If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Sunday, January 18, 2026, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the trickier words and we’ll learn how everything fits together. Beware, there are spoilers below for January 18, NYT Connections #952! Read on if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Connections game.
If you want an easy way to come back to our Connections hints every day, bookmark this page. (If you play Wordle, Strands, or Quordle, check out our hints for those games, too.)
Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Connections answers. And farther down the page, I’ll reveal the themes and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need!
Credit: Connections/NYT
The category types in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are spoiler-free hints that describe the type of each category in today’s Connections:
Yellow category – Parts of a whole.
Green category – Related verbs.
Blue category – Related nouns.
Purple category – Pop culture/history.
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
Yellow category – They’re parts of an animal.
Green category – Car accident verbs.
Blue category – What you might look at when searching for something new to read.
Purple category – They performed in the past.
BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Connections puzzle!
We’re about to give away some of the answers. Scroll slowly if you don’t want the whole thing spoiled. (The full solution is a bit further down.)
A heads up about the tricky parts
BILL, QUOTE, PRICE, and TOTAL do not refer to paying for goods or services. They all belong to different categories.
PRICE is a last name.
BILL is another word for “beak.”
TOTAL is a verb that describes when paying for repairs would exceed the cost of just buying something new.
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
Yellow: FEATURES OF A DUCK
Green: DESTROY
ADVERTISEMENTBlue: FOUND ON A BOOK JACKET
Purple: CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD ACTORS
DOUBLE BEWARE: THE SOLUTION IS BELOW
Ready to learn the answers to today’s Connections puzzle? I give them all away below.
What are the yellow words in today’s Connections?
The yellow grouping is considered to be the most straightforward. The theme for today’s yellow group is FEATURES OF A DUCK and the words are: BILL, FEATHERS, WEBBING, WINGS.
What are the green words in today’s Connections?
The green grouping is supposed to be the second-easiest. The theme for today’s green category is DESTROY and the words are: BREAK, DAMAGE, TOTAL, WRECK.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is FOUND ON A BOOK JACKET and the words are: AUTHOR, QUOTE, SYNOPSIS, TITLE.
What are the purple words in today’s Connections?
The purple grouping is considered to be the hardest. The theme for today’s purple category is CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD ACTORS and the words are: COOPER, GRANT, PECK, PRICE.
How I solved today’s Connections
BILL could go with TOTAL and QUOTE as words related to paying for a service. BILL could also go with WINGS, WEBBING, and FEATHERS to describe parts of a bird. That feels like a stronger hit. 🟨
TITLE, AUTHOR, SYNOPSIS, QUOTE, and PRICE could all be things listed on a book’s front and back covers. I’ll have to wait to see what I can eliminate.
PRICE could go with DAMAGE, QUOTE, and TOTAL. I’ll keep looking just to be sure.
DAMAGE could also go with WRECK and BREAK.
What do you think so far?
I also see that GRANT, PECK, PRICE, and COOPER could be last names.
I think I’ll try TITLE, QUOTE, AUTHOR, and SYNOPSIS as my book category. 🟦 Nice!
I guess I’ll try PRICE, PECK, COOPER, and GRANT? They all seem like last names, but I’m not sure what links them together. 🟪 Oh, they’re actors! I guess that’s Vincent PRICE, Gregory PECK, Gary COOPER, and Cary GRANT?
That means BREAK is the word that goes with DAMAGE, WRECK, and TOTAL. Oh, I see now, those are all car crash verbs. 🟩
Connections Puzzle #952 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩
How to play Connections
I have a full guide to playing Connections, but here’s a refresher on the rules:
First, find the Connections game either on the New York Times website or in their Games app (formerly the Crossword app). You’ll see a game board with 16 tiles, each with one word or phrase. Your job is to select a group of four tiles that have something in common. Often they are all the same type of thing (for example: RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, and SNOW are all types of wet weather) but sometimes there is wordplay involved (for example, BUCKET, GUEST, TOP TEN, and WISH are all types of lists: bucket list, guest list, and so on).
Select four items and hit the Submit button. If you guessed correctly, the category and color will be revealed. (Yellow is easiest, followed by green, then blue, then purple.) If your guess was incorrect, you’ll get a chance to try again.
You win when you’ve correctly identified all four groups. But if you make four mistakes before you finish, the game ends and the answers are revealed.
How to win Connections
The most important thing to know to win Connections is that the groupings are designed to be tricky. Expect to see overlapping groups. For example, one puzzle seemed to include six breakfast foods: BACON, EGG, PANCAKE, OMELET, WAFFLE, and CEREAL. But BACON turned out to be part of a group of painters along with CLOSE, MUNCH, and WHISTLER, and EGG was in a group of things that come by the dozen (along with JUROR, ROSE, and MONTH). So don’t hit “submit” until you’ve confirmed that your group of four contains only those four things.
If you’re stuck, another strategy is to look at the words that seem to have no connection to the others. If all that comes to mind when you see WHISTLER is the painting nicknamed “Whistler’s Mother,” you might be on to something. When I solved that one, I ended up googling whether there was a painter named Close, because Close didn’t fit any of the obvious themes, either.
Another way to win when you’re stuck is, obviously, to read a few helpful hints–which is why we share these pointers every day. Check back tomorrow for the next puzzle!
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to today’s Connections.
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