Trying to find the connections in a game of Connections might get tricky, depending on how much the categories of a certain day differ from our vocabulary. If you need a nod in the right direction to figure out the answers, you have come to the right place.
The New York Times launched Connections in mid-2023, and the game has quickly gained popularity as a daily activity. Each day, the game presents sixteen different words in a 4×4 grid. Your goal is to find the eponymous connections between them. They are split into four categories, but you don’t know which categories these are when you start playing; you must look at all the words and try to deduce yourself.
To guess, simply select the four words you think are grouped together and click the Submit button. Doing so, you get feedback from the game on whether it was a correct guess or it cost you a “life.” You have a maximum of three mistakes to make each day, and making a fourth mistake means you lose.
With a correct guess, the selected words are removed from the “pool” and grouped together to reveal the name of their category. The four categories are color-coded in yellow, green, blue, and purple, where yellow is traditionally the most straightforward and purple is the trickiest.
Keep reading to find a few hints, the categories, and the answers for today’s Connections. Each of them is split in a different section, so as to not spoil the answers unintentionally.
Contents
Hints for today’s Connections (Feb. 1)
A few hints for today’s categories of Connections (#235) are:
- ? Yellow group: reduce in length
- ? Green group: one of the possible reasons to go to the gym is achieve this
- ? Blue group: really invested emotionally in something
- ? Purple group: these things have the same aspect
We don’t want to make it too simple or obvious at first for those who only need a nod in the right direction. But if those still don’t ring a bell, you might need the actual names of each category.
That is where the next section comes in. Keep reading to learn more.
Today’s Connections categories (Feb. 1)
The categories that connect today’s words in Connections (#235) are:
- ? Yellow group: make shorter
- ? Green group: muscular
- ? Blue group: enthusiast
- ? Purple group: wrinkly things
Knowing the categories might give away most or all the answers, but we know that sometimes it can still be tricky to figure out which ones go where.
If you’re still unsure and don’t have any more room for mistakes, check out the actual answers for each category below.
Today’s Connections answers (Feb. 1)
The answers to today’s Connections puzzle (#235) are:
- ? Make shorter: CLIP, CUT, PARE, TRIM
