Happy February, dearest Strandistas! I have returned to help you with today’s grid, uncovering words on this lovely winter’s day. It’s been awhile, but playing strands is sort of like riding a bike. You never really lose the knack for it once you’ve hopped on and taken it around the block a few times. Of course, you rarely fall and scratch up your knees playing Strands, so that’s a plus! Let’s solve today’s, shall we?
Strands is the newest game in the New York Times’ stable of puzzle games. It’s a fun twist on classic word search games. Every day we’re given a new theme and then tasked with uncovering all the words on the grid that fit that theme, including a spangram that spans two sides of the board. One of these words is the spangram which crosses from one side of the grid to another and reveals even more about the day’s theme.
Spoilers ahead.
Today’s Strands Hints
Today’s Theme: Baby talk
Hint #1: Infant language
Hint #2: But not like “goo goo gah gah”
To help you uncover all the words, here are the first two letters of every word, including the spangram.
YU
MA
DA
KI
MO
BY
BO
MI
FI
Remember, spoilers ahead!
What Are Today’s Strands Answers?
Today’s spangram is: FIRSTWORDS
Here’s the full list of words:
YUCKY
MAMA
DADA
KITTY
MORE
BYEBYE
BOTTLE
MINE
Here’s the completed Strands grid:
Today’s Strands
Screenshot: Erik Kain
Today’s Strands Breakdown
This was a lot tougher than I thought it would be after finding my first word—BOTTLE—which felt pretty obvious given the theme, which is hardly subtle. Still, even after finding YUCKY and DADA and then KITTY, I found it a bit hard to tease out the rest. Once I had the spangram, FIRSTWORDS (which I found because I found WORDS and worked my way back) I was able to get MAMA and MINE. MORE and BYEBYE were probably the hardest for me, but I eventually got them both!
How did you do on your Strands today? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.
Be sure to check out my blog for my daily Wordle guides as well as all my other writing about TV shows, streaming guides, movie reviews, video game coverage and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
Are you ready to test your wordplay skills? Here are some hints, spangrams, and answers for the puzzles of Saturday, February 1st!
Hints:
1. This word means to move in a smooth, continuous motion.
2. A type of tree that produces acorns.
3. A type of food that is typically made with ground meat and spices.
Spangram:
S M A O U S
Answers:
1. Glide
2. Oak
3. Chili
Put your thinking caps on and see if you can solve these puzzles! Let us know how you did in the comments below. Good luck!
Wondering what one of a potential 13 for Emilia Pérez might be? Not sure what a movie double’s responsibility could be? Don’t worry, because I’m here to help you with the answers for today’s NYT Mini crossword.
The NYTMini is a quick and dirty version of the newspaper’s larger and long-running crossword. Most days, there are between three and five clues in each direction on a five by five grid, but the puzzles are sometimes larger, especially on Saturdays.
Unlike its larger sibling, the NYTMini crossword is free to play on the New York Times website or NYT Games app. However, you’ll need an NYT Games subscription to access previous puzzles in the archives.
To help you avoid getting stuck and having to reveal missing letters, here are the NYT Mini Crossword answers for Friday, January 31 (spoilers lie ahead, of course):
NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers
NYT Mini Across Answers
1 Across: Like a dry-cleaned shirt or fresh sheets – CRISP
6 Across: Weapon used on horseback – LANCE
7 Across: One of a potential 13 for Emilia Pérez, as announced last week – OSCAR
8 Across: Movie double’s responsibility – STUNT
9 Across: The “blue marble” – EARTH
NYT Mini Down Answers
1 Down: In the ballpark – CLOSE
2 Down: Someone who might smoke ganja as a sacrament, informally – RASTA
3 Down: Run up, as debt – INCUR
4 Down: Meager – SCANT
5 Down: Capital of Western Australia – PERTH
Completed New York Times Mini crossword for Friday, January 31
New York Times
It took me 0:31 to complete today’s NYT Mini.
I’m pretty happy with that one. I missed CRISP and LANCE on my first run through the Across clues. I wasn’t sure about STUNT, since body doubles are also used for things like blocking a scene and checking lighting, but it worked out.
