Connections Hints

Saturday, January 3, 2026

Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — January 3, 2026

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Show the word gridAll 16 words — you figure out the groups
Show the themesCategory names only, no words revealed
One word per groupTheme name + one word per category
Full solutionAll words and explanations
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Word grid

All 16 words, sorted alphabetically. Group them into four categories of four.

BAR
BLANKET
CAPTAIN
DIAMONDS
GENERAL
JEAN
JOGGER
MAJOR
NURSE
OVERALL
PRIVATE
SLACK
SOS
UMBRELLA
WILLY
WORK
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Themes

The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.

ARMY RANKSStraightforward
LEGWEAR IN THE SINGULARModerate
RIHANNA #1 HITSTricky
WET ___Devious
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One word per group

Theme name plus one word from each category.

ARMY RANKSStraightforward
MILITARY HIERARCHY FROM BOTTOM TO TOP+ 3 more…
LEGWEAR IN THE SINGULARModerate
PANTS THAT ARE USUALLY REFERRED TO IN THE PLURAL+ 3 more…
RIHANNA #1 HITSTricky
RIHANNA SONGS THAT REACHED NUMBER ONE+ 3 more…
WET ___Devious
WORDS THAT CAN FOLLOW 'WET' TO MAKE A COMMON PHRASE+ 3 more…
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Full solution
ARMY RANKSStraightforward
CAPTAIN,GENERAL,MAJOR,PRIVATE

CAPTAIN, GENERAL, MAJOR, and PRIVATE are all ranks in the U.S. Army.

LEGWEAR IN THE SINGULARModerate
JEAN,JOGGER,OVERALL,SLACK

JEAN, JOGGER, OVERALL, and SLACK are types of trousers typically referred to in plural form (jeans, joggers, overalls, slacks), but here they appear in singular.

RIHANNA #1 HITSTricky
DIAMONDS,SOS,UMBRELLA,WORK

DIAMONDS, SOS, UMBRELLA, and WORK are all Rihanna songs that hit #1 on the charts.

WET ___Devious
BAR,BLANKET,NURSE,WILLY

WET BAR, WET BLANKET, WET NURSE, and WET WILLY are all common phrases beginning with the word 'WET'.

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