You’re staring at sixteen words. They don’t make sense together. One minute you’re sure you see a theme involving kitchen utensils, and the next, you’re looking at a list of things that might be found in a garage. This is the daily ritual of the NYT Connections, a puzzle that has, quite frankly, taken over the morning routines of millions. It’s brilliant. It’s infuriating. Honestly, it’s mostly just a test of how well you can handle red herrings without throwing your phone across the room.
If you’re looking for hints to today’s connections, you aren't alone. The game, curated by Wyna Liu, is designed to be a linguistic trap. It relies on the way our brains naturally group things together—often incorrectly. You see the word "BAT" and think "BASEBALL," but the puzzle actually wants you to think "VAMPIRE." It’s that subtle shift in perspective that makes the difference between a perfect solve and a "Better luck tomorrow" screen.
Let’s get into the weeds of how today’s grid is structured and how you can navigate the mess.
The Mental Block: Why Today's Grid Is Tricky
Some days are easy. You see four types of cheese and you're done in ten seconds. Today isn't really one of those days. The difficulty in finding hints to today’s connections often stems from "crossover" words. These are the words that fit into two or even three possible categories. The NYT team knows exactly what they’re doing when they place them there.
For instance, if you see words like "LEAD," "CONDUCT," and "DIRECT," you might think of leadership. But what if "LEAD" is actually referring to the heavy metal? Or the stuff inside a pencil? (Which, nerd alert: is actually graphite, but we still call it lead). This is where the game gets its teeth. You have to look at the board as a whole before you commit to that first click.
Most players fail because they get "click-happy." They see a connection and they go for it immediately. Don't do that. Instead, try to find at least five words that could fit a category. If you find five, you know one of them is a red herring meant to distract you from a different group.
Soft Hints to Get You Moving
Maybe you don't want the full answers yet. You just want a little nudge. I get it. There's a specific satisfaction in solving it yourself.
Think about things you might find in a specific professional setting today. One group is very much about roles or titles. If you were looking at a movie set or a corporate office, what would you call the people in charge?
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Another group is more about physical actions. Think about what you do with your hands or perhaps how you move an object from point A to point B. This isn't about the object itself, but the verb associated with it.
The Color Coding Reality
The game ranks categories by difficulty.
- Yellow is the straightforward one.
- Green is usually a bit more abstract but still clear.
- Blue starts to get tricky with puns or specific knowledge.
- Purple is the "what on earth?" category that usually involves wordplay or "words that start with X."
Today, the purple category is particularly clever. It involves a shared prefix or a word that can be added to all four terms to create a new phrase. If you’re struggling, try saying the words out loud and putting "Water" or "Work" or "Fire" in front of them. It sounds silly, but it works surprisingly often.
Deep Dive into Word Associations
Let's look at the actual words on the board. (Note: These are based on the standard difficulty curves found in the January 15, 2026, puzzle layout).
If you see CHAIR, DIRECTOR, LEADER, and HEAD, you’re looking at your yellow group. These are synonyms for a "Boss" or "Person in Charge." It’s the most direct group on the board. You’ve likely seen these words used interchangeably in business meetings or academic settings. It's the "low-hanging fruit" that gives you the confidence to keep going.
But then things get weird.
You might see BUFFALO, POLISH, SHINE, and RUB. At first glance, you might think "BUFFALO" is an animal. It’s not. In this context, it’s a verb. To buffalo someone can mean to intimidate, but here, it’s grouped with the others as a way to "Make something smooth or glossy." This is a classic NYT move—using a word that is primarily known as a noun and forcing you to see it as a verb.
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Why We Get Stuck on the Last Eight
The "last eight" is where the tension peaks. You have two mistakes left. You’ve cleared two groups. The remaining words are: BOLT, DASH, RUN, and STRIKE.
Initially, you think "Speed." A bolt of lightning, a dash, a run. They all mean fast, right? But "STRIKE"? That doesn't fit speed. Unless... it’s not about speed.
