Step-by-step hints and answers for Connections #1200, from Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
Familiar words everywhere make this midweek board feel safe, and that sense of safety is the danger. Every tile invites a quick click the moment four things look related, and at least one early idea has a spare member that really lives somewhere else. Taking a few seconds per tile pays off here more than usual. The final group is the cleverest of the day, and its tiles look so unrelated that the link is easy to miss until little else is left.
Open one step at a time. Step three names the group, so stop earlier if you want more of a challenge. New to the game? Read how to play Connections first, or see what the four colors mean.
Most direct
Picture the last check you do at the front door each morning.
Each is an item people pat their pockets for on the way out, from what opens the door to what shields your eyes.
Things you grab before leaving the house
Fairly direct
Think about the obstacles between you and what you wanted to read online.
Each is something a website makes you deal with first, from proving how old you are or that you are not a robot to paying up or accepting tracking.
Website hurdles
Takes some thought
Head to the hardware store, the bathroom shelf and the baking aisle.
Each is commonly sold in a sealed metal container, from a thick, sweet dairy product to a pink lunch meat from Minnesota.
Things that come in cans
Trickiest
Look at how each tile finishes rather than how it starts.
Each tile ends in a verb meaning to give something a title, the way you might call or christen a new idea.
Ending in synonyms for "term"
One tile on this board has two very different homes, and it decides whether your first guess lands. On a screen it looks like one more online irritation among several; off the screen it is something else entirely. The online pile has one tile too many, so test each member for a life away from the computer and keep the odd one out of your first submission.
More ways to dodge red herrings: our Connections tips.
Some meanings point toward a group, so they stay hidden until you open them.
This section shows all four groups. Only open it if you're finished or ready to give up.
KEYS, PHONE, SUNGLASSES, WALLET
Things people grab before leaving the house: KEYS, PHONE, SUNGLASSES and WALLET.
AGE VERIFICATION, CAPTCHA, COOKIE CONSENT, PAYWALL
Hurdles a website can put in your way: AGE VERIFICATION, CAPTCHA, COOKIE CONSENT and PAYWALL.
CONDENSED MILK, PAINT, SHAVING CREAM, SPAM
Things sold in cans: CONDENSED MILK, PAINT, SHAVING CREAM and SPAM.
BITCOIN, RECORD LABEL, RUB-A-DUB, SURINAME
Words ending in a verb that means to term or call something: bitCOIN, record LABEL, rub-a-DUB and suriNAME end in COIN, LABEL, DUB and NAME.
WALLET is the swing tile: BITCOIN sits right beside it, but WALLET belongs with KEYS, PHONE and SUNGLASSES by the front door. SPAM steps out of the online annoyances to join PAINT, SHAVING CREAM and CONDENSED MILK in cans, leaving AGE VERIFICATION, CAPTCHA, COOKIE CONSENT and PAYWALL. BITCOIN, RECORD LABEL, RUB-A-DUB and SURINAME end in COIN, LABEL, DUB and NAME, four verbs for giving something a title.
Want to get better at spotting groups? Start with our Connections tips.
Answers checked against the official answers by Alan. This puzzle appeared on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
Every puzzle keeps its own page with the same nudges, meanings and answers, so you can go back to any day.
Looking for a different day? Use the links below, or head to today's Connections hint. Every puzzle from September 2026 is listed on the September 2026 archive page.