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Cracking the NYT Connections Puzzle: January 4 Edition

New York, USASunday, January 4, 2026
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The NYT Connections puzzle for January 4 is a fun challenge, especially for football fans. This game is all about finding links between words. It resets every midnight, and each new set of words gets tougher. If you're stuck, hints and tips can help you figure it out.

What is Connections?

Connections is a popular word game from the New York Times. It's similar to Wordle but with a twist. Players group four words that share a common thread. Each puzzle has 16 words divided into four categories. These categories can be anything from book titles to software names. The trick is to find the right connections, as multiple words might seem to fit together.

Gameplay Mechanics

  • Mistakes: Players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
  • Rearrangement: They can also rearrange the board to spot connections more easily.
  • Color-Coding: Each group is color-coded, with yellow being the easiest and purple the hardest.
  • Sharing: Like Wordle, you can share your results on social media.

Hints for Today's Categories

  • Yellow: A journalistic piece
  • Green: Spindle
  • Blue: NFL moves
  • Purple: Rearend

Categories for Today's Puzzle

  • Yellow: Paper publications
  • Green: Spool
  • Blue: Things a defensive football player does
  • Purple: Synonyms for butt plus starting letter

Answers

  • Paper publications: COPY, EDITION, ISSUE, PRINT
  • Spool: COIL, CRANK, REEL, WIND
  • Things a defensive football player does: BLITZ, BLOCK, SACK, TACKLE
  • Synonyms for butt plus starting letter: DREAR, ETAIL, GRUMP, SCAN

Final Thoughts

If you didn't get it this time, don't worry. There will be new puzzles tomorrow. If you're also playing NYT Strands, there are hints available for that too. For more puzzles, check out Mashable's games hub.

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