With the letters I had unlocked on the Across side, I was able to get all of the Down words except SCANT. But I filled in the blanks easily enough once I got back to the Across clues.
That’s it for my current stint on the NYT Mini answers column. See you in two weeks!
Make sure to follow my blogfor more coverage of the NYT Mini and other word games, as well as video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Also, follow me on Bluesky! It’s fun there.
Welcome to today’s edition of Clues And Answers for Friday, January 31! Are you ready to test your knowledge and solve some puzzles? Let’s dive in and see if you can crack these clues:
1. Crossword Clue: A large, flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea (6 letters)
Answer: Emu
2. Trivia Clue: Which planet is known as the “Red Planet”?
Answer: Mars
3. Riddle: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?
Answer: An echo
4. Word Scramble: Unscramble the letters to reveal a type of flower – L O S I T A
Answer: Tulip
5. Mystery Phrase: “_____ _____ on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”
Answer: Magic mirror
How many did you get right? Share your answers in the comments below! Stay tuned for more clues and answers next time. Have a great weekend!
Today’s puzzle is something applicable to me as a relatively new father, but it may be harder for you depending on your situation.
How To Play Strands
The New York Times’ Strands puzzle is a play on the classic word search. It’s in beta for now, which means it’ll only stick around if enough people play it every day.
There’s a new game of Strands to play every day. The game will present you with a six by eight grid of letters. The aim is to find a group of words that have something in common, and you’ll get a clue as to what that theme is. When you find a theme word, it will remain highlighted in blue.
You’ll also need to find a special word called a spangram. This tells you what the words have in common. The spangram links two opposite sides of the board. While the theme words will not be a proper name, the spangram can be a proper name. When you find the spangram, it will remain highlighted in yellow.
Every letter is used once in one of the theme words and spangram. You can connect letters vertically, horizontally and diagonally, and it’s possible to switch directions in the middle of a word. If you’re playing on a touchscreen, double tap the last letter to submit your guess.
If you find three valid words of at least four letters that are not part of the theme, you’ll unlock the Hint button. Clicking this will highlight the letters that make up one of the theme words.
Be warned: You’ll need to be on your toes. Sometimes you’ll need to fill the missing word(s) in a phrase. On other days, the game may revolve around synonyms or homophones. The difficulty will vary from day to day, and the puzzle creators will try to surprise you sometimes.
What Is Today’s Strands Hint?
The NYT hint is probably enough to get you started today, but if not, I will give you one of my own as well. The official hint is:
Baby talk
And my hint is:
Early speech
What Are Today’s Strands Answers?
First we will reveal the spangram as spoileres follow below, and then the rest of the answers after that.
FIRSTWORDS
And here is where you find that on the board:
Strands
NYT
And the answer list:
YUCKY
MAMA
MINE
BYEBYE
BOTTLE
DADA
MORE
KITTY
Strands
NYT
Eight words plus the spangram is about as much as you can even fit in a puzzle, which can happen when almost all of them are 4-6 letters. As for my son, he did say most of these, maybe not bottle, though he used sign language for some things like more. Yucky was more of a face than anything else. Now he’s chattering away. Time goes by so fast.
Welcome to our weekly roundup of hints, spangram, and answers for the New York Times crossword puzzle, ‘Strands’ edition for Friday, January 31st.
Let’s dive into some clues and solutions to help you conquer today’s challenging puzzle:
Hints:
1. “Strands of yarn” could be a clue for the word “threads.”
2. “Strands at the beach” might lead you to the answer “seaweed.”
3. “Strands for fishing” could be hinting at the word “lines.”
Spangram:
Today’s spangram is: S T R A N D
Answers:
1. STRAND
2. SAND
3. RANT
4. STAR
5. DARN
We hope these hints, spangram, and answers help you crack the code of today’s New York Times crossword puzzle. Happy puzzling!
Tags:
NYT Strands hints, NYT Spangram answers, Friday January 31 puzzles, New York Times crossword solutions, NYT word puzzles, Friday crossword hints, NYT Friday crossword clues
WARNING: THERE ARE STRANDS SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT THE JANUARY 31, 2025 STRANDS ANSWER SPOILED FOR YOU.
Ready?
OK!
