Connections Hints

Thursday, January 29, 2026

Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — January 29, 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.

BEAR
BED
BRONZER
FIBERGLASS
FOUNDATION
GOLDILOCKS
GOREY
GRIMM
GRIZZLY
LINER
PORRIDGE
SCARRY
SILVERSTEIN
SMUG
STAIN
STUMBLER
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Themes

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

MAKEUPStraightforward
FEATURED IN GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARSModerate
ENDING WITH DRINKING VESSELSTricky
HOMOPHONES OF WORDS MEANING "BRUTAL"Devious
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One word per group

Theme name plus one word from each category.

MAKEUPStraightforward
THINGS YOU MIGHT FIND IN A COSMETICS BAG+ 3 more…
FEATURED IN GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARSModerate
ELEMENTS OF A CLASSIC FAIRY TALE+ 3 more…
ENDING WITH DRINKING VESSELSTricky
WORDS THAT HIDE A DRINKING VESSEL AT THE END+ 3 more…
HOMOPHONES OF WORDS MEANING "BRUTAL"Devious
THEY SOUND LIKE WORDS MEANING SAVAGE OR GRUESOME — AND THEY'RE ALL FAMOUS AUTHORS+ 3 more…
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Full solution
MAKEUPStraightforward
BRONZER,FOUNDATION,LINER,STAIN

BRONZER, FOUNDATION, LINER, and STAIN are all types of makeup or cosmetic products.

FEATURED IN GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARSModerate
BEAR,BED,GOLDILOCKS,PORRIDGE

BEAR, BED, GOLDILOCKS, and PORRIDGE are all things featured in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

ENDING WITH DRINKING VESSELSTricky
FIBERGLASS,SILVERSTEIN,SMUG,STUMBLER

FIBERGLASS (glass), SILVERSTEIN (stein), SMUG (mug), and STUMBLER (tumbler) all end with words that are drinking vessels.

HOMOPHONES OF WORDS MEANING "BRUTAL"Devious
GOREY,GRIMM,GRIZZLY,SCARRY

GOREY (gory), GRIMM (grim), GRIZZLY (grizzly means fierce/brutal), and SCARRY (scary) are homophones or near-homophones of words meaning brutal/frightening, and are also surnames of famous children's authors (Edward Gorey, Brothers Grimm, Shel Silverstein's peer Richard Scarry).

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