Do you like making connections in life? No, I am not talking about the ones on LinkedIn, but NYT’s much-hyped Connections game. Unlike the social media app, creating a connection in the game is pretty easy as you need to categorize four similar words into a category. It’s a simple yet challenging game that can test your wits as well as your vocabulary skills. So, without any further ado, here are the answers and hints for today’s NYT Connections #949 for January 15, 2026.
Today’s NYT Connections #949 Hints for January 15, 2026
- Yellow category hint : Common items found in a shed or used for yard work.
- Green category hint: Descriptive of something that is not in motion.
- Blue category hint : These items all share a specific, small physical form or texture.
- Purple category hint: Look closely at the names hidden within each word; there are two in every one.
Did you guess all the words? Let’s take a look at them below.
Today’s NYT Connections #949 Answer for January 15, 2026
- Yellow Category: Hose, Rake, Shovel, Spade (GARDENING TOOLS)
- Green Category : Frozen, Static, Stationary, Still (UNMOVING)
- Blue Category: Cereal, Dandruff, Salt, Snow (THINGS THAT COME IN FLAKES)
- Purple Category: Jackal, Levitate, Melted, Patron (WORDS FORMED BY TWO MEN’S NAMES)
What do you think of today’s NYT Connections puzzle?
Today’s Connections puzzle was a satisfying test of logic. Yellow and Green were quite approachable, as the groups for outdoor work and motionlessness felt very cohesive. Blue required a bit more lateral thinking to find the common thread among the textures, but it was Purple that really stole the show. Spotting the way common names were fused together was a clever challenge that made for a great moment. It was a well-balanced puzzle, a solid 4 out of 5 for its neat construction.
You can also checkout today’s answers for other NYT puzzles :
- NYT Strands Puzzle Answers
- NYT Wordle Answers
- NYT Spelling Bee Answers
- NYT PIPS Answers
- NYT Mini Crossword
How to Play NYT Connections
Playing NYT Connections is pretty straightforward, as you need to group four similar words in a single group . However, the difficulty increases, with the yellow category being the easiest and purple being the hardest. The green category refers to moderate difficulty, while blue is complex, being one notch above.
There are 16 words in each puzzle , and there is a theme for each group, although the puzzle doesn’t reveal it. You only get four chances to correctly guess every group’s meaning; you can have four incorrect guesses, so use them wisely. If the answer is correct, you can move on to the next group; otherwise, you are stuck with the same one.
Moreover, just like Wordle, Connections refreshes every 24 hours, so you will need to wait till the next day for a fresh one. Also, if you guess incorrectly, there’s no way to play the game again, and it will simply reveal the correct results.
While playing the game itself does not require an NYT connection, you will need to create one if you wish to track your progress. You can also share your results by copying them to the clipboard and pasting them wherever you want.