Have you been playing Strands, the super fun game from the New York Times, the makers of Connections and other brain-teasers like Wordle in which you have to do a search in a jumble of letters and find words based on a theme? It’s pretty fun and sometimes very challenging, so we’re here to help you out with some clues and the answers, including the “Spangram” that connects all the words.
Let’s start with the clue: Baby talk.
If you want our help? Think about young kids! As for the answers, scroll below the photo below:
Are you a fan of puzzles and brain teasers? If so, you’re in luck! Today, we have a special challenge for you – a spangram.
A spangram is a word puzzle where the goal is to unscramble a set of letters to form a word or phrase. To help you out, we’ll be providing you with a series of clues and answers to guide you along the way.
So put on your thinking cap and get ready to exercise your mind. Stay tuned for the first clue on January 31, 2025. Let the spangram challenge begin!
Tags:
clues, answers, spangram, January 31 2025, puzzle solving, word games, brain teasers, riddles, mystery solving, wordplay, cryptic clues
A very interesting puzzle today, and not the first time they’ve done something like this. I do hope you possess a certain amount of literary knowledge, as you’ll need it to go far here.
How To Play Strands
The New York Times’ Strands puzzle is a play on the classic word search. It’s in beta for now, which means it’ll only stick around if enough people play it every day.
There’s a new game of Strands to play every day. The game will present you with a six by eight grid of letters. The aim is to find a group of words that have something in common, and you’ll get a clue as to what that theme is. When you find a theme word, it will remain highlighted in blue.
You’ll also need to find a special word called a spangram. This tells you what the words have in common. The spangram links two opposite sides of the board. While the theme words will not be a proper name, the spangram can be a proper name. When you find the spangram, it will remain highlighted in yellow.
Every letter is used once in one of the theme words and spangram. You can connect letters vertically, horizontally and diagonally, and it’s possible to switch directions in the middle of a word. If you’re playing on a touchscreen, double tap the last letter to submit your guess.
If you find three valid words of at least four letters that are not part of the theme, you’ll unlock the Hint button. Clicking this will highlight the letters that make up one of the theme words.
Be warned: You’ll need to be on your toes. Sometimes you’ll need to fill the missing word(s) in a phrase. On other days, the game may revolve around synonyms or homophones. The difficulty will vary from day to day, and the puzzle creators will try to surprise you sometimes.
What Is Today’s Strands Hint?
The NYT hint is long today but I will do a shorter one after that. That hint is:
Stopping by woods on a snowy evening
And my hint is:
Poetry in motion
What Are Today’s Strands Answers?
The spangram will be first but I am going to mix things up after that is posted:
FROSTPOEM
And here is where you find that on the board:
Strands
NYT
Before I do the full answer list, I’m going to do something unique and post the full text of the poem to see if you can pull the answers out from that alone:
Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.
And the answer list:
FROZEN
DARK
DEEP
BELLS
SHAKE
SLEEP
LOVELY
LAKE
Strands
NYT
Did you get it with the poem clue? I thought that might be a little more fun than just a pure answer list. Let me know if you liked that or not and I’ll keep it in mind for the future.
Welcome to the NYT ‘Strands’ Hints, Spangram, and Answers for Thursday, January 30th!
If you’re stuck on today’s puzzle, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Here are some hints to help you crack the code:
1. Start by looking for common two-letter words in the puzzle. These can often be the key to unlocking the rest of the words.
2. Pay attention to the placement of vowels and consonants in the puzzle. This can give you clues to the words’ meanings.
3. Don’t forget to use the Spangram feature to help you rearrange the letters and find new words.
And now, without further ado, here are the answers to today’s NYT ‘Strands’ puzzle:
1. Clue: A type of tree
Answer: Oak
2. Clue: A large body of water
Answer: Ocean
3. Clue: An animal with stripes
Answer: Tiger
We hope these hints and answers help you solve today’s puzzle. Happy puzzling!
Tags:
NYT crossword puzzle, Thursday clues, January 30 solutions, word game hints, NYT Spangram answers, daily crossword tips, puzzle challenge strategies
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. None of it was. You come, you see, you succumb. That’s the visiting-team script, particularly as of late. And particularly in Galle.
