Friday morning. You’ve got your coffee. You open the New York Times Games app, expecting a nice, gentle stroll through some synonyms. Instead, you’re staring at NYT Connections for today and wondering if you actually know how to speak English.
Today is January 16, 2026. It's puzzle #950. Honestly, Wyna Liu and the editorial team are really leaning into the "one vowel" thing lately, and it’s getting a little chaotic out there.
If you’re stuck, you aren't alone. Today’s grid is a classic example of what enthusiasts call a "cross-pollination" trap. You see a word, you think you know its home, and then—bam—it turns out that word has a secret life in a completely different category.
The Mental Blocks in Today’s Grid
Look, we have to talk about the red herrings. This is where most people lose their lives (in the game, I mean).
When you first glance at the 16 words, ALABAMA and PANAMA scream "Geography!" at you. You might even see KANSAS and think you’re looking at a "State Names" or "Places" category. But that’s the trap. If you try to group them by location, you’re going to run out of guesses before you can say "incorrect."
What's Actually Happening?
Basically, the game is playing with phonetics and specific naming conventions today. It’s less about where these places are and more about how the words are constructed or what they’ve been attached to in pop culture.
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For instance, the word PANAMA. Is it a country? Yes. Is it a hat? Also yes. Is it a Van Halen song? Absolutely. But in the context of NYT Connections for today, it only fits in one very specific slot.
Breaking Down the Categories
If you just want the hints without the full spoilers yet, here is the vibe of the four groups.
- Yellow: These are physical objects you’d find in a vintage closet or a hipster's wardrobe. Very straightforward stuff.
- Green: Think about what you do when you’re trying to get a five-year-old to finally go to sleep so you can watch Netflix in peace.
- Blue: This is the "Linguistic" category. It’s about the letters, not the meaning. This is usually where the "aha!" moment happens.
- Purple: The classic "Fill-in-the-blank." You need to put a specific five-letter word in front of all of these.
Yellow: Kinds of Hats
This was the "easy" one, though if you don't know your haberdashery, it might have felt a bit prickly.
- DERBY
- FEDORA
- PANAMA
- PORKPIE
The PORKPIE hat is the real kicker here. If you aren't a jazz fan or a Breaking Bad devotee (shoutout to Heisenberg), you might have thought it was a food item. But no, it's that flat-topped hat that looks like, well, a pork pie.
Green: Components of a Kid's Bedtime Routine
Simple, right? Not if you were trying to put STORY or PAJAMAS somewhere else.
- BATH
- BRUSHING
- PAJAMAS
- STORY
There’s a certain rhythm to this one. Most people get this second because the words are so domestic and cozy.
Blue: Musical Acts with "A" as the Only Vowel
This is where the game gets nasty. You have to stop looking at the meanings and start looking at the spelling.
- ALABAMA
- BANANARAMA
- KANSAS
- SANTANA
Did you notice? Every single one of these band names uses "A" as its only vowel. No E, I, O, or U in sight. It’s a brilliant bit of wordplay that relies on you ignoring the fact that they are all bands and focusing on the orthography.
Purple: Grand ___
The hardest category. The one that makes you want to throw your phone across the room.
- BAHAMA
- CANYON
- PIANO
- SLAM
GRAND BAHAMA, GRAND CANYON, GRAND PIANO, GRAND SLAM.
The trick here was BAHAMA. Because PANAMA (from the yellow group) is also a place, it’s easy to get them swapped. But "Grand Panama" isn't a thing, whereas "Grand Bahama" is a major island.
Strategies for Not Failing Tomorrow
I’ve been playing this game since it launched in beta, and the #1 rule is: Don't click yet.
When you see a group of four, look for a fifth. If you see five words that fit a category (like PANAMA, BAHAMA, ALABAMA, KANSAS all being "Places"), you know that category is a trap. You have to find which ones belong elsewhere before you commit.
Also, try saying the words out loud. Sometimes your ears catch a connection that your eyes miss. Like the "A" vowel sound in the blue group—sometimes hearing the repetitive "ah" sound helps you realize they share a phonetic or structural link.
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What to Do Now
If you’ve already finished NYT Connections for today, you should probably head over to Strands. Today's theme is "DC Crusader," and the spangram is BATMAN. It’s a lot more visual and, honestly, a bit more relaxing than the mental gymnastics Connections puts us through.
If you're still struggling with word games in general, try these three things:
- Shuffle the board. Seriously. Just moving the tiles around can break your brain out of a false pattern.
- Look for prefixes/suffixes. "Grand" was the hidden prefix today. Tomorrow it might be words that end in a type of bird or a chemical element.
- Step away. If you're down to your last mistake, close the app. Come back in an hour. Your subconscious is better at this than you think.
Check back tomorrow for the next breakdown. The grids aren't getting any easier, but we're getting smarter. Hopefully.