Find the links between the words to win today’s game of Connections.
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Each day’s game of NYT Connections goes live at midnight local time. Before today’s NYT Connections hints, here’s what you missed on Monday:
ForbesNYT Connections Hints Today: Monday, January 26 Clues And Answers (#960)By Kris Holt
Hey there, Connectors! I hope your week is off to a good start, all things considered.
While I really enjoyed my mini solo vacation last week, it ended on a bit of a sour note. Shortly before the flight home was about to take off, I took out my earbud so I could place it back into its charging case, then use the headphones to watch a movie or two on the in-flight entertainment system.
However, I dropped the earbud and I have no idea where it went. Neither my neighbors nor the flight attendant could see it. The plane swallowed it up.
I was bummed, as they’re good, mid-range earbuds (not the very most expensive model around, but not cheap either). That said, I tend to only use one earbud at a time anyway, largely because I don’t want to be entirely shut off from the noises around me, especially when I’m out and about. So I’m going to have to get used to using the left earbud for the time being until there’s a good sale on the latest version of the model I like.
Before we start, I want to mention the great community we have on Discord, where we chat about Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. It’s a lovely, welcoming group of folks. I like to call it our cozy little corner of the internet. You’re more than welcome to join us. Don’t be shy!
Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, January 27 are coming right up. Let’s get rolling!
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NYT Connections – How To Play
Connections is a free New York Times daily word game that you can play on the NYT’s website or Games app. If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the Connections archive, which includes every previous game.
Connections presents you with a grid of 16 words (sometimes phrases, symbols or numbers). The aim is to arrange them into four groups of four. You don’t know how they hit together or what the category for each group is: that’s what you have to figure out.
There’s only one correct solution and there are often red herrings. You can guess incorrectly three times. A fourth wrong guess, and it’s game over.
Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to deduce, followed by blue, green and purple. Often, the yellow and green groups have synonyms, the blues have cultural references and the purples have some kind of wordplay involved. But this is not a hard and fast rule. Be ready for curveballs – part of the fun of Connections is in how the NYT shakes things up to keep you on your toes.
As with Wordle and similar games, it’s easy to share results with your friends using an emoji-based grid. The game tracks your progress too.
Many players take pride in having long win streaks or getting a reverse rainbow – correctly guessing the purple, blue, green and yellow groups in that order with no mistakes. That adds an extra little challenge.
NYT Connections Hints – Today’s Word List
Scroll slowly! I’ll first give you a list of today’s words, then a hint for each category. After that, I’ll reveal one word that goes into each group. Then I’ll tell you the category names, followed by the full answers.
Today’s 16 words are…
BATMOBILEFRIARCARDROBINJOKERBASEMENTPENGUINCHARACTERSHERIFFDEVILCAPSTONEFLYERRANGERMAIDBALLROOMCUTUPNYT Connections Hints
And the hints for today’s Connections groups are:
🟨 Yellow group — just too funny🟩 Green group — like star, sabre and senator🟦 Blue group — mentioned in tales of a legendary outlaw🟪 Purple group — what lies within is seen around the moundNYT Connections Hints – One Answer Per Group
Need some extra help?
Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.
Let’s take a look at one answer for each group.
Here we go…
🟨 Yellow group — CUTUP🟩 Green group — FLYER🟦 Blue group — ROBIN🟪 Purple group — CAPSTONENYT Connections Hints – Groups/Categories
Today’s Connections groups are…
🟨 Yellow group — quite the laugh 🟩 Green group — NHL team member🟦 Blue group — first words of Robin Hood character names🟪 Purple group — starting with baseball gear NYT Connections Answers
Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.
This is your last chance to look away.
This is your final warning!
Today’s Connections answers are…
🟨 Yellow group — quite the laugh (CARD, CHARACTER, CUTUP, JOKER)🟩 Green group — NHL team member (DEVIL, FLYER, PENGUIN, RANGER)🟦 Blue group — first words of Robin Hood character names (FRIAR, MAID, ROBIN, SHERIFF)🟪 Purple group — starting with baseball gear (BALLROOM, BASEMENT, BATMOBILE, CAPSTONE)
We had a group of Batman-related words just a few days ago, so I dismissed BATMOBILE, ROBIN, JOKER and PENGUIN as a red herring from the jump.
JOKER probably had to refer to a funny person in that case, and so I got the yellows quite quickly. For what it’s worth, this is at least the third time we’ve had a “funny person” group that includes both CARD and JOKER, after the November 13, 2023 game and the Connections from January 28, 2025 — almost exactly one year ago.
The hockey players were up next. No problem there after I clocked what a FLYER and RANGER had to be referring to. And then the Robin Hood characters slotted together in my mind for the blues.
That left the purples. I figured out that connection after a few moments to wrap up a regular rainbow and my 332nd win on the bounce.
How did you get on today? Here’s my grid for this one:
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
Want to know more about how everything fits together? Let’s explore today’s game in more depth in my NYT Connections Answers Explained column right here.
ForbesNYT Connections: Today’s Answers Explained (Tuesday, January 27, #961)By Kris Holt
That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog tomorrow for hints and the solution for Wednesday’s game if you need them.
P.S. I totally whiffed on recommending a Stone Temple Pilots song after there was a reference to the band in Connections a few days ago, so I’m going to make good on that now.
“Plush” is one of the band’s most famous songs and it’s a very good one. So, let’s go with that. It also brings back memories of playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, one of the very best games in that series:
Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!
Please follow my blog for more NYT Connections hints and help with other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Sharing this column with other people who play Connections would be appreciated too. You can also read my weekend editions of this column at my newsletter, Pastimes.