“This” can indicate a person, thing, idea, time, or remark that is present, near, pointed out, or just mentioned. It is also one of four demonstratives in the puzzle.
Quick answer: what does “this” mean?
This indicates a person, thing, idea, time, or remark that is present or near in place, time, or thought, or that has just been mentioned. Dictionary evidence documents several grammatical functions for the word, including determiner and pronoun uses, as well as adverb and exclamation uses. In the September 22 puzzle, however, the relevant fact is narrower: THIS is a demonstrative alongside THAT, THESE, and THOSE.
The supplied research describes the word’s present-day meaning and grammatical context. It does not establish an etymology, so no claim about the word’s historical origin is needed to understand either its ordinary use or the puzzle connection.
For the full board and all four official categories, see the September 22, 2026 Connections puzzle.
Meaning and grammatical context
“This” can appear before a noun: “this folder,” “this afternoon,” or “this proposal.” In those examples, it identifies the folder, afternoon, or proposal being indicated. It can also stand without a following noun, as in “This is ready” or “I remember this.” These examples illustrate how the same written word can occupy different positions while retaining its pointing function.
Nearness does not have to be limited to physical distance. The dictionary evidence expressly includes nearness in place, time, or thought and also covers something just mentioned. “This chair” can indicate something in the immediate setting; “this week” can indicate a present period; and “this is the concern” can refer back to an idea under discussion. These are illustrative sentences, not separate puzzle meanings.
Natural examples of “this”
Consider these examples: “Please review this paragraph.” “This is the version I meant.” “We can finish this evening.” “The deadline changed, and this caused a scheduling problem.” In each case, the surrounding sentence tells the reader what the speaker is indicating. Sometimes a noun follows the word, and sometimes the intended person, thing, time, or idea is supplied by context.
A useful reading check is to ask what “this” points to. In “this paragraph,” the answer is stated immediately. In “this is the version,” the following words identify it. In the deadline example, “this” points back to the change that was just mentioned. That check keeps the explanation grounded in the documented meaning rather than treating every occurrence as a new definition.
A common puzzle mistake
On a Connections board, short function words can invite phrase-building. THIS, THAT, THE, and OTHER may look like a promising collection of compact words, but they do not form the verified quartet. THIS and THAT both belong to DEMONSTRATIVES. THE belongs to BEVERAGES WITH ACUTE ACCENTS REMOVED, while OTHER belongs to OPTIONS ON A MULTIPLE CHOICE SURVEY. Because THIS and THAT already share one official group, it would also be inaccurate to describe those four tempting entries as coming from four distinct groups.
The practical lesson is to test a complete relationship instead of stopping at a loose visual or phrase-level resemblance. THAT, THESE, THIS, and THOSE all satisfy the same grammatical label, so the quartet has a precise basis.
“This” in the September 22 Connections puzzle
In the September 22, 2026 solved Connections board, THIS appears with THAT, THESE, and THOSE under the exact category DEMONSTRATIVES. The fit is supported by grammar research naming those same four words as demonstratives and describing their pointing use.
This is a valuable early solve because it uses one exact grammatical classification for four entries. It does not depend on deciding which object is near, constructing a sentence, or assigning a special sense to any individual word.
How the group logic works
Start by proposing the label DEMONSTRATIVES, then test every candidate against it. THAT passes, THESE passes, THIS passes, and THOSE passes. Once the quartet is complete, remove all four together rather than leaving one behind for a possible phrase. The September 22, 2026 Connections group explanation shows how that removal clarifies the remaining survey, embellishment, and accent-based sets.
This method is reusable: when several small words appear on a board, check whether a precise grammatical label covers exactly four of them. A category-level test is stronger than an association that explains only two or three.