Spoiler warning: This page gives the hints for the Saturday, January 17, 2026, NYT Connections puzzle first. Stop after any hint if you want to keep solving on your own; the complete groups and explanations appear farther down.
This was Connections puzzle #951. If your board does not match the date or word list below, check your local puzzle date: The game resets at midnight in each player’s time zone.
Today’s NYT Connections words
The 16 tiles in the January 17, 2026 puzzle are:
PLASTER, SLING, HIDE, BLANKET, PELT, SINK, RED, COAT, SKIN, COVER, CAST, INKS, SIMON, HURL, KINS, CAPTURE
Connections asks you to divide all 16 words into four groups of four. The categories may depend on definitions, phrases, wordplay, or the way a word combines with other words.
Hints for Connections #951
These clues become more specific in order. Try the first one, then return for the next only if you need it.
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Yellow hint
Think of something that can be applied as a layer or spread across a surface.
Green hint
Think of ways to send or toss something through the air.
Blue hint
Four of the tiles are made from exactly the same four letters, rearranged into different words.
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Purple hint
Think about the opening words in familiar children’s games.
Category answers
Ready for the group names, but not the individual tiles?
- Yellow: Extend a layer
- Green: Toss forward
- Blue: Same letters in a variety of order
- Purple: The start of children’s games
The full answer reveal is below.
NYT Connections answers for January 17, 2026
Yellow: SPREAD OVER
BLANKET, COAT, COVER, PLASTER
Each word can work as a verb for spreading or placing a layer over something. You can blanket an area, coat a surface, cover an object, or plaster something with a material.
Green: THROW
CAST, HURL, PELT, SLING
These are all associated with throwing. To cast, hurl, or sling something is to throw it; to pelt can mean to throw objects repeatedly at a person or target.
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Blue: ANAGRAMS
INKS, KINS, SINK, SKIN
Every tile contains the same four letters—I, K, N, and S—in a different arrangement. The words are especially deceptive because sink and skin can look like they belong with other surface-related tiles, while inks may suggest a materials or writing category.
Purple: FIRST WORDS OF KIDS’ GAMES
CAPTURE, HIDE, RED, SIMON
These are the opening words of familiar game names:
- Capture the Flag
- Hide-and-Seek
- Red Rover
- Simon Says
This is the most lateral group because the tiles are not complete game names. They are the first words of those names.
Why this puzzle was difficult
TechRadar rated this puzzle hard and reported making three mistakes while solving it. The main difficulty came from overlapping possibilities. HIDE, SKIN, and PLASTER can all make a solver think about surfaces, coverings, or layers, but only PLASTER belongs in the yellow group. Similarly, the four anagrams are ordinary English words that can tempt you toward meaning-based groups instead of the letter pattern.
A useful solving habit here is to test a suspected category against all four words before submitting it. If a word fits only because of a loose association, set the group aside and look for a more exact connection. Once INKS, KINS, SINK, and SKIN are recognized as anagrams, the remaining words become easier to sort.
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How the Connections difficulty colors work
The game uses four difficulty colors:
- Yellow is usually the most direct connection.
- Green is somewhat more involved.
- Blue often uses wordplay, a pattern, or specialized knowledge.
- Purple is generally the most lateral or deliberately tricky group.
Those colors do not necessarily tell you which group to solve first. A purple group can become obvious if you recognize the reference, while a yellow group can be hard when several tiles appear to fit it.
More Connections puzzles
If you like solving away from a screen, the publisher has announced Connections, a hardcover collection curated by Wyna Liu. The listed edition includes more than 100 puzzles, exclusive puzzles, varied difficulty, and a lay-flat format; the publisher lists ISBN 9798893312607, 192 pages, a $39.99 list price, and an October 27, 2026 publication date. Because that publication date is in the future relative to this puzzle guide, check the publisher’s page for current availability and details before ordering.
For a broader selection, Puzzle Mania!: Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Minis and More! is a New York Times Games hardcover reported as published on October 21, 2025. It is a general NYT Games collection, not a book specifically containing the January 17 puzzle. Availability and retailer terms can change, so verify the listing before buying.
Why the exact date matters
“Today’s” Connections puzzle is not always the same board for every reader at the same moment. The game releases a new puzzle at midnight according to each player’s local time zone. That is why this archive uses the unambiguous date—January 17, 2026—and puzzle number #951 rather than relying on “today” alone. Contemporary coverage and the listed board for #951 are documented by TechRadar’s January 17 Connections guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the answer to NYT Connections on January 17, 2026?
The four groups are SPREAD OVER: BLANKET, COAT, COVER, PLASTER; THROW: CAST, HURL, PELT, SLING; ANAGRAMS: INKS, KINS, SINK, SKIN; and FIRST WORDS OF KIDS’ GAMES: CAPTURE, HIDE, RED, SIMON.
What number was the January 17, 2026 Connections puzzle?
It was Connections puzzle #951.
What are the four anagrams in Connections #951?
INKS, KINS, SINK, and SKIN all use the same four letters— I, K, N, and S—rearranged.
The Bottom Line
The January 17, 2026 Connections puzzle (#951) groups its words around layers, throwing, anagrams, and the opening words of children’s games. The biggest traps are the overlapping surface-related words and the four ordinary words that are actually anagrams.
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