Today's NYT Connections Hints (and Answer) for Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Here are some hints to help you win NYT Connections #212.
If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Tuesday, January 9, 2024, 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 9, NYT Connections #212! 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. You can also find our past hints there as well, in case you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle.
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!
Does today’s Connections game require any special knowledge?
Yes, one category hinges on a famous chef’s advice. Check out our interview with said chef if you don’t mind a great read and a little spoiler.
There are also a few fictional characters represented on today’s board.
Hints for the themes in today’s Connections puzzle
Here are some spoiler-free hints for the groupings in today’s Connections:
Yellow category - Time to clean up around here!
Green category - Add some flavor.
Blue category - Ah-choo!
Purple category - They can solve a mystery.
Does today’s Connections game involve any wordplay?
Nothing too tricky today!
Ready to hear the answers? Keep scrolling if you want a little more help.
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.)
What are the ambiguous words in today’s Connections?
You might DUST with a MOP or a SPONGE, but DUST is in a different category (as a noun) today.
ACID might bring alien blood to mind, or corrosive liquids like ACID rain. But milder ACIDs are present in our everyday life, such as the lemon juice we might squeeze onto a plate of veggies to brighten the flavor.
PEPPER is not a reference to chili PEPPERs, or Dr. PEPPER. It’s the black sprinkly stuff you put on food. As a further hint, the other items in its category are not food related.
A MONK can be a religious figure or a type of parakeet. Adrian MONK is also a TV detective.
What are the categories in today’s Connections?
Yellow: CLEANING SUPPLIES
Green: ELEMENTS OF COOKING, PER SAMIN NOSRAT
Blue: THINGS THAT MAKE YOU SNEEZE
Purple: TITULAR FICTIONAL DETECTIVES
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 CLEANING SUPPLIES and the words are: BROOM, MOP, RAG, SPONGE.
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 ELEMENTS OF COOKING, PER SAMIN NOSRAT and the words are: SALT, FAT, ACID, HEAT.
What are the blue words in today’s Connections?
The blue grouping is the second-hardest. The theme for today’s blue category is THINGS THAT MAKE YOU SNEEZE and the words are: DUST, PEPPER, POLLEN, SMOKE.
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 TITULAR FICTIONAL DETECTIVES and the words are: MAGNUM, MONK, SHAFT, TRACY.
How I solved today’s Connections
I wanted SPONGE bath and DUST bath to have two more partners, but it was not to be. I noticed SALT, FAT, ACID, HEAT, though! 🟩
Next I looked at MAGNUM. That can only be a gun, a condom, or a P. I. Wait–if it’s a detective, that also explains MONK and SHAFT. Who else? Are we going as far back as Dick TRACY? Apparently we are. 🟪
I got the cleaning supplies next, 🟨 and then the things that make us sneeze. 🟦
Connections Puzzle #212 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦
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 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!