For the archived January 19, 2025 edition, NYT Connections #588 divides its 16 words into four groups involving a pool of money, legal matters, landforms, and different kinds of “rays.” The date matters: January 19, 2026 was a different puzzle, #953.
Need a nudge before seeing the solution? Start with the hints below, then continue past the spoiler warning for the complete categories and answers.
NYT Connections #588 hints
These hints go from less revealing to more revealing. Try to identify each group without looking at the answer list.
Yellow hint
Think of words for a shared pool of money, a prize fund, or money at stake in a game.
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Green hint
These words can describe something brought, asserted, or filed in court.
Blue hint
Think of geographic features and different shapes of terrain.
Purple hint
Each word can be associated with a different kind of “ray.” The four meanings come from very different subjects.
Cross-category nudge
The four groups point toward dealer’s choice, order in the court, geography class, and different kinds of rays.
Spoiler warning: Connections #588 answers
The full solution appears below. Stop here if you are still trying to solve the January 19 puzzle.
Complete answers for Connections #588
| Category | Words |
|---|---|
| FUND | KITTY, POOL, POT, PURSE |
| COURT FILING | ACTION, CASE, CLAIM, SUIT |
| LANDFORMS | BASIN, BLUFF, CAPE, PLAIN |
| THEY HAVE RAYS | AQUARIUM, GEOMETRY, SUN, TAMPA BAY |
Why each group works
Yellow: FUND
- KITTY: a pool of money collected for a shared purpose, wager, or prize.
- POOL: a collected amount of money available for use or distribution.
- POT: the accumulated money at stake in a game or contest.
- PURSE: prize money or a fund available to be won.
This group is designed to create overlap. POOL, POT, and PURSE can all suggest money at stake, while KITTY may initially make you think of a cat rather than a shared fund.
Green: COURT FILING
- ACTION: a legal action brought before a court.
- CASE: a legal case handled through the court system.
- CLAIM: a legal claim asserted in a proceeding.
- SUIT: a lawsuit.
These are broad legal terms rather than four highly technical document names. Their shared connection is that each can describe a legal matter brought before, or asserted in, court.
Blue: LANDFORMS
- BASIN: a low-lying geographic area.
- BLUFF: a steep bank or cliff, often beside water.
- CAPE: a point of land projecting into a body of water.
- PLAIN: a broad area of relatively flat land.
This is the most literal group in the puzzle, although CAPE and BLUFF may be less immediate than PLAIN and BASIN.
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- AQUARIUM: it may contain rays, the marine animals.
- GEOMETRY: a ray is a geometric object extending indefinitely in one direction from an endpoint.
- SUN: it emits rays of sunlight.
- TAMPA BAY: associated with the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.
This is the puzzle’s most wordplay-heavy category. “Ray” does not mean the same thing in all four cases: it is an animal in an AQUARIUM, a mathematical concept in GEOMETRY, solar radiation from the SUN, and a team name associated with TAMPA BAY.
The trickiest parts of #588
The yellow group has several plausible money-related words, so it helps to hold onto all four possibilities until the category becomes clear. KITTY is the word most likely to distract solvers, but its “shared fund” meaning completes the set.
The final purple group is intentionally heterogeneous. Instead of putting four kinds of objects in one category, the puzzle asks what can be connected to the word ray. Recognizing that the connection may be a word association—not a shared subject area—is the key to separating these four entries from the landform and legal terms.
Want more puzzles like Connections?
Readers who enjoy solving NYT-style word games offline may want to look for the Connections puzzle book Puzzle Mania!: Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Minis and More!. It is a 224-page hardcover associated with The New York Times Games and Joel Fagliano, with new spins on several digital puzzle formats. It is a separate collection, not a source of the January 19, 2025 answers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the answer to NYT Connections #588 for January 19, 2025?
The four groups are FUND, COURT FILING, LANDFORMS, and THEY HAVE RAYS.
Best Value
What are the yellow answers in Connections #588?
KITTY, POOL, POT, and PURSE, all referring to a fund or pool of money.
What are the purple answers in Connections #588?
AQUARIUM, GEOMETRY, SUN, and TAMPA BAY. Each connects to a different meaning or use of “ray.”
Why is Tampa Bay in the “They have rays” category?
Tampa Bay refers to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, while the other entries connect to rays as marine animals, geometric objects, or sunlight.
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Connections #588, published January 19, 2025, groups its words into FUND, COURT FILING, LANDFORMS, and THEY HAVE RAYS. The purple group is the main twist because “ray” changes meaning across all four answers.
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