Word games have this annoying, beautiful way of making you feel like a genius one second and a total idiot the next. That’s the vibe today. If you’re hunting for the NYT Connections Mashable hint today, you’ve likely stared at a grid of sixteen words that refuse to cooperate.
Honestly, the January 16, 2026, puzzle—number 950, if you’re counting—is a bit of a classic. It leans heavily on cultural trivia and one of those "hidden in plain sight" linguistic tricks that the New York Times editors love to use when they want to be particularly cheeky. You aren't alone if you're stuck.
The Struggle With Today's Grid
Let's be real. Sometimes the connection is obvious. You see four types of fruit, you click them, you move on with your life. Today isn't really like that. There’s a lot of overlap. You might see a word like PANAMA and immediately think of the country, or maybe the Van Halen song, or even a specific type of hat.
That’s the trap.
The NYT editors are masters of the "red herring." They put words on the board that could easily fit into three different categories, and your job is to figure out which one is the only one that works for all four words. It’s basically a high-stakes game of process of elimination.
NYT Connections Hints for January 16
If you don't want the full spoilers yet, here are some nudges to get your brain moving in the right direction.
- Yellow Group Hint: Think about what you might wear on your head during a fancy horse race or a 1940s noir film.
- Green Group Hint: If you have kids—or remember being one—these are the steps you take before the lights go out.
- Blue Group Hint: Look at the vowels. Or rather, the lack of variety in them. These are famous musical acts, but they share a very specific spelling quirk.
- Purple Group Hint: This is the "blank" category. Try putting the word "Grand" in front of these four.
Breaking Down the Categories
The Yellow Category is "Kinds of hats." It’s the most straightforward, though PORKPIE might trip up younger players who haven't seen Breaking Bad or don't know their jazz history.
- DERBY
- FEDORA
- PANAMA
- PORKPIE
The Green Category covers "Components of a kid's bedtime routine." Pretty wholesome stuff. If you found PAJAMAS and STORY, the rest should have fallen into place.
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- BATH
- BRUSHING
- PAJAMAS
- STORY
Now, the Blue Category is where things get technical. "Musical acts with 'A' as the only vowel." This is a classic "meta" category where the meaning of the words matters less than how they are constructed.
- ALABAMA
- BANANARAMA
- KANSAS
- SANTANA
Finally, we have the Purple Category, which is almost always a "Words that follow [Blank]" or "Words that precede [Blank]" situation. Today, it's "Grand ___."
- BAHAMA
- CANYON
- PIANO
- SLAM
Why Today Was Tricky
The crossover between PANAMA (the hat) and BAHAMA (the Grand Bahama) is a classic bait-and-switch. You might also have looked at ALABAMA and KANSAS and just thought "States," but there weren't two other states to round out the group.
This is why I always suggest "shuffling" the board. It’s a literal button on the screen, but it’s also a mental necessity. When you see words next to each other, your brain naturally tries to link them. Shuffling breaks those false links and lets you see the words in a vacuum.
Actionable Tips for Your Next Game
If you're tired of losing your streak, try these specific tactics:
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- Don't click immediately. Find two potential groups before you commit to one. If a word fits in both, wait.
- Look for the "odd" word. A word like BANANARAMA is so specific that it must be part of a very narrow category. Find its partners first.
- The Vowel Check. If you're stuck, literally look at the letters. Sometimes the connection is about double letters, starting letters, or—like today—exclusive vowels.
- Say them out loud. Sometimes hearing the words helps you catch a prefix or suffix that your eyes missed. "Grand Piano" sounds right; "Grand Story" sounds like a stretch.
Check your grid one last time and see if these groupings make sense for your remaining guesses. If you've already burnt three mistakes, take a breath. The logic is there, you just have to stop looking at the map and start looking at the terrain.