NYT Connections Sept 24 Hints & Answers #836 (Full Guide)

Today’s Connections #836: Puzzle Overview

The NYT Connections puzzle for September 24, 2025 (#836) offers a fun blend of themes that balance vocabulary skills, film trivia, and playful word associations. Today’s board may look tricky at first glance, but the difficulty is moderate, with clear connections once you spot the categories.

Players will encounter movie terms, action verbs linked to “strew,” a texture-based group of wrinkly things, and the always popular fill-in set of “sweet ____” phrases.

As always, this guide follows a hint-first, answers-later format. That way, if you want a gentle nudge without spoilers, you can stop before the full reveals. But if you’re stuck, the complete solutions are laid out for each group.

Ready to dive in? Let’s break down Connections #836 step by step.

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Yellow Group: Movie Terms

This category pulls together four classic synonyms for film and cinema. If you’ve spent time at the theater or flipping channels, these words should feel familiar.

• Feature – often used in “feature film.”
• Film – the most universal movie synonym.
• Flick – casual slang for a movie.
• Picture – old-school Hollywood term, as in “motion picture.”

🎬 Fun fact: The Academy Awards were originally called the “Academy Award of Merit for Outstanding Motion Picture.”

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Green Group: Verbs for Strew

The green set highlights verbs that match the meaning of “strew”—to scatter or distribute loosely.

• Litter – scatter objects in disorder.
• Pepper – to sprinkle throughout, like peppering text with examples.
• Scatter – the closest synonym to strew.
• Sprinkle – lighter scattering, often with food or confetti.

💡 Language note: The word “strew” comes from Old English streowian, meaning “to scatter.”

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Blue Group: Wrinkly Things

Here’s where texture and imagery meet wordplay. Each item in this group has a wrinkled, folded, or crinkled look.

• Brain – characterized by folds called gyri and sulci.
• Crepe Paper – thin tissue paper with crinkles.
• Prune – a dried plum with deep wrinkles.
• Shar Pei – a dog breed famous for its folded skin.

🐶 Trivia: The Shar Pei’s wrinkles were originally bred for protection in fights.

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Purple Group: Sweet ____ Phrases

This category is playful word completion. Each phrase begins with “sweet” and finishes with a familiar word.

• Sweet Potato – a root vegetable.
• Sweet Sixteen – milestone birthday or NCAA basketball round.
• Sweet Talk – persuasive flattery.
• Sweet Tooth – a love for sugary foods.

🍬 Tip: When you see “blank ____” phrases in Connections, always test common collocations.

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Progressive Hints and Color Strategy

NYT Connections is color-coded to guide difficulty:

• Yellow = easiest (movies).
• Green = medium (verbs).
• Blue = harder (wrinkly things).
• Purple = trickiest (sweet ____).

Strategy: start by circling obvious synonyms (like movie terms) before tackling creative wordplay groups (like Sweet Sixteen).

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Connections Puzzle Solving Tips

1. Spot Synonyms Early – Words like film, flick, feature jump out.
2. Look for Word Families – Strew verbs share action patterns.
3. Check for Visuals – Wrinkly textures stand out.
4. Think in Phrases – “Sweet” is a common phrase starter.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the answer groups for NYT Connections #836?
Yellow: Movie (feature, film, flick, picture).
Green: Strew (litter, pepper, scatter, sprinkle).
Blue: Wrinkly things (brain, crepe paper, prune, shar pei).
Purple: Sweet ____ (potato, sixteen, talk, tooth).

Why is ‘strew’ the green group theme?
Because strew means to scatter or sprinkle—matching litter, pepper, scatter, sprinkle.

What texture theme is in the blue group?
Wrinkly items: brain, crepe paper, prune, shar pei.

What does ‘sweet sixteen’ refer to?
A birthday milestone and NCAA basketball tournament round.

How can I quickly spot movie words?
Look for synonyms of cinema: feature, film, flick, picture.

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Conclusion

The NYT Connections hints and answers for September 24, 2025 (#836) brought us:

• Movies in yellow
• Strew verbs in green
• Wrinkly textures in blue
• Sweet phrases in purple

Today’s puzzle blended trivia with wordplay, rewarding both film fans and language lovers. If you solved it cleanly, congrats! If you needed help, remember—every puzzle builds your recognition skills for tomorrow.