- ? Muscular: BUILT, JACKED, RIPPED, SWOLE
- ? Enthusiast: BUFF, FAN, LOVER, NUT
- ? Wrinkly things: BRAIN, PRUNE, PUG, WALNUT
Past Connections answers
Jan. 31 (#234)
- ? Merriment: CHEER, GLEE, FESTIVITY, MIRTH
- ? Booked for a wedding: BAND, CATERER, FLORIST, OFFICIANT
- ? Rhymes: CHOIR, FIRE, LIAR, FRYER
- ? ___ pit: BARBECUE, ORCHESTRA, SNAKE, TAR
Jan. 30 (#233)
- ? Hit hard: BANG, HAMMER, POUND, SLAM
- ? Newspaper names: CHRONICLE, HERALD, REGISTER, SUN
- ? Crescent-shaped things: BANANA, CROISSANT, MOON, SICKLE
- ? Power-ups in Super Mario World: FEATHER, FLOWER, MUSHROOM, STAR
Jan. 29 (#232)
- ? Do some marketing for: PITCH, PLUG, PROMOTE, PUSH
- ? Romantic twosome: COUPLE, ITEM, PAIR, THING
- ? Tennis scoring terms: AD, ALL, DEUCE, LOVE
- ? Words with “fruit”: BREAD, DRAGON, JACK, PASSION
Jan. 28 (#231)
- ? Highest point: CREST, PEAK, SUMMIT, VERTEX
- ? “Can I get your ___?” (phone info request): CELL, CONTACT, DIGITS, NUMBER
- ? Modifiers meaning “small”: BABY, MINI, POCKET, TOY
- ? Inside a Scrabble box: BAG, BOARD, RACKS, TILES
Jan. 27 (#230)
- ? Hurt: ACHE, BURN, SMART, STING
- ? Look after: GUARD, MIND, TEND, WATCH
- ? Sought after in The Wizard of Oz: BRAIN, COURAGE, HEART, HOME
- ? Silent “W”: ANSWER, TWO, WRIST, WRONG
Jan. 26 (#229)
- ? Baseball equipment: BALL, BASE, BAT, GLOVE
- ? Hard hit: BLOW, LICK, SOCK, STRIKE
- ? Original Monopoly tokens: BOOT, IRON, THIMBLE, TOP HAT
- ? ___ bunny: BAD, BUGS, DUST, HONEY
Jan. 25 (#228)
- ? Of-the-moment: BIG, HOT, IN, POPULAR
- ? Pictograph: CHARACTER, GLYPH, ICON, SYMBOL
- ? Impose, as a penalty: ASSESS, CHARGE, FINE, LEVY
- ? Words beginning with body parts: HANDSOME, HIPPO, LEGEND, LIPID
Jan. 24 (#227)
- ? Smartphone features beginning with “C”: CALCULATOR, CALENDAR, CAMERA, CLOCK
- ? Parts of the eye: CONE, IRIS, LENS, PUPIL
- ? Familial nicknames: DADA, GRAMMY, MUM, POPPY
- ? Words pronounced differently with accent marks: EXPOSE, PATE, RESUME, ROSE
Jan. 23 (#226)
- ? Bring into being: COIN, CREATE, DEVISE, INTENT
- ? Excellent: FINE, PRIME, QUALITY, STERLING
- ? Symbols above numbers on a keyboard: AT, DOLLAR, PERCENT, POUND
- ? Pass the ___: BAR, BUCK, TIME, TORCH
Jan. 22 (#225)
- ? Symbolic rods: BATON, SCEPTER, STAFF, WAND
- ? Dental terms: CAVITY, CROWN, FILLING, PLAQUE
- ? Rubber stamp words: APPROVED, PAID, URGENT, VOID
- ? ___ year: GAP, LEAP, LIGHT, SCHOOL
Jan. 21 (#224)
- ? Rip off: FLEECE, HOSE, ROB, STIFF
- ? Things made of wax: CANDLE, CRAYON, HONEYCOMB, SEAL
- ? Parts of an airplane: CABIN, ENGINE, NOSE, WING
- ? Units of vegetables: BULB, EAR, HEAD, STALK
Jan. 20 (#223)
- ? Decline: DIP, DROP, FALL, SINK
- ? Move with speed: BLAZE, FLY, RACE, TEAR