What you don’t expect is for them to rack up 654 runs in the first innings – the highest total by a side batting first in Galle, eclipsing Sri Lanka’s record set just five months ago – have three players score centuries (including one double and one debut ton) and then have the hosts’ best bowler (who even has the nickname “Galle-dozer”) bowl the most overs he’s ever had to in an innings, all while keeping the hosts out in the field for 154 excruciating overs.
As far as guests go, Australia were positively horrendous, but in terms of a visiting force in unfamiliar territory they were nigh-on immaculate.
The smile on Steven Smith‘s face said it all, as he walked off having won the toss and elected to bat – and in Galle, you must win the toss and bat. But even so, that’s no guarantee of victory. Australia themselves can attest to that fact, having done precisely as expected the last time they played there only to end up losing by an innings and 39 runs.
But not even in their wildest dreams could they have predicted the level of dominance they would exert over the first two days this time around. Sure, had Sri Lanka taken a few early reviews against Travis Head or Usman Khawaja on day one, perhaps things might have been different. Maybe if Prabath Jayasuriya had held on to a return chance off Smith, Australia’s total may not have reached these gargantuan proportions.
But in reality, to grouse over these moments would be to do a grave disservice to the planning and execution required to put forth such a complete performance. Batter after Australian batter stepped out, charged, slid deep in the crease and swept, all in service of putting Sri Lanka’s spinners off their rhythms.
The ultimate ignominy was the sight of Jayasuriya bowling wide outside Smith’s leg stump on the first evening, simply in the hope of slowing down the scoring while Sri Lanka waited for the second new ball. The same Jayasuriya who, before this series, had racked up 106 wickets over 17 innings at the ground – that’s a wicket roughly every 48 deliveries. The same Jayasuriya who had dismantled this same opposition on debut not three years prior.
But maybe he shouldn’t feel so bad. The fact is, this Australia are not that Australia. In fact, since that tour there’s no side with a better average playing spin than this Australia.
“We have to give credit to the Australian batters,” offered Jeffrey Vandersay after the day’s play on Thursday. “The way the handled all three spinners was excellent. They didn’t let any of us settle. They come forward well, and played well on both sides of the wicket as well.”
Vandersay had been among the more threatening Lankan spinners, primarily due to his legspin naturally creating more revs. But while Australia arrived with plans upon plans, Sri Lanka rigidly stuck to ones that weren’t working. It was clear on day one that any turn on offer might be slow, but at no point did the Lankan spinners make a concerted attempt to vary their pace.
Some of this could be attributed to a lack of initiative on the part of the hosts, but maybe even more down to the Australians simply bullying them away from it.
“We tried [to bowl faster],” explained Vandersay. “but like I said earlier, the way they batted, they played back foot, they came front, they swept on either side of the wicket. Credit goes to them.”
It was a statement steeped in a feeling of inevitability; we tried, but they were better. You hear it frequently in sports. Just earlier this month Alexander Zverev echoed similar sentiments about Janik Sinner after the latter’s Australian Open triumph. But you don’t expect to hear it about a visiting team in Galle.
Sure there have been bad results for Sri Lanka in Galle before, most notably against India in 2017, but that was a pretty great India side and a pretty poor Sri Lankan one. This game – and yes, it might only be two days old – is a reality check.
It’s a harsh lesson for the Lankans, and one you might argue they should already have learnt. New Zealand had provided a warning shot of sorts over the course of their two-Test series a few months prior, where the 2-0 margin neatly concealed the periods when New Zealand’s batters had handled the Lankan spinners without all that much fuss.
Such periods within Tests tend to end up as footnotes, but had Sri Lanka paid closer attention they would have realised that better teams will simply execute such plans better.
And so it transpired as Australia sauntered along at a scoring rate of 4.24 – one matched by a visiting side on only four other occasions – while Sri Lanka’s spin options each racked up (unwanted) milestones of their own, going for 189, 193 and and 182 runs respectively, all on a surface tailored to them.
Sure, this is not how things were supposed to be, but unless Sri Lanka adapt, they might be this way more often than not.
