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 #951 for January 17, 2026.
Today’s NYT Connections #951 Hints for January 17, 2026
- Yellow category hint : To apply a layer over a surface.
- Green category hint: Actions involving launching or tossing an object.
- Blue category hint : Different words composed of the exact same four letters.
- Purple category hint: The opening word in the titles of classic playground activities.
Did you guess all the words? Let’s take a look at them below.
Today’s NYT Connections #951 Answer for January 17, 2026
- Yellow Category: Blanket, Coat, Cover, Plaster (SPREAD OVER)
- Green Category : Cast, Hurl, Pelt, Sling (THROW)
- Blue Category: Inks, Kins, Sink, Skin (ANAGRAMS)
- Purple Category: Capture, Hide, Red, Simon (FIRST WORDS OF KIDS’ GAMES)
What do you think of today’s NYT Connections puzzle?
Today’s Connections puzzle was a masterclass in misdirection. Yellow and Green felt relatively intuitive, though I had to be careful not to mix up “Sling” and “Plaster” initially. The difficulty spiked significantly with Blue and Purple. Identifying the shared letter sets in Blue required some mental gymnastics, while Purple provided that classic “aha” moment once the childhood nostalgia kicked in. It was a brilliantly constructed grid, earning a 4.5 out of 5 for its clever use of wordplay and lateral thinking.
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.