- ? Kinds of dance: MODERN, SALSA, SWING, TAP
- ? Baby ___: BOOM, CARROT, SHOWER, TALK
Jan. 19 (#222)
- ? Sundae toppings: CHERRY, FUDGE, NUTS, SPRINKLES
- ? Leave high and dry: DESERT, DITCH, MAROON, STRAND
- ? “Phooey!”: CURSES, DARN, RATS, SHOOT
- ? Words in tongue twisters: FUZZY, PEPPERS, SEASHELLS, WOODCHUCK
Jan. 18 (#221)
- ? Show off: GRANDSTAND, PEACOCK, POSTURE, STRUT
- ? Foremost: MAIN, PARAMOUNT, PRIME, SUPREME
- ? Colors in Brazil’s flag: BLUE, GREEN, WHITE, YELLOW
- ? ___ letter: CHAIN, COVER, LOVE, SCARLET
Jan. 17 (#220)
- ? Data set data: MEAN, MEDIAN, MODE, RANGE
- ? Chemistry terms: BASE, BOND, ELEMENT, SOLUTION
- ? Adjective intensifiers: AWFUL, PRETTY, RATHER, REAL
- ? Radio Hall of Fame members: GLASS, GROSS, KING, STERN
Jan. 16 (#219)
- ? Deceive: CON, DUPE, FOOL, TRICK
- ? Inside info: DOPE, SCOOP, SKINNY, WORD
- ? Tilt to one side: CANT, LEAN, LIST, SLOPE
- ? Words spelled with an upside-down calculator: BOOB, EGGSHELL, GIGGLE, HELLO
Jan. 15 (#218)
- ? List of candidates: BALLOT, ROSTER, SLATE, TICKET
- ? Protective barrier: BUFFER, CUSHION, PAD, SHIELD
- ? Medicine formats: CAPSULE, CREAM, SYRUP, TABLET
- ? Pea ___: COAT, GREEN, POD, SOUP
Jan. 14 (#217)
- ? Things to pay: BILL, CHECK, INVOICE, TAB
- ? Thieve: PINCH, ROB, STEAL, SWIPE
- ? Male animals: BUCK, BULL, JACK, TOM
- ? Legwear, in the singular: JEAN, PANT, SHORT, TIGHT
Jan. 13 (#216)
- ? Credentials for entry: BADGE, INVITE, PASS, TICKET
- ? Preside over: CHAIR, DIRECT, LEAD, RUN
- ? American football positions: CENTER, END, SAFETY, TACKLE
- ? Postpone: HOLD, PUNT, STALL, TABLE
Jan. 12 (#215)
- ? Topic of discussion: ISSUE, MATTER, POINT, SUBJECT
- ? Section of one’s life: CHAPTER, PERIOD, PHASE, STAGE
- ? Parts of a car, informally: DASH, SHOCK, TANK, WHEEL
- ? Color homophones: BLEW, CHORAL, READ, ROWS
Jan. 11 (#214)
- ? States of matter: GAS, LIQUID, PLASMA, SOLID
- ? All-timer: GREAT, HERO, ICON, LEGEND
- ? “PH” words that also work with “F”: PHAT, PHEW, PHILLY, PHISH
- ? ___ pitch: ELEVATOR, FEVER, PERFECT, SALES
Jan. 10 (#213)
- ? Bit of magic: CHARM, CURSE, HEX, SPELL
- ? Found around a fireplace: FLUE, GRATE, LOG, POKER
- ? Things seen at a casino: CARDS, CHIPS, DICE, SLOTS
- ? Ways to prepare cheese: CRUMBLE, MELT, SHRED, SLICE
Jan. 9 (#212)
- ? Cleaning supplies: BROOM, MOP, RAG, SPONGE
- ? Elements of cooking, per Samin Nosrat: SALT, FAT, ACID, HEAT
- ? Things that make you sneeze: DUST, PEPPER, POLLEN, SMOKE
- ? Titular fictional detectives: MAGNUM, MONK, SHAFT, TRACY
Jan. 8 (#211)
- ? Things that are orange: BASKETBALL, CARROT, GOLDFISH, PUMPKIN
- ? Long, skinny objects: POLE, ROD, STAFF, STICK
- ? Seen on a golf course: CART, CLUB, HOLE, TEE