In the first Test match between Sri Lanka and Australia, Sri Lanka’s spinners found themselves unable to contain Australia’s proactive gameplan. Despite the spin-friendly conditions at the Galle International Stadium, the Australian batsmen took the attack to the Sri Lankan bowlers from the outset.
Nathan Lyon, Australia’s premier spinner, led the charge with his aggressive approach, picking up crucial wickets at regular intervals. Sri Lanka’s spinners, on the other hand, struggled to find the right lines and lengths to trouble the Australian batsmen.
The lack of a clear gameplan and proactive approach from the Sri Lankan spinners allowed Australia to build a commanding lead in the first innings. Sri Lanka’s batsmen also found it difficult to counter the relentless pressure applied by Lyon and the other Australian bowlers.
As the match progressed, it became clear that Sri Lanka’s spinners were unable to find answers to Australia’s aggressive gameplan. The lack of penetration and control from the Sri Lankan spinners allowed Australia to dominate proceedings and ultimately secure a convincing victory in the first Test.
Moving forward, Sri Lanka will need to regroup and come up with a better gameplan to counter Australia’s proactive approach in the remaining matches of the series. It will be crucial for the Sri Lankan spinners to find their rhythm and execute their plans effectively if they are to bounce back in the series.
WARNING: THERE ARE CONNECTIONS SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT THE JANUARY 30, 2025 NYT CONNECTIONS ANSWER SPOILED FOR YOU.
Ready?
OK!
Have you been playing Connections, the super fun word game from the New York Times that has people sharing those multi-colored squares on social media like they did with Wordle? It’s pretty fun and sometimes very challenging, so we’re here to help you out with some clues and the answer for the four categories that you need to know:
1. What you have all around you (but it’s not visible).
2. Blah blah blah.
3. Think what you might have at the Super Bowl.
4. You’ll see famous city names in these.
The answers are below this photo:
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
1. Intangible quality
2. Keep going on about, with “on”
3. Game day fare
4. Starting with European capitals
Welcome to today’s edition of Clues, answers for January 30, 2025! Here are the hints to help you solve today’s puzzles:
1. Crossword clue: A small, round vegetable often used in salads and as a garnish.
Answer: Radish
2. Crossword clue: A famous detective known for his pipe and deerstalker hat.
Answer: Sherlock Holmes
3. Trivia clue: This country is known for being the birthplace of the tango dance.
Answer: Argentina
4. Trivia clue: This famous artist is known for his paintings of melting clocks.
Answer: Salvador Dali
5. Riddle clue: I have keys but can’t open any locks. I have a space but no room. You can enter, but can’t go outside. What am I?
Answer: A keyboard
Put on your thinking caps and see if you can crack the code with these clues. Good luck!
Tags:
clues and answers, January 30 2025, crossword puzzle, word search, riddles, brain teasers, mystery game, puzzle solving, daily challenges, mind games, brainteasers, word puzzles
Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.
What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc’s Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #599) – today’s words
(Image credit: New York Times)
Today’s NYT Connections words are…
HALO
RIGATONI
AIR
WINGS
ROMEO
HARP
DIP
DWELL
PIZZA
PARISH
LINGER
VIBE
BERNIE
AURA
BEER
INSIST
NYT Connections today (game #599) – hint #1 – group hints
What are some clues for today’s NYT Connections groups?
GREEN: Watch party snacks
YELLOW: Charisma
BLUE: Annoyingly persistent
PURPLE: Look for Euro cities
Need more clues?
We’re firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today’s NYT Connections puzzles…
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NYT Connections today (game #599) – hint #2 – group answers
What are the answers for today’s NYT Connections groups?
GREEN: GAME DAY FARE
YELLOW: INTANGIBLE QUALITY
BLUE: KEEP GOING ON ABOUT, WITH “ON”
PURPLE: STARTING WITH EUROPEAN CAPITALS
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #599) – the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today’s Connections, game #599, are…
GREEN: GAME DAY FARE BEER, DIP, PIZZA, WINGS
YELLOW: INTANGIBLE QUALITY AIR, AURA, HALO, VIBE
BLUE: KEEP GOING ON ABOUT, WITH “ON” DWELL, HARP, INSIST, LINGER
PURPLE: STARTING WITH EUROPEAN CAPITALS BERNIE, PARISH, RIGATONI, ROMEO
My rating: Hard
My score: 2 mistakes
Today’s random set of words remained random for quite a while, until I slowly made sense of it.
