Stuck on today’s NYT Connections? The daily word-grouping puzzle resets at midnight and lives in the New York Times Games lineup. You can play it on the web or in the app via the Connections homepage. Below you’ll find gentle, spoiler-free nudges, the day’s category labels, and finally the full set of answers for Puzzle #820 (Monday, September 8, 2025).

Quicks

The 16 tiles on today’s board

FISH, HIKE, HUNT, JACK, BULL, PEEL, ARCHER, TAIL, CRANK, WALK, NAP, BUNK, BALONEY, RAISE, RUBBISH, POWERS

Soft nudges (spoiler-free)

  • Yellow: Dismissive words for things that aren’t true.
  • Green: Verbs that combine with “up” to mean “increase.”
  • Blue: Surnames tied to espionage in TV or film.
  • Purple: Common words that complete “cat ____.”

Today’s categories (minor spoilers)

  • Yellow: Nonsense
  • Green: Increase with “Up”
  • Blue: Fictional spies
  • Purple: Cat ____

Full solution (major spoilers)

  • Nonsense: BALONEY, BULL, BUNK, RUBBISH
  • Increase with “Up”: CRANK, HIKE, JACK, RAISE
  • Fictional spies: ARCHER, HUNT, PEEL, POWERS
  • Cat ____: FISH, NAP, TAIL, WALK

Why these fit

  • “Baloney,” “bull,” “bunk,” and “rubbish” are all ways to wave off something as false or worthless.
  • “Crank up,” “hike up,” “jack up,” and “raise up” all describe pushing something higher—prices, volume, or intensity.
  • “Archer” (Sterling Archer), “Hunt” (Ethan Hunt), “Peel” (Emma Peel), and “Powers” (Austin Powers) are spy leads across TV and film.
  • “Catfish,” “catnap,” “cattail,” and “catwalk” are well-known pairings.

Tip: Don’t let surface similarities trap you. “Walk” and “hike” look related, but only one belongs with “up” today.

Want more after the main grid? Sports Edition (Sept. 8)

Connections: Sports Edition (a daily variant built with The Athletic) also refreshed today. Categories and answers:

  • A Big Ten Athlete: BUCKEYE, DUCK, SPARTAN, TERRAPIN
  • NFL Mascots: POE, ROWDY, SIR PURR, SWOOP
  • NBA Career 3-Point Leaders: ALLEN, CURRY, HARDEN, LILLARD
  • ____ MARTINEZ: EDGAR, PEDRO, TINO, VICTOR

If you’re still working on your approach

  • Say the tiles out loud with potential prefixes/suffixes (“cat ___”, “___ up”). Hearing the phrase often helps.
  • Test suspected foursomes mentally before you commit; editors often seed red herrings that nearly fit.
  • Use shuffle to reset your pattern recognition when you stall.
  • After you finish, run your grid through the Connections Bot to see where your instincts align with the broader player base.

Looking ahead, the next grid will arrive after midnight local time on the Connections homepage. If you’re tracking pace and consistency, the Companion posts the daily difficulty rating shortly after launch.