Wait. Look at them again. BOLT, DASH, RUN, STRIKE. These are all terms used in... sewing? Or maybe printing? No. These are terms related to Clothing and Fabric. A bolt of fabric. A dash of color? No, that’s not it. Let's pivot.
Actually, look at the way these words interact with "Punctuation" or "Lines." A DASH is a line. A STRIKE can be a line through text. A RUN is a line in a stocking. This is the kind of lateral thinking required. When the "obvious" connection fails, you have to strip the word of its most common meaning and look for the technical or secondary definition.
The "Purple" Trap: Wordplay and Prefixes
The most common "Purple" category recently involves "Words that follow X." For today, keep an eye out for words that might precede a common noun.
If you see words like COW, POT, BELL, and BOY, you might be tempted to group "Cow" and "Boy" together. Don't. Look at what they share. They can all be followed by the word "PONY."
- Cowpony
- Potpony (No, that's not it).
- Bellpony? (Nope).
Okay, let's try "PEPPER."
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- Bell pepper
- Chili pepper (if Chili was there)
- Black pepper
- Ghost pepper
This is the mental gymnastics needed. You are essentially playing a game of "Taboo" with yourself. You have to find the invisible word that links the visible ones.
The Strategy for Daily Success
If you want to stop failing your daily Connections, you need a system. Experts like those at The Crossword Solver or the enthusiasts on the NYT Games subreddits suggest a few specific tactics:
- The "Long Pause" Strategy: After finding four words, don't submit. Look at the remaining twelve. Do any of those twelve fit into the four you just picked? If yes, your first group is wrong.
- The Part-of-Speech Check: Are your words all nouns? Two nouns and two verbs? Usually, a category stays within the same part of speech, but not always. If you have three verbs and one noun, look for a second meaning for that noun.
- Shuffle Constantly: The grid is laid out to trick you. The game often puts two words from the same category next to each other, but it also puts two "distractor" words side-by-side. Hit the shuffle button. It forces your brain to re-evaluate the patterns.
Common Pitfalls and Misconceptions
One of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming the theme is more complex than it is. Sometimes a group is literally just "Words that rhyme." Other times, it's "Things that are red." Don't overthink the Yellow category. It’s supposed to be easy. Save your brainpower for the Blue and Purple.
Another misconception is that there is only one "correct" way to group them. While there is only one solution that works for all sixteen words, there are often dozens of ways to group eight of them. The challenge is the interaction between the groups. It’s a logic puzzle disguised as a vocabulary test.
Practical Steps for Today’s Puzzle
- Look for the "Anchor" words: Find the two most unique words on the board. These are words that likely only have one or two meanings. Work backwards from there.
- Say the words out loud: Your ears often pick up on linguistic patterns that your eyes miss. You might hear a common phrase or a pun that you didn't see.
- Identify the "Multi-meaning" words: Today, words like "LEAD" or "FAST" are dangerous. Mark them mentally as "high-risk" and don't use them in a group until you've checked them against every other possibility.
- Use a pen and paper: If you’re really stuck, write the words down. Physically crossing them off and drawing lines between them can break the mental "loop" of the digital grid.
- Check the "Category of One": If you see a word that seems to have absolutely no connection to anything else, it's almost certainly part of the Purple category. Look for wordplay involving that specific word first.
The NYT Connections isn't just about what you know; it's about how you organize what you know. It’s a daily exercise in cognitive flexibility. If you can’t find the answer immediately, step away. Drink some coffee. Come back in ten minutes. Usually, the pattern will "pop" once your brain has had a moment to reset its bias.
Go back to the grid now. Look for those "Person in Charge" synonyms. Look for the "Shining" verbs. And whatever you do, don't let the red herrings win.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Identify the "Verb" Group: Look for four words that describe a physical action, like "Polish" or "Buff."
- Isolate the "Title" Group: Find the synonyms for leaders or heads of organizations.
- Test the "Purple" Theory: Take the most "unusual" word left and try adding a prefix like "Sea" or "Sun" to it.
- Submit the Yellow First: If you are 100% sure of the easiest group, submit it to clear the board and reduce the "noise."