck?

Pick a colour. Reveal one step at a time.

Yellow group

Straightforward

1/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with E, H, S and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

ESSENCE belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

INHERENT NATURE

Reveal all four words
  • ESSENCE
  • HEART
  • SOUL
  • SPIRIT

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with C, P, S and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

CIDER belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

FERMENTED ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Reveal all four words
  • CIDER
  • PORT
  • SAKE
  • STOUT

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with B, C, C and U. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

BRAVE belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

PIXAR MOVIES

Reveal all four words
  • BRAVE
  • CARS
  • COCO
  • UP

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

DEMO belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___ TAPE

Reveal all four words
  • DEMO
  • RED
  • SCOTCH
  • TICKER

Each entry comes before "TAPE" to form a word, expression or name: DEMO → DEMO TAPE; RED → RED TAPE; SCOTCH → SCOTCH TAPE; TICKER → TICKER TAPE.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: INHERENT NATURE
  • Green: FERMENTED ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
  • Blue: PIXAR MOVIES
  • Purple: ___ TAPE

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

INHERENT NATURE

ESSENCE · HEART · SOUL · SPIRIT

Green

FERMENTED ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

CIDER · PORT · SAKE · STOUT

Blue

PIXAR MOVIES

BRAVE · CARS · COCO · UP

Purple

___ TAPE

DEMO · RED · SCOTCH · TICKER

This puzzle’s recorded solution

The date and puzzle number identify this exact board. Use the individual group controls to compare its recorded categories and words, then return to the archive to find another puzzle.

About the answers and hints

Categories and answers follow the recorded NYT puzzle. Our hints are independent: some are original category clues, while others give the first letters of the four words. Each hint is labelled so you can choose how much help to take.

Group colours follow the puzzle’s yellow, green, blue and purple order, from the most straightforward to the trickiest. Your own experience may differ. The reference tiles may appear in a different order from your game. Picture puzzles have separately hidden descriptions, since a description can give away the wordplay.

The daily page starts with the UTC puzzle date and, with JavaScript enabled, checks the puzzle for your local time zone. Every reveal starts closed when the date changes. Play Connections at The New York Times or contact us about a correction.