Connections · Word
What Does SEPTUM Mean in Connections?
SEPTUM means a dividing partition, especially in the nose. In Connections #1207, SEPT begins the word and stands for September in the month-abbreviation group.
Published
Connections #1207 on 2026-09-30 put this exact word or relationship in play.
Why the definition is not the whole clue
An unfamiliar anatomical word naturally invites a vocabulary lookup. Once you know its meaning, however, it is still worth inspecting the letters. Connections sometimes groups words by a feature of their spelling rather than by what they describe.
Puzzle explanation — contains spoilers
SEPTUM begins with SEPT, an abbreviation of September. It belongs to STARTING WITH MONTH ABBREVIATIONS:
| Word | Opening abbreviation | Month |
|---|---|---|
| SEPTUM | SEPT | September |
| OCTOPUSSY | OCT | October |
| NOVELTY | NOV | November |
| DECENT | DEC | December |
SEPT contains four letters, while OCT, NOV and DEC contain three. The group requires recognizable month abbreviations at the start of the words, not a fixed number of letters in every entry.
The complete words do not need to refer to months. Their meanings can be unrelated while their beginnings supply the same kind of clue. That is why SEPTUM's anatomy definition is useful vocabulary help but not the final relationship.
MARTINI also begins with MAR, a familiar abbreviation for March, so it is a tempting alternate tile. On this board MARTINI belongs to the shaken-things group; SEPTUM supplies SEPT for the month-abbreviation group.
SOURCES
Sources for this explanation
- NYT Connections 2026-09-30 official puzzle data — board, puzzle number, group answer and event date.
- Merriam-Webster: septum — Anatomical meaning.