I fell for the very obvious trap, convincing myself that we were looking for angelic accoutrements – WINGS, HALO, HARP – before abandoning this quest after linking BEER, DIP and PIZZA with snack food essentials.
If a group has anything to do with food then I’ll get it, but the second I’m required to apply some actual general knowledge I flounder and this was the case today with STARTING WITH EUROPEAN CAPITALS; Paris and Rome I should have seen, but Riga, the capital of Latvia, was a stretch. And full disclosure I thought the capital of Switzerland was Zurich, not Bern.
How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.
Yesterday’s NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, 29 January, game #598)
YELLOW: OWNED BORE, HAD, HELD, POSSESSED
GREEN: THINGS YOU MIGHT DO IN YOUR SLEEP DREAM, DROOL, SNORE, TALK
BLUE: MOVIE SERIES WITH 2024 RELEASES ALIEN, GLADIATOR, VENOM, WICKED
PURPLE: ____ HOUSE FULL, GINGERBREAD, HAUNTED, WHITE
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don’t technically need to solve the final one, as you’ll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What’s more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It’s a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It’s playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
Welcome to NYT Connections today! Here are my hints and answers for Thursday, January 30th, game #599:
1. Hint: This popular streaming service was founded in 1997 and is known for its original content such as “Stranger Things” and “The Crown.”
Answer: Netflix
2. Hint: This American singer-songwriter is known for hits such as “Hello” and “Rolling in the Deep.”
Answer: Adele
3. Hint: This social media platform was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and is used by billions of people worldwide.
Answer: Facebook
4. Hint: This tech company, founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, is famous for its iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers.
Answer: Apple
5. Hint: This British author is best known for creating the magical world of Harry Potter.
Answer: J.K. Rowling
Feel free to share your scores and challenge your friends to see if they can guess the connections too! #NYTConnections #ThursdayTrivia
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Oh, purple category in today’s Connections: Sports Edition, you crack me up. The first clue we list below is not like the others (it’s more a concept, while they are physical items), but it fits the category. Bravo, puzzlemakers, bravo. Read on for hints and answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle.
For now, the game is in beta, which means the Times is testing it out to see if it’s popular before adding it to the site’s Games app. You can play it daily for now for free — and then we’ll have to see if it sticks around.
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Trivia is one.
Green group hint: Olympic event
Blue group hint: Category of sport
Purple group hint: Like Swiss cheese
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan 30, 2025, #129.
NYT/Screenshot by CNET
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is bar games. The four answers are darts, pool, pop-a-shot and shuffleboard.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is decathlon events. The four answers are 100 meters, long jump, pole vault and shot put.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is net sports. The four answers are badminton, ping pong, tennis and volleyball.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is things with holes. The four answers are bad defense, bowling ball, golf course and wiffle ball.
Welcome to Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition! Below are the hints and answers for puzzle #129, dated January 30th.
Hints:
1. This sport is played on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end.
2. This sport involves teams of players trying to hit a small, hard ball into a series of holes on a course.
3. This sport features two players hitting a shuttlecock back and forth over a net with rackets.
4. This sport involves players hitting a ball over a net using their hands, arms, and head.
Answers:
1. Football (Soccer)
2. Golf
3. Badminton
4. Volleyball
Have fun connecting the dots and solving today’s sports-themed puzzle! Let us know how you did in the comments below.
Hey, everyone! I have to admit, I’m getting a little nervous now. Tomorrow is game number 600 of Connections. We haven’t had one that has gone really off the rails and infuriated many players since the pictogram-filled grid of number 550 last month.
Yes, I’d like a game that’s a little more challenging than most recent grids. But I’ve got a good streak going and I’m not ready to lose it. We don’t have long to wait until we see what’s in store for this milestone.
Before we begin, I’ve set up a discussion group for Connections and this column on Discord. You can chat about each game (and other topics) with me and other folks. I’m always interested to find out how other people approach the game, so join us! It’s fun.
It’s also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare(!) occasions that I mess something up.