- ? Shapes of capital Greek letters: CIRCLE, HORSESHOE, PITCHFORK, TRIANGLE
Jan. 7 (#210)
- ? Tech companies: ALPHABET, AMAZON, APPLE, META
- ? Kinds of exams: BAR, FINAL, ORAL, PHYSICAL
- ? Something exemplary: BEAUTY, GEM, MARVEL, PEACH
- ? ___ tooth: BABY, EYE, SWEET, WISDOM
Jan. 6 (#209)
- ? Strong smell: FUNK, MUSK, ODOR, TANG
- ? Move back and forth: ROCK, SWAY, SWING, WAVE
- ? Things to pick: AFRO, BONE, FIGHT, LOCK
- ? ___ ball: CRYSTAL, DISCO, FOUL, GUTTER
Jan. 5 (#208)
- ? Playfully bother: JOSH, KID, RIB, TEASE
- ? Apex: HEIGHT, MAX, PEAK, TOP
- ? Words for specific quantities: DOZEN, GROSS, PAIR, SCORE
- ? What “X” might mean: ADULT, KISS, TEN, TIMES
Jan. 4 (#207)
- ? Gift-giving accessories: BOW, BOX, CARD, WRAPPING
- ? Dating app actions: BLOCK, MATCH, MESSAGE, SWIPE
- ? Cool, in slang: FIRE, LIT, SICK, TIGHT
- ? Lucky ___: BREAK, CHARM, DUCK, STRIKE
Jan. 3 (#206)
- ? Move through the air: FLOAT, FLY, GLIDE, SOAR
- ? Hidden listening devices: BUG, MIKE, TAP, WIRE
- ? Select, as a box on a form: CHECK, MARK, TICK, X
- ? Rappers minus first letter: 40, COLE, PAIN, TIP
Jan. 2 (#205)
- ? B.L.T. ingredients: BREAD, BACON, LETTUCE, TOMATO
- ? Obstruct: BLOCK, CLOG, JAM, STOP
- ? Baseball stats: DOUBLE, HIT, RUN, WALK
- ? Small ___: FRY, TALK, WONDER, WORLD
Jan. 1 (#204)
- ? Gardening nouns/verbs: PLANT, SEED, WATER, WEED
- ? Kinds of salads: CAESAR, GREEK, GREEN, WEDGE
- ? Classic game shows, familiarly: FEUD, MILLIONAIRE, PYRAMID, WHEEL
- ? W + vowel sound: WAY, WEE, WHY, WHOA
Dec. 31 (#203)
- ? Organization: CLUB, GROUP, PARTY, TEAM
- ? Sharpness, as of an image: CLARITY, DEFINITION, DETAIL, RESOLUTION
- ? Places in France: CHAMPAGNE, DIJON, NICE, TOURS
- ? Happy New Year!: BALL, COUNTDOWN, FIREWORKS, KISS
Dec. 30 (#202)
- ? Black-and-white animals: ORCA, PANDA, SKUNK, ZEBRA
- ? Sequence: CHAIN, SERIES, STRING, TRAIN
- ? Heteronyms: BASS, DOVE, DESERT, WIND
- ? ___ Trap: BEAR, SAND, SPEED, TOURIST
Dec. 29 (#201)
- ? Shirts: CROP, POLO, TANK, TEE
- ? Cool, in ’80s slang: BAD, FLY, FRESH, RAD
- ? Letter spellings: BEE, EX, GEE, JAY
- ? ___ George: BOY, BY, CURIOUS, SAINT
Dec. 28 (#200)
- ? Parts of a car: BUMPER, HOOD, TIRE, TRUNK
- ? Move quickly: BOLT, DART, DASH, ZIP
- ? Birds: CARDINAL, JAY, LARK, SWIFT
- ? Jazz Legends: HANCOCK, HOLIDAY, MONK, PARKER
Dec. 27 (#199)
- ? Indication of things to come: MESSAGE, OMEN, SIGN, WARNING
- ? Name prefixes: GEN, MS, PROF, REV
- ? Art mediums: CHARCOAL, INK, PAINT, PASTEL
- ? ___ PEPPER: BELL, BLACK, DR, GHOST
Dec. 26 (#198)
- ? Road names: ALLEY, DRIVE, LANE, STREET
- ? Paper in a book: FOLIO, LEAF, PAGE, SHEET
- ? Restrain: CHECK, CURB, LIMIT, STEM
