NYT Connections #961 was released on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. The four groups are a funny person, an NHL team member, the first words of Robin Hood character names, and words that begin with baseball terms. Spoilers for the full solution follow.
NYT Connections #961 was released on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. The puzzle’s four groups are built around a funny person, NHL team members, Robin Hood character names, and words that begin with baseball terms.
NYT Connections #961 hints for January 27, 2026
Here are progressive clues, from the least revealing to the most revealing:
- Yellow hint: Think of someone or something that is very funny.
- Green hint: These are names associated with NHL franchises.
- Blue hint: Think of the familiar names of Robin Hood’s companions and associates.
- Purple hint: Add a baseball-related word to the beginning of each answer.
The official-style category clues for this grid were “A fun person,” “Hockey player,” “His merry men and woman,” and “Initially seen as Yankee Stadium.”
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Connections #961 answers
Warning: the answers are next.
| Color | Category | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Quite the laugh | CARD, CHARACTER, CUTUP, JOKER |
| Green | NHL team member | DEVIL, FLYER, PENGUIN, RANGER |
| Blue | First words of Robin Hood character names | FRIAR, MAID, ROBIN, SHERIFF |
| Purple | Starting with baseball gear | BALLROOM, BASEMENT, BATMOBILE, CAPSTONE |
Why each answer belongs
Yellow: QUITE THE LAUGH
CARD, CHARACTER, CUTUP, JOKER
- A card can be a witty, amusing, or entertaining person.
- A character can describe an eccentric or amusing person.
- A cutup is someone playful or fond of making jokes.
- A joker can mean a funny person or comedian.
Together, these words describe someone who is “quite the laugh.” This is the yellow group, intended to be the most accessible category in the puzzle.
Green: NHL TEAM MEMBER
DEVIL, FLYER, PENGUIN, RANGER
- Devil → New Jersey Devils
- Flyer → Philadelphia Flyers
- Penguin → Pittsburgh Penguins
- Ranger → New York Rangers
Each entry becomes an NHL franchise name in singular or plural form. The category is not asking for descriptions of hockey players; it is using the names of NHL teams.
Blue: FIRST WORDS OF ROBIN HOOD CHARACTER NAMES
FRIAR, MAID, ROBIN, SHERIFF
- Friar → Friar Tuck
- Maid → Maid Marian
- Robin → Robin Hood
- Sheriff → Sheriff of Nottingham
These are the opening words of familiar Robin Hood character names. Robin is especially tempting as part of a Batman connection, but its correct home here is the Robin Hood group.
Purple: STARTING WITH BASEBALL GEAR
BALLROOM, BASEMENT, BATMOBILE, CAPSTONE
- BALL + ROOM → BALLROOM
- BASE + MENT → BASEMENT
- BAT + MOBILE → BATMOBILE
- CAP + STONE → CAPSTONE
Each word begins with baseball equipment or apparel: a ball, base, bat, or cap. The category clue’s reference to “Initially seen as Yankee Stadium” points toward the beginnings—or initial portions—of the words, rather than a location itself.
The Batman red herring
BATMOBILE, JOKER, ROBIN, and PENGUIN form a very convincing apparent Batman group. That is the puzzle’s most conspicuous trap: all four are associated with Batman, but they cannot remain together if the grid is to produce four groups of four.
The correct placements are:
- BATMOBILE belongs in the purple group because it starts with bat.
- JOKER belongs in yellow as a funny person.
- ROBIN belongs in blue as the first word of Robin Hood’s name.
- PENGUIN belongs in green as part of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ name.
DEVIL can also look like it belongs with Joker because of its supernatural or comic-book associations, but it is needed for the New Jersey Devils group. This is a good example of why Connections rewards finding a complete, precise category rather than grouping words by their first obvious association.
How difficult was Connections #961?
The puzzle was described by one published solver as hard, with the Batman-related false grouping and the unusual baseball-word construction providing the main obstacles. Any reported mistake count or difficulty rating from an individual writer should be treated as personal experience—not as an official New York Times difficulty score.
The purple category is particularly easy to miss because the answers are ordinary compound words or names. Instead of looking for four things associated with baseball, split the words at the beginning: BALL-room, BASE-ment, BAT-mobile, CAP-stone.
What is NYT Connections?
Connections gives players 16 words and asks them to divide the grid into four groups of four that share a common property. The categories are color-coded by difficulty:
- Yellow: generally the easiest connection
- Green: a more moderate connection
- Blue: a harder or less direct connection
- Purple: usually the trickiest wordplay or most specialized connection
There is one intended solution, but the game deliberately includes words that may seem to fit multiple categories. That is why a tempting group such as the four Batman references can be a deliberate red herring rather than the answer.
Connections is available on the web and through the Games and News apps. Eligible Games or All Access subscribers can use the archive to revisit older puzzles, including puzzles dating back to June 12, 2023. The game releases a new puzzle daily at midnight in the player’s time zone, so the date attached to an answer can differ from the date experienced by readers in another location.
Want more Connections puzzles?
For readers who prefer solving away from a screen, the official Connections puzzle book from The New York Times Games and Wyna Liu is a physical collection of more than 100 Connections-style puzzles, along with new variations and behind-the-scenes material. The publisher lists it for publication on October 27, 2026 and lists Amazon among the retailers; availability and fulfillment should be checked before ordering. It is described as a collection of additional puzzles, not as a book confirmed to contain puzzle #961.
Recommended Free Tools
Full grid for Connections #961
For reference, the 16 words in the January 27, 2026 puzzle were:
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BATMOBILE, FRIAR, CARD, ROBIN, JOKER, BASEMENT, PENGUIN, CHARACTER, SHERIFF, DEVIL, CAPSTONE, FLYER, RANGER, MAID, BALLROOM, CUTUP.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the answers to NYT Connections #961?
The answers are CARD, CHARACTER, CUTUP, and JOKER; DEVIL, FLYER, PENGUIN, and RANGER; FRIAR, MAID, ROBIN, and SHERIFF; and BALLROOM, BASEMENT, BATMOBILE, and CAPSTONE.
When was Connections #961 released?
The puzzle was released on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
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BATMOBILE, JOKER, ROBIN, and PENGUIN look like Batman references, but they belong to four different categories in the solution.
Can I play older Connections puzzles?
Eligible Games or All Access subscribers can use the New York Times Connections archive to revisit older puzzles.
The Bottom Line
Connections #961, released January 27, 2026, grouped its words into funny people; NHL team members; the first words of Robin Hood character names; and words beginning with baseball terms. The key traps were the Batman quartet and the misleading supernatural associations around DEVIL and JOKER.
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