NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, September 20

Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!

It’s officially the last weekend of summer, so I hope you’re all planning to make the most of it.

I’ve no idea what I’m going to be doing yet. It doesn’t seem like it’ll be warm enough for a swim, though temperatures will be creeping back up next week. Maybe I’ll make some more headway on this mountain of games I’m planning to check out before the end of the year. I might catch up on some movies and such.

But I do know that I absolutely need to go outside, at least for a while, to enjoy nice weather while I still have it.

Before we begin, we have a great little community on Discord, where we chat about NYT Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. Everyone who has joined has been lovely. It’s a fun hangout spot, and you’re more than welcome to join us.

Discord is also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare (or not-so-rare) occasions that I mess something up. I don’t look at Twitter much.

Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, September 20 are coming right up.

What Are Today’s Connections Hints?

Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.

Today’s 16 words are...

• DUCK

• WING

• ROCKET

• STAR

• LARK

• DIP

• DODGE

• SENATOR

• RAM

• DIVE

• FRY

• FORD

• CHIP

• SCRAPER

• LINCOLN

• FLYER

The level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:

• 🟨 Yellow group — you'll see these a lot on dealers' lots

• 🟩 Green group — game day grub

• 🟦 Blue group — like sabre, devil and penguin

• 🟪 Purple group — net, dome and mall would all fit in here

One Word For Each Connections Group

Be warned: we’re really starting to get into spoiler territory.

Let’s take a look at one word for each group.

Today’s Connections word hints are…

• 🟨 Yellow group — DODGE

• 🟩 Green group — DIP

• 🟦 Blue group — DUCK

• 🟪 Purple group — DIVE

What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

Need some extra help?

Today’s Connections groups are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — car brands

• 🟩 Green group — bit of sports bar fare

• 🟦 Blue group — NHL team member

  🟪 Purple group — sky____

What Are Today’s Connections Answers?

Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.

This is your final warning!

Today’s Connections answers are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — car brands (DODGE, FORD, LINCOLN, RAM)

• 🟩 Green group — bit of sports bar fare (CHIP, DIP, FRY, WING)

• 🟦 Blue group — NHL team member (DUCK, FLYER, SENATOR, STAR)

• 🟪 Purple group — sky____ (DIVE, LARK, ROCKET, SCRAPER)

I watched Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story again recently. So, even though it was likely to be a red herring, I couldn't resist a guess that included the five Ds of dodgeball: DODGE, DUCK, DIP, DIVE... and DODGE. Needless to say, that was not close to a group.

I got the car brands first to clear the yellows, followed by the greens (please keep me away from all of that stuff).

SENATOR was my entry point into the NHL players. The blues refer to the Anaheim DUCKs, Philadelphia FLYERs, Ottawa SENATORs and Dallas STARs. That left the purples, and I figured out the connection there for win 204 on the bounce.

Here's my grid for today:

🟦🟩🟨🟪 
🟨🟨🟨🟨 
🟩🟩🟩🟩 
🟦🟦🟦🟦 
🟪🟪🟪🟪

That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter for hints and the solution for Sunday’s game if you need them.

P.S. I'm going to have to recommend Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story today, given the grid. Parts of the movie haven't aged well at all, but it's mostly pretty dang funny. I'm somehow quoting parts of it a whole (gulp) 21 years later:

Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!

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