Waking up and opening the NYT Games app feels like a gamble lately. Some days, you see the connections instantly. Other days, you're staring at sixteen words that seem to have absolutely nothing in common, feeling like your brain has turned into mush. It’s frustrating. It's meant to be. Wyna Liu and the editorial team at the New York Times have a specific talent for "red herrings"—those nasty little traps where a word looks like it belongs in two or three different groups. If you're looking for hints for today's New York Times Connections, you probably ran into one of those roadblocks.
The January 17, 2026, puzzle is a perfect example of how the game uses wordplay to mess with your spatial reasoning and vocabulary. Sometimes the link is a synonym. Other times, it's a "blank-word" phrase where the connection is a word that precedes or follows the ones on the board. You have to be careful. If you burn through your four mistakes in the first two minutes, your day is basically ruined.
Let's look at the board. Honestly, the difficulty curve today feels like a steep hill. You’ve got words that look like they belong in a kitchen, mixed with things that sound like they're from a corporate boardroom. It's a mess. But we can untangle it.
Quick Hints to Get You Moving
Before we dive into the actual answers, maybe you just need a nudge. Look at the words that imply movement or progression. Are they all the same kind of movement? Not necessarily. Sometimes the game links things that are "steps" in a process.
Check for words that could be homophones. This is a classic NYT move. A word might look like a noun, but when you say it out loud, it sounds like something else entirely. Also, keep an eye out for "hidden" categories—things like brands, or words that share a specific prefix that isn't immediately obvious.
The Yellow Category: The "Easy" Win
Usually, the yellow category is the most straightforward. It's the "straight" set of synonyms. Today, look for things that describe a brief look. If you’re glancing at something, what are you doing? You’re taking a peek. You’re catching a glimpse.
The words you’re looking for here are GLANCE, GLIMPSE, PEEK, and SIGHT.
It’s simple, right? Usually. But the game tries to distract you by throwing in other "eye" related words that don't quite fit the "briefness" of the action. Don't fall for it. If the word implies a long, steady stare, it doesn't belong in the yellow group. Yellow is fast. It’s a flicker.
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The Green Category: It’s All About the Money
Green is typically a step up in difficulty. Today, it focuses on financial or corporate roles. Think about the people who sit at the big table. Not just any employees, but the ones with the titles.
You’re looking for CHAIR, DIRECTOR, OFFICER, and TREASURER.
The trap here is the word "CHAIR." Most people see that and immediately think of furniture. They start looking for "STOOL" or "COUCH" or "TABLE." If you see a word that has two very different meanings—one physical and one metaphorical—the NYT is almost always using the metaphorical one to trick you. In this context, a Chair isn't something you sit on; it’s the person leading the meeting.
The Blue Category: Getting Into the Details
This is where things start to get hairy. Blue categories often involve a common theme that isn't a direct synonym. Today’s blue group is looking at parts of a specific object. Specifically, things you would find on a ship or a boat.
The words are DECK, HULL, KEEL, and MAST.
Did you see "DECK" and think of playing cards? That’s the red herring. If you saw "MAST" and thought of a radio tower, you’re not wrong, but it doesn't fit with "KEEL." When you have two words that only overlap in one specific niche—like maritime terminology—that’s your anchor. Pun intended.
The Purple Category: The Infamous Wordplay
Purple is the "love it or hate it" category. It’s almost never about what the words mean. It’s about how the words are constructed or what can be added to them. Today’s purple category is a classic "words that follow a specific word" type.
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The theme is Words that follow "SOUP".
The words are KITCHEN, LADLE, NUTS, and SPOON.
Think about it. Soup kitchen. Soup ladle. Soup to nuts. Soup spoon. "Soup to nuts" is an old idiomatic expression meaning "from beginning to end." If you aren't familiar with that phrase, this category probably felt impossible. That’s the trick with Purple—it often relies on cultural knowledge or specific idioms that might not be at the front of your mind.
Breaking Down the Red Herrings
The NYT editors are essentially magicians. They use misdirection. Today, the word "NUTS" was a huge distraction. Most people see "NUTS" and look for "BOLTS" or "SCREWS" or maybe types of food like "ALMONDS."
When you see a word like "NUTS," don't commit to its most obvious meaning. Ask yourself: "Is this part of a phrase?"
Another distraction was "OFFICER" and "SIGHT." You might have thought of "POLICE" or "LAW ENFORCEMENT." But "SIGHT" doesn't fit there. Always look for the word that almost fits two categories and set it aside. It’s usually the key to the harder groups.
How to Get Better at Connections
If you want to stop relying on hints for today's New York Times Connections, you have to change how you look at the grid.
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- Don't click immediately. Spend at least sixty seconds just looking.
- Say the words out loud. Sometimes the sound reveals a pun you missed.
- Identify the "Multi-Meaning" words. Words like "CHAIR," "DECK," or "NUTS" are your biggest clues because they are the most likely to be part of a trap.
- Work backward from Purple. If you can spot the wordplay group first, the rest of the puzzle usually collapses into place.
The Final Recap of Today's Board
If you just want the raw data to save your game, here is how the groups broke down for the January 17, 2026, puzzle:
- Yellow (Quick Look): Glance, Glimpse, Peek, Sight
- Green (Corporate Titles): Chair, Director, Officer, Treasurer
- Blue (Parts of a Boat): Deck, Hull, Keel, Mast
- Purple (Soup ___): Kitchen, Ladle, Nuts, Spoon
The difficulty today was definitely in the "Soup to nuts" reference and the nautical terms. If you aren't a sailor or a fan of mid-century idioms, you likely struggled.
Practical Steps for Your Next Puzzle
To sharpen your skills for tomorrow, try playing a few rounds of "Codenames" or other word-association games. They train your brain to see secondary and tertiary meanings of common words. Also, keep a mental list of common "Purple" tropes: colors, numbers, "words that start with a body part," and "words that follow a common noun."
The best way to win is to expect a trap. If you see four words that seem too easy, they probably are. Look for the fifth word that also fits that group. That's the red herring. Once you find the fifth wheel, you've found the editor's trick, and you're halfway to solving the grid.
Check back daily as the themes shift from academic to pop culture to obscure trivia. The more you play, the more you start to "see" like Wyna Liu, and that's when the 4-0 sweeps start happening regularly. Use your mistakes as data. If you guessed a group and got "One Away," look at every word you didn't pick and see if any of them share a double meaning with your current set. That is almost always the path to the correct answer.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Analyze your misses: Look at the "One Away" messages from today. Which word did you think belonged in a different group?
- Vocabulary Expansion: Look up the phrase "Soup to nuts" and other common idioms to prepare for future Purple categories.
- Shuffle the Board: If you’re stuck, use the "Shuffle" button. It breaks the visual patterns your brain is stuck on.