Today’s NYTConnections hints and answers for Thursday, January 30, are coming right up.
How To Play Connections
Connections is a free, popular New York Times daily word game. You get a new puzzle at midnight every day. You can play on the NYT website or Games app.
You’re presented with a grid of 16 words. Your task is to arrange them into four groups of four by figuring out the links between them. The groups could be things like items you can click, names for research study participants or words preceded by a body part.
There’s only one solution for each puzzle, and you’ll need to be careful when it comes to words that might fit into more than one category. You can shuffle the words to perhaps help you see links between them.
Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to figure out, blue and green fall in the middle, and the purple group is usually the most difficult one. The purple group often involves wordplay.
Select four words you think go together and press Submit. If you make a guess and you’re incorrect, you’ll lose a life. If you’re close to having a correct group, you might see a message telling you that you’re one word away from getting it right, but you’ll still need to figure out which one to swap.
If you make four mistakes, it’s game over. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen with the help of some hints, and, if you’re really struggling, today’s Connections answers. As with Wordle and other similar games, it’s easy to share results with your friends on social media and group chats.
If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the publication’s Connections archive. This includes every previous game of Connections, so you can go back and play any of those that you have missed.
Aside from the first 60 games or so, you should be able to find my hints for each grid via Google if you need them! Just click here and add the date of the game for which you need clues or the answers to the search query.
What Are Today’s Connections Hints?
Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.
Today’s 16 words are…
HALO
RIGATONI
AIR
WINGS
ROMEO
HARP
DIP
DWELL
PIZZA
PARISH
LINGER
VIBE
BERNIE
AURA
BEER
INSIST
And the hints for today’s Connections groups are:
Yellow group — the X-factor
Green group — Super Bowl essentials for many
Blue group — these could cause one to say “will you please stop talking about that?!”
Purple group — you might want to extend your vacations here
What Are Today’s Connections Groups?
Need some extra help?
Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.
Today’s Connections groups are…
Yellow group — intangible quality
Green group — game day fare
Blue group — keep going on about, with “on”
Purple group — starting with European capitals
What Are Today’s Connections Answers?
Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.
This is your final warning!
Today’s Connections answers are…
Yellow group — intangible quality (AIR, AURA, HALO, VIBE)
Green group — game day fare (BEER, DIP, PIZZA, WINGS)
Blue group — keep going on about, with “on” (DWELL, HARP, INSIST, LINGER)
Purple group — starting with European capitals (BERNIE, PARISH, RIGATONI, ROMEO)
I’m now at 15 straight perfect games, with an 18-game overall win streak. Here’s how I fared:
I was pretty sure ROMEO, RIGATONI and BERNIE were purple words since nothing else really made sense with them, but the connection didn’t click for me right away. I was skeptical about HALO, WINGS, HARP and AURA as a red herring of angel things, so I left those well alone. Besides, WINGS made more sense with a few other words that turned out to be the greens.
After that, what turned out to be the purples were bunched up on the left, making them easy to spot. They refer to Bern, Paris, Riga and Rome.
The yellows then popped out at me, but I sent through the blues first, just because I could. And, yes, I deduced the connection before doing so.
That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog tomorrow for hints and the solution for Friday’s game if you need them.
P.S. I liked this song long before I knew it was in a recurring bit on Saturday Night Live. Haddaway’s “What Is Love” is a true Eurodance classic. Try as I might, I can’t resist bobbing my head along to this one:
Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Call someone you love!
If you’re so inclined, please do follow my blog for more coverage of Connections and other word games and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Also, follow me on Bluesky! It’s fun there.
Are you ready for some brain-teasing puzzles and trivia? Look no further, because here are the hints and answers for Thursday, January 30th!
1. Puzzle: I am taken from a mine and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost every person. What am I?
Answer: Pencil lead
2. Trivia: Which planet is known as the Red Planet?
Answer: Mars
3. Puzzle: What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs?
Answer: Penny
4. Trivia: Who painted the famous artwork “Starry Night”?
Answer: Vincent van Gogh
5. Puzzle: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?
Answer: Echo
Test your wits and see how many of these hints and answers you can solve correctly! Stay tuned for more fun and challenging puzzles and trivia.
