Today’s NYT Connections Hints & Answers for September 1, 2025 — Get the Clues You Need to Solve the Puzzle

Puzzle fans are flocking to “NYT Connections” every morning, and today’s grid (#813, Monday September 1 2025) is already stumping casual solvers and word-game veterans alike. Below you’ll find fresh hints, the four hidden categories, plus expert tips to help you improve your streak without spoiling the entire answer key at a glance. What to Know About “NYT Connections” • The daily web puzzle challenges you to group 16 seemingly unrelated words into four themed sets. • Categories are color-coded by difficulty—Yellow (easiest), Green, Blue and Purple (hardest). • You get four strikes before the game ends, so strategic grouping is essential. Today’s Quick Hints (No Spoilers Yet) 1. Think “first times.” 2. Think “federal-level days off.” 3. Think “literary legends.” 4. Think “things that can be called ‘cardinal.’” Need a Stronger Nudge? Try the Category Prompts • Yellow: Debut moments—what you might call a product or performance’s first outing. • Green: Holidays that honor specific people. • Blue: Surnames you’ll see on poetry syllabi. • Purple: Four very different uses of one colorful word. Full Category Reveal Still stuck? Here are the exact groupings without listing the individual words, so you can make the final leap yourself: • FIRST APPEARANCE • ONES CELEBRATED WITH HOLIDAYS • FAMOUS POETS • WHAT “CARDINAL” MIGHT REFER TO Solving Tips From Seasoned Players 1. Scan for obvious twins: two words that undeniably relate often anchor a full set. 2. Don’t fear the bait—NYT editors love trap pairs (e.g., “SAINT” can go holiday or clergy). Test combos instead of locking in the first hunch. 3. Work backwards: identify the toughest Purple set last; remove easier matches first to reveal what’s left in the pool. 4. Take breaks. A quick reset can trigger fresh associations your brain missed minutes earlier. Why Today’s Grid Is Tricky • Two separate categories hinge on people (mothers vs. poets), but the overlap stops there. • “Cardinal” spans sports, clergy and zoology, so early guesses often burn strikes. • The debut-themed Yellow set contains synonyms that many solvers treat as interchangeable, masking the shared “first appearance” idea. Missed a Day? Scroll the “Connections Companion” archive on NYTimes.com for past solutions, or bookmark this page—we update our hint sheet before 8 a.m. ET daily so you never lose your streak. Pro Tip for Mobile Players If you habitually pinch-zoom, set your browser text size to 110 % for easier drag-and-drop accuracy on smaller screens. Stay Connected For free daily reminders and spoiler-free discussions, follow #ConnectionsNYT on X/Twitter or join the growing r/NYTConnections subreddit community. Return tomorrow for new clues, category breakdowns and strategy insights that keep you one step ahead of the grid.