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NYT Connections #586 was released on Friday, January 17, 2025, with answers FRANKFURTER, STRIKE, WEB BROWSERS, and ENDING WITH BEER BRANDS. The key trap is PEPPERONI: it looks like a sausage answer but belongs with AUTOHARP, CONTRABASS, and ROSEBUD through hidden beer-brand names.
This page gives the 16 words first, then progressively stronger hints, followed by the complete answers and an explanation of the purple category. The date is January 17, 2025; January 17, 2026 corresponds to a different puzzle.
Key takeaways
- NYT Connections #586 was the puzzle released on Friday, January 17, 2025—not January 17, 2026.
- The yellow category is FRANKFURTER: BANGER, BRAT, LINK, and SAUSAGE.
- The green category is STRIKE: BOP, HIT, KNOCK, and TAP.
- The blue category is WEB BROWSERS: CHROME, EDGE, OPERA, and SAFARI.
- The purple category is ENDING WITH BEER BRANDS, using Harp, Bass, Peroni, and Bud inside or at the ends of four words.
What are the 16 words in NYT Connections #586?
Here is the full NYT Connections #586 board before the answers are revealed:
HIT, OPERA, BANGER, ROSEBUD, PEPPERONI, BOP, EDGE, LINK, TAP, CONTRABASS, BRAT, SAFARI, AUTOHARP, CHROME, KNOCK, SAUSAGE.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The puzzle was published on Friday, January 17, 2025. The game number is the important identifier because January 17, 2026 was a different Saturday puzzle. TechRadar’s contemporaneous puzzle coverage identifies this board as game #586.
What are the hints for NYT Connections #586?
These hints reveal the direction of each group without immediately giving away every word:
| Color | Short hint | What to look for | Spoiler level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Hot dog | Words connected with a frankfurter or sausage | Low |
| Green | Whack | Words meaning to strike or make contact | Low |
| Blue | View the internet | Names of web browsers | Medium |
| Purple | Brews at the end | Beer brands hidden at the ends of the words | High |
The yellow and green groups overlap conceptually: BRAT, LINK, and SAUSAGE suggest food, while HIT, BOP, KNOCK, and TAP can all suggest contact or impact. The blue group becomes clearer when the words are read as software names rather than ordinary nouns. The purple group depends on wordplay rather than a straightforward definition.
Rank #2
What are the answers to NYT Connections #586?
Spoiler warning: The complete categories and word groups appear below. Stop before this section if you still want to solve the January 17, 2025 puzzle yourself.
Yellow: FRANKFURTER
BANGER, BRAT, LINK, SAUSAGE
These four words refer to a frankfurter, sausage, or form of sausage. “Brat” is short for bratwurst, a “link” is a sausage in an individual length, and “banger” is a familiar term for a sausage. “Sausage” is the direct broad category. The food connection is deliberately tempting because PEPPERONI appears on the same board, but PEPPERONI belongs to the purple wordplay group instead.
Green: STRIKE
BOP, HIT, KNOCK, TAP
Each word can describe striking or making contact with something. The force and context can vary: a hit or knock may be forceful, while a tap can be light, and “bop” can mean a blow or a quick strike. The broadness of this category creates several plausible near-matches while solving.
Blue: WEB BROWSERS
CHROME, EDGE, OPERA, SAFARI
Chrome, Edge, Opera, and Safari are all web-browser names. This is the most direct group once the words are recognized as software and platform names rather than generic terms. Yahoo Entertainment’s January 17 coverage lists the same four browser answers.
Purple: ENDING WITH BEER BRANDS
AUTOHARP, CONTRABASS, PEPPERONI, ROSEBUD
The purple category is based on the endings of the words and on embedded beer-brand names:
| Puzzle word | Beer brand at or near the end | How the wordplay works |
|---|---|---|
| AUTOHARP | Harp | AUTOHARP ends with Harp. |
| CONTRABASS | Bass | CONTRABASS ends with Bass. |
| PEPPERONI | Peroni | PEPPERONI contains the brand name at its end. |
| ROSEBUD | Bud | ROSEBUD ends with Bud. |
This group is harder to spot because the four full words do not share an ordinary meaning. The intended connection is the terminal or embedded brand name: Harp, Bass, Peroni, and Bud. The Times of India’s solution for puzzle #586 also explains the beer-brand ending mechanism.
Rank #4
Why was NYT Connections #586 difficult?
NYT Connections #586 was difficult mainly because the board contains overlapping surface clues. PEPPERONI looks like it could join the sausage-related yellow group, but the intended group uses the ending “Peroni.” Meanwhile, HIT, BOP, KNOCK, and TAP form a broad strike-related set whose members could initially seem unrelated.
The browser category is comparatively clean once a solver notices that CHROME, EDGE, OPERA, and SAFARI are all product names. Removing those four words leaves the food, strike, and beer-brand patterns easier to separate. Parade’s contemporaneous answer page likewise presents the puzzle as a mix of direct categories and a more deceptive purple connection.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should you solve the remaining words without guessing?
- Identify the cleanest set first. CHROME, EDGE, OPERA, and SAFARI are all recognizable browser names, so they provide a strong four-word anchor.
- Separate food from wordplay. BANGER, BRAT, LINK, and SAUSAGE form the frankfurter group. Do not automatically place PEPPERONI with them.
- Test the impact verbs. BOP, HIT, KNOCK, and TAP all describe a strike or contact.
- Inspect the leftovers. AUTOHARP, CONTRABASS, PEPPERONI, and ROSEBUD reveal Harp, Bass, Peroni, and Bud when their endings are examined.
- Use the category’s exact wording. “ENDING WITH BEER BRANDS” is not a claim that the complete words are beer names; the connection is the brand name embedded at or near each word’s end.
Reader discussion about the puzzle also focused on the challenge of separating PEPPERONI from the sausage group and recognizing the purple pattern. The January 17, 2025 r/NYTConnections discussion is useful as reaction context, while the published answer pages provide the authoritative category list.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When was NYT Connections #586 released?
NYT Connections #586 was the puzzle released on Friday, January 17, 2025. January 17, 2026 was a different puzzle, so the game number resolves the date ambiguity.
What is the purple category in NYT Connections #586?
The purple category was ENDING WITH BEER BRANDS: AUTOHARP ends with Harp, CONTRABASS ends with Bass, PEPPERONI ends with Peroni, and ROSEBUD ends with Bud.
Why is PEPPERONI not in the sausage group?
PEPPERONI belongs to the purple group, not the yellow frankfurter group, because the ending of PEPPERONI contains the beer brand Peroni.
The Bottom Line
NYT Connections #586, released Friday, January 17, 2025, groups the words into FRANKFURTER, STRIKE, WEB BROWSERS, and ENDING WITH BEER BRANDS. The key trap is PEPPERONI: it looks like sausage, but it belongs with AUTOHARP, CONTRABASS, and ROSEBUD because of the embedded beer-brand names Peroni, Harp, Bass, and Bud.
Quick Recap
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