Yellow group
Most direct
First nudge
Think about words for something expensive and showy.
Stronger nudge
Each word describes something high-end, from a five-star hotel lobby to an upscale restaurant with white tablecloths.
Group name
Luxe
Connections hint #1202: September 25, 2026
Step-by-step hints and answers for Connections #1202, from Friday, September 25, 2026.
Friday asks you to sort by meaning, not by first impression. A few tiles feel like natural companions on a quick read, and that easy pull is stronger than the grid deserves. Look for the two or three tiles that cannot possibly live anywhere else, build outward from them, and question every pairing that relies on a feeling instead of a definition. The final link is tidy, and it repays the wait.
- RATHER
- BOUGIE
- GENIUS
- SPRING
- BORDER
- RATCHET
- SWANK
- SAVAGE
- CLASSY
- LEVY
- PENDULUM
- FANCY
- ESCAPEMENT
- POSH
- FOAMILY
- AYKROYD
Hints for Connections #1202
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.
Green group
Fairly direct
First nudge
Think about what keeps ticking away inside an old timepiece.
Stronger nudge
Each is a working part that keeps an old timepiece ticking, from the swinging weight to the coiled metal that stores energy.
Group name
Parts of a mechanical clock
Blue group
Takes some thought
First nudge
Think about well-known men who share a short first name.
Stronger nudge
Each is the surname of a famous person called Dan, from a Ghostbusters star to a longtime CBS news anchor.
Group name
Famous Dans
Purple group
Trickiest
First nudge
Think back to high school biology and the ladder used to sort every living thing.
Stronger nudge
Each tile is one of the ranks scientists use to sort living things, with one extra letter added somewhere.
Group name
Taxonomic ranks plus a letter
Show the trap
RATCHET, SAVAGE and CLASSY all carry a bit of modern attitude, and lumping them together as slang is the quickest way to lose a guess on this grid. None of the three is being used for its tone, and they share nothing in the solution. Set the attitude aside, read each one as literally as you can, and see where it lands.
More ways to dodge red herrings: our Connections tips.
Word meanings
Some meanings point toward a group, so they stay hidden until you open them.
Show meanings for 5 tricky words
- ESCAPEMENT
- The mechanism in a clock or watch that lets the gears turn in small, regular steps. It produces the familiar ticking sound.
- BOUGIE
- Slang, from bourgeois, for something that seems upscale or a little pretentious, like a very elaborate coffee order.
- SWANK
- Stylish and expensive in a showy way, as in a swank hotel. As a verb, it means to show off.
- RATCHET
- A gear with angled teeth that lets motion go in one direction only. In slang, it can describe something messy or unrefined.
- LEVY
- A tax or fee that is charged or collected. It is also the surname of Dan Levy, co-creator and star of a hit Canadian sitcom about a family that loses its fortune.
Answers for Connections #1202
This section shows all four groups. Only open it if you're finished or ready to give up.
Show all four groups
-
Luxe
BOUGIE, FANCY, POSH, SWANK
Words for luxurious: BOUGIE, FANCY, POSH and SWANK.
-
Parts of a mechanical clock
ESCAPEMENT, PENDULUM, RATCHET, SPRING
Parts of a mechanical clock: ESCAPEMENT, PENDULUM, RATCHET and SPRING. The escapement releases the gears in small, regular steps, which makes the tick.
-
Famous Dans
AYKROYD, LEVY, RATHER, SAVAGE
Famous Dans: Dan AYKROYD, Dan LEVY, Dan RATHER and Dan SAVAGE.
-
Taxonomic ranks plus a letter
BORDER, CLASSY, FOAMILY, GENIUS
Taxonomic ranks with one letter added: BORDER (order), CLASSY (class), FOAMILY (family) and GENIUS (genus).
The solve at a glance
PENDULUM and ESCAPEMENT are the anchors: nothing else on the board wants them, and once RATCHET is read as a clock part instead of slang, SPRING completes the mechanism. SAVAGE then has to be a person, and with RATHER, AYKROYD and LEVY it gives four famous Dans. BOUGIE, FANCY, POSH and SWANK settle as the luxury words. Finally, drop one letter from BORDER, CLASSY, FOAMILY and GENIUS to find order, class, family and genus, four ranks used to classify living things.
Want to get better at spotting groups? Start with our Connections tips.
Answers checked against the official answers by Alan. This puzzle appeared on Friday, September 25, 2026.
More Connections puzzles
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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.