So, you woke up, grabbed your coffee, and thought you’d breeze through your daily puzzles. Then you hit the wall. It happens to the best of us. Today’s word games are particularly devious, especially if you’re looking at the Mashable hints for today to save your streak. Honestly, the overlap in the NYT Connections grid right now is enough to make anyone want to throw their phone across the room.
We’re looking at January 18, 2026, and the puzzle designers clearly woke up and chose chaos. Between the New York Times staples like Wordle and Connections, and Mashable’s own coverage of games like Hurdle and Pips, there is a lot to juggle. Let’s break down exactly what’s happening so you can stop staring at that 4x4 grid in despair.
The Connection Trap: Ducks and Damage
If you’re playing Connections today, you’ve probably noticed a massive "rainbow herring." That’s the term for when the puzzle makers give you five or six words that all seem to fit one theme, forcing you to guess which four actually belong.
Today, the words BILL, PRICE, DAMAGE, and TOTAL are screaming at you to group them together under "Cost." Don't do it. Well, don't do it yet.
🔗 Read more: Playing Online Spades for Money: What Most People Get Wrong
The real yellow category—the easiest one—is actually FEATURES OF A DUCK. It includes:
- BILL
- FEATHERS
- WEBBING
- WINGS
See what they did there? They pulled BILL away from the money theme. It’s a classic move. If you fell for it, you aren't alone. Reddit is currently a sea of people lamenting their lost lives over that specific duck bill.
The actual "ruin" theme (the Green category) is DESTROY, which uses BREAK, DAMAGE, TOTAL, and WRECK. If you were trying to put TOTAL and DAMAGE with money words, you were likely getting that "One away..." message that feels like a personal insult.
Wordle #1674: A Spicy Little Secret
Now, let's talk about Wordle. Today is Sunday, January 18, and the answer is SUMAC.
Yeah. Sumac.
It’s a spice made from berries, often used in Middle Eastern cooking. It’s got two vowels (U and A) and no repeating letters. If you started with something like RAISE or TOUCH, you probably had enough yellow tiles to piece it together, but "SUMAC" isn't exactly a word most people use in daily conversation unless they’re making a really good fattoush salad.
If you’re struggling with your opening move, Mashable’s team usually suggests words with high-frequency consonants. Think STARE or SLATE. For today, starting with an S was a massive help.
Mashable Hints for Today: Navigating Pips and Hurdle
Mashable doesn't just cover the NYT hits; they are the go-to source for the more obscure stuff too. If you haven't tried Pips, it’s a domino-based logic puzzle that’s been gaining steam. Today’s "Easy" board requires everything in the first space to add up to 3. The solution is a 0-3 domino placed vertically.
📖 Related: Assassin's Creed Forgotten Temple: Why This Edward Kenway Sequel Is Actually a Webtoon
Then there’s Hurdle. It’s like Wordle’s more aggressive older brother. You have to solve four 5-letter words to reach the "Final Hurdle."
For Jan 18, the sequence is:
- NOISE (Hint: Commotion)
- TENSE (Hint: Tight)
- ERECT (Hint: To put up)
- HERON (Hint: A long-necked bird)
The final answer you need to clear the track is BORNE. If you got stuck on the bird, don't feel bad. Most people forget that "Heron" has five letters until they’re staring at a blank grid.
Why Today’s Strands is a Crafty One
The Strands puzzle is also live, and the theme is TEXTILE ART. This one is a bit more relaxing than the others, but the "Spangram" (the word that touches both sides of the grid) can be tricky to spot because it's two words.
The word list for today includes:
- QUILT
- CROCHET
- APPLIQUE
- KNIT
- WEAVE
- EMBROIDER
The Spangram itself is TEXTILE ART. Pro tip: always look for the longest possible word first to see if it crosses the board. It clears out the "noise" and makes finding the smaller words like KNIT much faster.
Mastering the Sports Edition
For the niche crowd playing Connections: Sports Edition, today’s puzzle (#482) is heavily focused on American football. If you aren't a fan of the Big Ten, you might be in trouble.
The categories are:
- Big Ten Teams: Think Illinois, Iowa, etc.
- Super Bowl-losing QBs: This is the Green category, featuring guys who almost got the ring recently.
- Home Cities of NFL Teams: Pretty straightforward if you know your geography.
- Athletes with Musical Surnames: This is the Purple one. It’s the "meta" category where the names look like they belong elsewhere (think names like COOPER or GRANT).
Tactical Advice for Tomorrow
If today’s Mashable hints for today taught us anything, it’s that you have to look for multiple definitions. When you see a word like BILL, don't just think about your electric company. Think about ducks. Think about hat brims. Think about Buffalo.
The best way to handle a grid with heavy overlap is to write the words down on a physical piece of paper. It sounds old-school, but it breaks the visual "spell" the digital grid puts on you. Group them in circles. If a word fits in two circles, leave it for last.
Check the "Purple" category first. It’s usually a wordplay category—words that follow a specific prefix or are part of a compound phrase. If you can spot the "missing" word in a phrase, the rest of the puzzle usually falls into place.
To wrap this up, if you’re still stuck on the NYT Connections, the Blue category today is FOUND ON A BOOK JACKET (AUTHOR, QUOTE, SYNOPSIS, TITLE). And for those classic movie buffs, the Purple category is CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD ACTORS (COOPER, GRANT, PECK, PRICE).
Go finish those grids and keep your streaks alive. You've got the answers now, so there's no excuse to lose that 100-day record.