You’re staring at a screen filled with sixteen words that feel like they were picked by a chaotic toddler. We’ve all been there. Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a bit of a trickster, specifically because it plays with how you perceive the structure of words rather than just what they mean. If you’re hunting for the nyt mashable connections hint today, you’re probably stuck on that weird overlap between things that look like names and things that look like... well, flakes.
Honestly, the January 15, 2026, grid is a classic example of Wyna Liu’s ability to hide things in plain sight. It’s not just about what a word is. Sometimes, it’s about what a word contains.
Hints for Today’s Categories
Let’s be real. Sometimes you don't want the full answer immediately. You just need a nudge to get the gears turning so you can feel that rush of "Aha!" when the tiles finally snap into place.
- Yellow Category Hint: Think about what you’d find in a shed or what you’d need if you were planning to transform a patch of dirt into a garden.
- Green Category Hint: This is all about a lack of movement. If something is stuck, or simply not shifting an inch, it belongs here.
- Blue Category Hint: This one is a bit more abstract. Think of things that are small, light, and often fall or appear in "bits."
- Purple Category Hint: Look at the words themselves. Try splitting them in half. You might find two different guys hiding inside each one.
The Tricky Overlap: Why This Puzzle Is Tough
One of the biggest reasons people get tripped up on today’s puzzle is the word SALT. On any other day, you might see "Salt" and think of seasoning. But today, it’s hanging out with SNOW and CEREAL.
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If you grew up in a snowy climate, you might immediately think of road salt and shovels. That’s the trap. SHOVEL is actually part of the yellow group. If you try to group things you use for a snowstorm, the game will happily eat one of your lives.
Yellow Group: Gardening Tools
This is the most straightforward group, though "Hose" can sometimes throw people who are looking for clothing or "pantry" items.
- HOSE
- RAKE
- SHOVEL
- SPADE
Green Group: Unmoving
These words are synonyms for staying put. It’s a very "stationary" group—pun intended.
- FROZEN
- STATIC
- STATIONARY
- STILL
Blue Group: Things That Come in Flakes
This is where the nyt mashable connections hint today really helps. Most of us think of "flakes" as just dandruff or snow. We forget that salt crystals are often referred to as flakes (Maldon, anyone?) and that breakfast cereal is basically a bowl of flakes.
- CEREAL
- DANDRUFF
- SALT
- SNOW
Purple Group: Words Formed by Two Men's Names
This is the hardest category of the day. It’s a "wordplay" category. Basically, each word is just two common male names mashed together. Take JACKAL: it’s Jack and Al.
- JACKAL (Jack + Al)
- LEVITATE (Levi + Tate)
- MELTED (Mel + Ted)
- PATRON (Pat + Ron)
Breaking Down the Difficulty
Wyna Liu, who edits Connections, often mentions in interviews that she loves to use words that have multiple parts of speech. Today’s puzzle uses nouns that can be verbs (like Rake or Shovel) to keep you off balance.
The purple category is especially mean today because MELTED feels like it should be in the "Unmoving" or "Frozen" orbit, perhaps as an opposite. But the "two names" logic is the only thing that ties it to a word like LEVITATE.
Tactical Advice for Future Puzzles
If you want to stop relying on hints and start crushing these daily, you've got to change how you look at the board.
- Don’t submit your first group. If you see four words that fit perfectly, wait. Look for a fifth word that also fits. If there are five words for one category, you haven't found the category yet; you've found a trap.
- Say the words out loud. Sometimes the connection is phonetic (homophones) or based on how the word is spelled rather than what it means.
- Shuffle often. Your brain gets "locked" into seeing the grid in a certain way. Shuffling the tiles physically moves them, which can break those mental blocks and help you see the "two men's names" or the "flakes" connection more easily.
Now that you’ve got the logic down for the January 15 puzzle, you should be able to clear the board without losing any more lives. Just remember: the yellow group is usually your "safety," so solve it first to clear the clutter. Once those gardening tools are gone, the "unmoving" synonyms become much easier to spot.
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If you’re still struggling with the purple group, don’t feel bad. Most players solve that one last by default because the wordplay is so specific. You basically just need the four leftovers.
To stay ahead of tomorrow's grid, pay attention to words that have multiple meanings. The NYT loves to use a word that can be both a color and a fruit, or a brand name and a common noun. Keeping a mental list of those "pivot words" is the secret to winning every single morning.
For the next step, take a look at the remaining words and see if any other "two-name" combinations jump out at you—it's a great way to train your brain for the next time the puzzle editors decide to be particularly clever.