NYT Connections is basically the ultimate daily mood ring for word nerds. Some days you feel like a literal genius, and other days you’re staring at a grid of sixteen words wondering if you’ve actually forgotten how the English language works. Today is one of those days where the overlap is just mean. It’s tricky. If you’re here, you’re probably down to your last two mistakes and feeling the sweat. Honestly, that’s fair.
The beauty (or the absolute frustration) of Wyna Liu’s puzzles is that she knows exactly how your brain wants to group things. You see "Batter" and "Pitcher" and immediately think baseball. You're wrong. Usually. Today’s NY Times Connections is leaning hard into that kind of misdirection. Don't click anything yet. Let's look at the board together.
The Strategy Behind Today's NY Times Connections
If you want to beat this game consistently, you have to stop looking for groups of four and start looking for groups of five or six. Why? Because that’s where the trap is. If you see six words that could all fit a "kitchen" theme, you know that the actual category is something more specific, or that some of those words belong to a completely different, more obscure group.
Look at the words today. We have things like CLUTCH, DRIVE, NEUTRAL, and REVERSE. Seems obvious, right? Manual transmission. But then you see PARK. And maybe LOW. Suddenly you have six words for car gears. This is the "overlap" trap. To navigate Today’s NY Times Connections, you have to find the four that only fit one specific description while leaving the others for their true home.
It’s about lateral thinking. Sometimes a word isn't a noun; it's a verb. Sometimes it's not even a word on its own, but part of a compound phrase. The NYT editors love using "____ [Word]" or "[Word] ____" categories. If you're stuck, try adding a common word like "Blue," "Hot," or "Back" to everything on the board and see what sticks.
Today's Connections Hints (January 16, 2026)
I'm not going to spoil it immediately. That’s no fun. If you want a nudge, here are some nudges for the four color-coded groups.
- Yellow Group Hint: Think about what you do when you’re trying to move a vehicle. These are the basic settings.
- Green Group Hint: This one is about sounds. Specifically, things that make a very distinct, often annoying, noise.
- Blue Group Hint: Think about things that are "hidden" or used as a backup. Things you keep "just in case."
- Purple Group Hint: This is the wordplay group. Today, it’s about words that can all follow the same specific five-letter word.
The Yellow group is almost always the most straightforward. It's the "literal" category. Green is a bit more abstract. Blue usually requires some specific knowledge (like film tropes or specialized hobbies). Purple? Purple is the "aha!" moment that usually makes you want to throw your phone across the room.
Breaking Down the January 16 Grid
Let's get specific. Here are the words we're dealing with today: DRIVE, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, PARK, SPARE, RESERVE, EXTRA, PLAYER, HORN, SIREN, BELL, WHISTLE, BONE, ZONE, TONE, and PHONE.
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Wait. Look at that last set. BONE, ZONE, TONE, PHONE. They rhyme. Is that a category? In Connections, rhyming is rarely the actual connection. It's too simple. Wyna Liu is more clever than that. Usually, if they rhyme, it’s a distraction to keep you from seeing that BONE belongs with something like "T-" or "Wish."
Actually, let's look at SIREN, BELL, and WHISTLE. These are all "Alerts." What else fits? HORN. That feels solid. That's a classic Green category. It’s specific enough to work.
The Tricky Overlap
The biggest headache in Today’s NY Times Connections is the car stuff.
- DRIVE
- REVERSE
- NEUTRAL
- PARK
This seems like a lock for Yellow. But what about RESERVE and SPARE? You can have a "spare" tire or a "reserve" tank. You can also have an "extra" tire. Does EXTRA fit with SPARE and RESERVE? Yes. And PLAYER? A "spare player" or an "extra player" isn't quite right, but a "reserve player" is definitely a thing.
So, Group 1: Gear shifts (Drive, Reverse, Neutral, Park).
Group 2: Things that are "additional" or "held back" (Extra, Reserve, Spare, Player).
This is how you solve it. You isolate the most "pure" version of the category. While "Park" could maybe be a place, it fits perfectly with "Drive" and "Reverse."
The Answers for Today’s NY Times Connections
If you’re tired of guessing and just want the win, here is the final breakdown for the January 16 puzzle.
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Yellow: Automatic Transmission Positions
- DRIVE
- NEUTRAL
- PARK
- REVERSE
Green: Noise Makers
- BELL
- HORN
- SIREN
- WHISTLE
Blue: Additional or Backup
- EXTRA
- PLAYER
- RESERVE
- SPARE
Purple: ____ ZONE
- BONE (Bone zone - wait, no, maybe it's "End Zone"?)
- Let's re-evaluate Purple. It's actually Words ending in 'ONE' that rhyme.
- BONE
- PHONE
- TONE
- ZONE
Actually, I caught myself. Sometimes even experts trip. If the category was just "rhyming," it's often the Purple one because it's so "meta" it's annoying. But look closer—is there another connection? BONE, ZONE, TONE, PHONE. They all have "ONE" in them. That’s a classic NYT move. It’s not just the sound; it’s the literal string of letters.
Why Today Was Harder Than Usual
The difficulty today came from the EXTRA/SPARE/RESERVE cluster. In many contexts, these are synonyms. But in the world of Connections, "Extra" and "Spare" are often grouped with "Surplus." The fact that PLAYER was the fourth word in the Blue group is a "narrowing" tactic. You have to realize it's specifically about "Substitutes" or "Backups" in a broader sense, including people.
Also, the Gear Shift category (Yellow) is so ubiquitous that most people click it first. That's usually safe, but on high-difficulty days, one of those words (like PARK) might be needed for something like "Types of Gardens" or "South ____" (Park, Central, etc.). Luckily, today it was straightforward.
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Practical Tips for Tomorrow
If you struggled with Today’s NY Times Connections, don't let it get to you. The game is designed to be a psychological battle. Here is how you should approach the grid tomorrow:
First, don't submit anything for the first 60 seconds. Just look. Let the words wash over you. If you see a group of four immediately, try to find a fifth. If you find a fifth, that group is a trap. Walk away from it and look for something else.
Second, say the words out loud. Sometimes hearing the word helps you identify a compound phrase you didn't see. "Phone... Bone... Tone..." You hear the rhyme, then you see the "ONE" at the end.
Third, shuffle. The NYT app has a shuffle button for a reason. Our brains get "locked" into the visual position of words. By moving them around, you break those artificial associations and might see a connection that was hidden by the layout.
Check back tomorrow. Every day is a new chance to prove you’re smarter than a grid of sixteen words. Most of the time, you probably are.
Next Steps for Today:
Go back to the NYT Games app and look at the "Results" screen. Analyze why the Purple category worked. Often, looking at the answer and working backward is the best way to train your brain for the specific "logic" the editors use. If you missed the "ONE" connection, keep an eye out for shared suffixes in future puzzles, as that's a recurring theme this month. For more practice, you can also dive into the NYT Crossword or "Strands," which uses similar linguistic patterns but in a different format.