Connections Hints
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — January 28, 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.
BUCKET
DUMMY
GLOVES
ME
MOCK
MOTOR
NEEDLE
PLATTER
PRETEND
RAG
RIB
SHAM
SOAP
TIME
TIRE
TONEARM
Themes
The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.
IMITATIONStraightforward
CLEANING SUPPLIESModerate
COMPONENTS OF A RECORD PLAYERTricky
SPARE ___Devious
One word per group
Theme name plus one word from each category.
IMITATIONStraightforward
WORDS MEANING FAKE OR NOT THE REAL THING+ 3 more…
CLEANING SUPPLIESModerate
THINGS YOU'D FIND UNDER THE KITCHEN SINK FOR TIDYING UP+ 3 more…
COMPONENTS OF A RECORD PLAYERTricky
PARTS THAT MAKE UP A TURNTABLE+ 3 more…
SPARE ___Devious
THESE WORDS ALL FOLLOW 'SPARE' TO MAKE COMMON PHRASES+ 3 more…
Full solution
IMITATIONStraightforward
DUMMY,MOCK,PRETEND,SHAM
DUMMY, MOCK, PRETEND, and SHAM all mean imitation or not genuine
CLEANING SUPPLIESModerate
BUCKET,GLOVES,RAG,SOAP
BUCKET, GLOVES, RAG, and SOAP are all common household cleaning supplies
COMPONENTS OF A RECORD PLAYERTricky
MOTOR,NEEDLE,PLATTER,TONEARM
MOTOR, NEEDLE, PLATTER, and TONEARM are all components found in a record player
SPARE ___Devious
ME,RIB,TIME,TIRE
SPARE ME, SPARE RIB, SPARE TIME, and SPARE TIRE are all familiar 'spare ___' phrases