Connections Hints

Saturday, January 17, 2026

Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — January 17, 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.

BLANKET
CAPTURE
CAST
COAT
COVER
HIDE
HURL
INKS
KINS
PELT
PLASTER
RED
SIMON
SINK
SKIN
SLING
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Themes

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

SPREAD OVERStraightforward
THROWModerate
ANAGRAMSTricky
FIRST WORDS OF KIDS' GAMESDevious
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One word per group

Theme name plus one word from each category.

SPREAD OVERStraightforward
APPLY A LAYER ACROSS A SURFACE+ 3 more…
THROWModerate
SEND SOMETHING FLYING THROUGH THE AIR+ 3 more…
ANAGRAMSTricky
THESE FOUR WORDS ARE SCRAMBLED VERSIONS OF EACH OTHER+ 3 more…
FIRST WORDS OF KIDS' GAMESDevious
COMPLETE THE NAME OF A CLASSIC CHILDREN'S GAME+ 3 more…
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Full solution
SPREAD OVERStraightforward
BLANKET,COAT,COVER,PLASTER

BLANKET, COAT, COVER, and PLASTER all mean to spread something over a surface or area

THROWModerate
CAST,HURL,PELT,SLING

CAST, HURL, PELT, and SLING all mean to throw something

ANAGRAMSTricky
INKS,KINS,SINK,SKIN

INKS, KINS, SINK, and SKIN are all anagrams of each other, using the letters I, K, N, S

FIRST WORDS OF KIDS' GAMESDevious
CAPTURE,HIDE,RED,SIMON

CAPTURE (the Flag), HIDE (and Seek), RED (Light Green Light), and SIMON (Says) are all first words of classic kids' games

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