Daily Group Grid Answer — September 9, 2026
Full answer to our original Daily Group Grid puzzle for September 9, 2026 (Puzzle #252). Want the latest day instead? Head to today's answer, or just need a nudge — try the progressive hints. Tap a blacked-out box to reveal it.
Hints (no spoilers)
- Yellow: the easiest, most literal group.
- Green: a small twist on the obvious.
- Blue: trickier — think category, not surface meaning.
- Purple: the curveball; expect wordplay or a hidden pattern.
The Answers
| Group | Theme | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 🟡 Yellow | Bodies of water | LAKE, RIVER, OCEAN, POND |
| 🟢 Green | Card games | POKER, RUMMY, HEARTS, BRIDGE |
| 🔵 Blue | ___ fall | WATER, RAIN, NIGHT, PRAT |
| 🟣 Purple | Spring-related | COIL, SEASON, BOUNCE, STEP |
The purple trap: WATER pulls toward bodies of water, but it belongs to the '___ fall' group (waterfall). The trap is keeping WATER, RAIN, NIGHT, PRAT together as words that precede FALL.
How the September 9, 2026 board comes apart
The opening move is Bodies of water (🟡 yellow). Read LAKE, RIVER, OCEAN and POND side by side and the category “Bodies of water” announces itself. Lock it in before touching anything ambiguous — a solved yellow row shrinks the search space for the three harder groups.
Next comes Card games (🟢 green). The connection between POKER, RUMMY, HEARTS and BRIDGE is still concrete, but you have to name it yourself rather than just spot it. Before committing, confirm all four genuinely fit “Card games” — not only the two that jumped out first.
Blue hides ___ fall (🔵). None of WATER, RAIN, NIGHT or PRAT looks special alone; the giveaway is the pattern they form together. Say the candidate label “___ fall” out loud and check each word against it before you submit.
That leaves Spring-related (🟣 purple): COIL, SEASON, BOUNCE and STEP. As usual the final group leans on wordplay or a hidden pattern, so it is safest solved by elimination — clear the other twelve tiles and take what remains.
Why the purple group misleads: WATER pulls toward bodies of water, but it belongs to the '___ fall' group (waterfall). The trap is keeping WATER, RAIN, NIGHT, PRAT together as words that precede FALL. Whenever a word seems to fit two groups, park it and finish the group that has four unambiguous members — the leftover placement resolves itself.
Want to play instead?
Play today's Daily Group Grid, see today's hints, or browse the full answer archive. New to grouping puzzles? Our word-grouping tips and puzzle glossary cover the recurring category types.
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