- ? Things you can do to your nose: BLOW, HOLD, PICK, THUMB
Dec. 25 (#197)
- ? Darling: BABY, BOO, DEAR, LOVE
- ? Basic geometric objects: LINE, POINT, RAY, SEGMENT
- ? Oomph: ENERGY, FIRE, JUICE, ZIP
- ? Secret ___: AGENT, CODE, SANTA, SAUCE
Dec. 24 (#196)
- ? Gentle: LIGHT, MELLOW, MILD, SOFT
- ? Cuts of pork: BELLY, CHOP, HOCK, SHOULDER
- ? Statue of Liberty features: CROWN, ROBE, TABLET, TORCH
- ? Things to blow on for wishes/luck: CANDLE, DANDELION, DICE, EYELASH
Dec. 23 (#195)
- ? Means of transportation: BOAT, CAR, PLANE, TRAIN
- ? Willing to participate: DOWN, GAME, IN, ON BOARD
- ? Little bit, in a recipe: DASH, DROP, PINCH, SPLASH
- ? ___berry: BLUE, GOOSE, RASP, STRAW
Dec. 22 (#194)
- ? Classic Halloween costumes: ANGEL, CLOWN, PIRATE, WITCH
- ? Bee creations: COMB, HIVE, HONEY, WAX
- ? Interval of time: PERIOD, SPELL, STRETCH, WHILE
- ? Animal homophones: DEAR, HAIR, HOARSE, WAIL
Dec. 21 (#193)
- ? Seen in a laundry room: DRYER, HAMPER, IRON, WASHER
- ? Shepherd: DIRECT, GUIDE, LEAD, STEER
- ? What “I” might mean: IODINE, IOTA, MYSELF, ONE
- ? ___ valley: DEATH, HIDDEN, SILICON, UNCANNY
Dec. 20 (#192)
- ? Contact via phone: BUZZ, CALL, DIAL, RING
- ? Book sections: APPENDIX, CHAPTER, INDEX, PREFACE
- ? Wee: DINKY, LITTLE, MINUTE, SLIGHT
- ? Cartoon mice: ITCHY, JERRY, PINKY, SPEEDY
Dec. 19 (#191)
- ? Accessories: BELT, BRACELET, TIE, WATCH
- ? Comedian’s output: BIT, JOKE, ROUTINE, SKETCH
- ? Attraction: APPEAL, CHARM, DRAW, PULL
- ? Two letters + number: CANINE, FREIGHT, OFTEN, STONE
Dec. 18 (#190)
- ? Brief moment: FLASH, JIFFY, SECOND, WINK
- ? Primary: CHIEF, FIRST, MAIN, PRINCIPAL
- ? Avenues in N.Y.C.: BROADWAY, FIFTH, MADISON, PARK
- ? ___ hour: AMATEUR, ELEVENTH, HAPPY, RUSH
Dec. 17 (#189)
- ? Reserve for later: BANK, SAVE, STASH, STORE
- ? Boldness, figuratively: GALL, GUTS, NERVE, STONES
- ? Used to build a snowman: CARROT, COAL, SNOW, STICKS
- ? Funny ___: BONE, BUSINESS, GIRL, PAGES
Dec. 16 (#188)
- ? Farm tools: HOE, PLOW, RAKE, SICKLE
- ? Scheme: PLOT, PLOY, RUSE, TRICK
- ? Make happy: AMUSE, DELIGHT, PLEASE, TICKLE
- ? Onomatopoeia: BANG, PLOP, SPLASH, THUD
Dec. 15 (#187)
- ? Curmudgeon: CRAB, CRANK, GROUCH, GRUMP
- ? Get low: CROUCH, DUCK, SQUAT, STOOP
- ? National symbols: ANTHEM, FLAG, MOTTO, SEAL
- ? Swindler: CHEAT, CROOK, QUACK, SHARK
Dec. 14 (#186)
- ? Pester: BADGER, BUG, HOUND, NAG
- ? Sports venues: ARENA, BOWL, DOME, FIELD
- ? Separate: DIVIDE, FORK, PART, SPLIT
- ? Silver ___: FOX, LINING, SCREEN, SPOON
Dec. 13 (#185)
- ? Golf course parts: BUNKER, FAIRWAY, GREEN, ROUGH
- ? “I give!”: ENOUGH, MERCY, STOP, UNCLE
- ? Indecent: BAWDY, BLUE, COARSE, RISQUE
- ? “-ough” words that don’t rhyme: BOUGH, COUGH, DOUGH, TOUGH
