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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsSpoiler warning: This NYT Connections #940 guide for Tuesday, January 6, 2026, starts with the 16-word grid, then offers category hints and one-word reveals before giving the complete answers and explanations.
Warning: spoilers ahead. This guide gives the NYT Connections #940 word list first, followed by progressively stronger category hints, one-word reveals, and the complete answers at the end. Stop reading whenever you have enough help to finish the puzzle yourself.
The 16 words in Connections #940
Here is the Tuesday, January 6, 2026, grid:
- PARTY
- BOAT
- QUARTERS
- QUADS
- CLEAR
- BALLOON
- FLUSH
- STUFFED
- RICH
- PACK
- PAD
- DEEP
- FLAT
- FULL
- STRAIGHT
- DIGS
How to play Connections
Connections asks you to divide 16 words into four groups of four. Each group has a shared connection, which might be a common meaning, a familiar expression, a reference, or words that complete the same phrase. You can make up to four incorrect guesses before the game ends.
The four groups are commonly displayed by difficulty color: yellow is generally the most straightforward, followed by green, blue, and purple. The color order is a useful guide, but it does not remove the need to watch for words that plausibly fit more than one category.
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Category hints for #940
These clues reveal the type of connection without giving away the full groups:
- Yellow: A place where someone lives, possibly informal or temporary.
- Green: Words that can describe a resonant, powerful voice.
- Blue: Informal names for poker hands.
- Purple: Complete the phrase “____ animal.”
One-word reveals
If the category clues are not quite enough, here is one revealing word from each group:
- Yellow: FLAT
- Green: RICH
- Blue: BOAT
- Purple: PACK
Complete answers for NYT Connections #940
More spoilers from this point onward.
Yellow: APARTMENT
DIGS, FLAT, PAD, QUARTERS
These are all words for a home, residence, or living accommodations. “Digs” is informal language for a place to live. A “flat” is the British term for an apartment, while a “pad” can mean someone’s residence, especially in the expression “bachelor pad.” “Quarters” refers to the living or lodging space assigned to a person or group.
Green: SONOROUS VOICE DESCRIPTORS
CLEAR, DEEP, FULL, RICH
Each word can describe the sound of a voice. A voice may be clear and easy to understand, deep in pitch, full in tone, or rich and resonant. “Deep,” “full,” and “rich” are particularly familiar descriptions of a powerful or pleasing voice.
Blue: POKER HANDS, FAMILIARLY
BOAT, FLUSH, QUADS, STRAIGHT
“Flush” and “straight” are standard poker-hand names. The less obvious entries are poker slang: quads means four of a kind, and a boat means a full house. Those informal terms are the main barrier in this group.
Purple: ____ ANIMAL
BALLOON, PACK, PARTY, STUFFED
Each word forms a familiar phrase when placed before “animal”: balloon animal, pack animal, party animal, and stuffed animal. This is a phrase-completion category rather than a group of words with closely related meanings, which is typical of the puzzle’s purple category.
A practical way to solve this puzzle
- Start with the living-space words. DIGS, PAD, FLAT, and QUARTERS form a strong cluster. Although “quarters” can have other meanings, all four can describe a place where someone lives.
- Look for descriptions of voices. CLEAR, DEEP, FULL, and RICH work naturally with the word “voice.” This removes four more words without requiring specialized knowledge.
- Test the phrase-completion possibility. PARTY, BALLOON, PACK, and STUFFED can all precede “animal.” Once that group is spotted, the remaining words identify the poker category.
- Recognize the poker slang. BOAT and QUADS are the key terms. BOAT means a full house, and QUADS means four of a kind; together with FLUSH and STRAIGHT, they complete the final group.
Why Connections #940 can be tricky
The puzzle is not especially dependent on obscure general knowledge, but it mixes several kinds of relationships. One group uses apartment synonyms, another uses adjectives that describe a voice, a third relies on poker terminology, and the last depends on completing phrases with “animal.” Switching between those patterns can make the grid feel less direct than it first appears.
The most tempting red herring involves FLUSH and RICH. “Flush” can describe someone with abundant money, and “rich” directly means wealthy, so the two may look like a money-related pair. They belong in different groups: FLUSH is a poker hand, while RICH describes a voice.
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Poker vocabulary creates another potential stumbling block. Many players will recognize FLUSH and STRAIGHT immediately, but BOAT and QUADS may be unfamiliar unless they have encountered informal poker terminology. Remember that a boat is a full house and quads are four of a kind.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Want more Connections puzzles?
The official Connections book from The New York Times Games and Wyna Liu is a physical collection built around the same category-matching concept. It is described as the first book edition of Connections and uses a lay-flat format suitable for working through puzzles on paper. It is supplementary practice, not a print version of puzzle #940 and not a substitute for the daily online game.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the categories in NYT Connections #940?
The four Connections #940 groups are APARTMENT; SONOROUS VOICE DESCRIPTORS; POKER HANDS, FAMILIARLY; and ____ ANIMAL.
What is the yellow group in Connections #940?
DIGS, FLAT, PAD, and QUARTERS are the apartment-related words.
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BOAT means a full house in informal poker language, while QUADS means four of a kind.
The Bottom Line
The answers to NYT Connections #940 for January 6, 2026, are APARTMENT (DIGS, FLAT, PAD, QUARTERS), SONOROUS VOICE DESCRIPTORS (CLEAR, DEEP, FULL, RICH), POKER HANDS, FAMILIARLY (BOAT, FLUSH, QUADS, STRAIGHT), and ____ ANIMAL (BALLOON, PACK, PARTY, STUFFED).
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