Why Are BEANS, CAT, CUCUMBER and CUSTOMER Together in Connections?
NYT Connections — September 26, 2026 spoilers
The missing word is COOL: cool beans, cool cat, cool as a cucumber and cool customer. The September 26 Connections category is “COOL” THINGS, IN EXPRESSIONS.
Published
The four expressions do not use cool in exactly the same grammatical pattern or with exactly the same meaning.
Why now?
The September 26 Connections puzzle groups BEANS, CAT, CUCUMBER and CUSTOMER as “COOL” THINGS, IN EXPRESSIONS.
The four complete expressions
| Puzzle word | Full expression | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| BEANS | cool beans | an informal reaction meaning something like “great,” “okay” or approval |
| CAT | cool cat | a stylish, fashionable or admirably cool person |
| CUCUMBER | cool as a cucumber | very calm and controlled |
| CUSTOMER | cool customer | a person who stays calm and does not show much emotion, even in a difficult situation |
Why does CUSTOMER fit?
“Cool customer” is an established informal expression for someone who remains calm and does not show their emotions even when a situation is difficult.
CUSTOMER is therefore not being used here to mean only a shopper or client. In this expression, customer refers to a person of a particular type.
Even after the plan changed at the last second, she stayed a cool customer.
Why is CUCUMBER different from the other three?
CUCUMBER does not simply follow the word cool. The full expression is “cool as a cucumber.”
Connections only requires the board word to participate in an expression involving COOL. It does not require all four expressions to have identical grammar.
Does “cool” mean the same thing in all four?
No. “Cool beans” is mainly an informal expression of approval. “Cool cat” describes someone stylish or socially cool. “Cool as a cucumber” and “cool customer” emphasize calmness and self-control.
The shared link is the word COOL in established expressions, not one single dictionary definition of cool.
Evidence
Sources
- New York Times — Connections puzzle data for September 26, 2026
- Cambridge Dictionary — Cool customer
- Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries — Cool / cool as a cucumber
- Dictionary.com — Cool beans