Here are hints, groups and answers for 'Connections' #949
By NME 15th January 2026
Credit: FatCamera, Getty Images.
Out of the many daily puzzles available online, the New York Times’ Connections game is one of the trickiest. For those playing for the first time, the goal of Connections is to divide a block of 16 words into four common themes. Some of these – for example, grouping four types of fish – can be very straightforward, while others can be far more abstract. If you’ve found yourself stumped by the latter, we’ve put together Connections answers and hints for today (January 15) below.
- READ MORE: Globle answer today – here’s the answer and hints for January 15
If you already know how to play Connections, you can skip this paragraph to jump straight into today’s solution. But if this is your first time attempting the New York Times’ puzzle (or you just need a refresher), we suggest thinking outside of the box for your answers.
AdvertisementSome groups are deliberately deceptive – using a previous day’s puzzle as an example, you may think ‘Heart’, ‘Cell’, ‘Body’ and ‘Nucleus’ are all connected through biology. But you’d be wrong, as ‘Heart’ and ‘Nucleus’ were actually two of four “Nexus” words on the day we’ve used as an example. Think beyond what a word means literally, try to see subtle patterns, and your luck with Connections will improve drastically. That being said, some days are still fiendishly difficult – and if you’re still stuck, check below for the Connections answer for today.
Connections hints for January 15
If you’re still trying to solve January 15’s Connections yourself, here are all of the words in play today and some hints on what each group is.
- CEREAL
- STATIC
- MELTED
- SNOW
- LEVITATE
- SALT
- PATRON
- SHOVEL
- HOSE
- STATIONARY
- SPADE
- JACKAL
- FROZEN
- RAKE
- DANDRUFF
- STILL
With that in mind, here are four hints for January 15
- Yellow: equipment used to maintain a garden
- Green: motionless
- Blue: things that are characterised by their flakes
- Purple: words that consist of two epithets
Connections groups for January 15
If you’re still trying to piece everything together, here are all four of today’s groups.
- Yellow: gardening tools
- Green: unmoving
- Blue: things that come in flakes
- Purple: words formed by two men’s names
Connections answers for January 15
Finally, here are the answers for Connections #949 on Thursday, January 15.
- Yellow: gardening tools (hose, rake, shovel, spade)
- Green: unmoving (frozen, static, stationary, still)
- Blue: things that come in flakes (cereal, dandruff, salt, snow)
- Purple: words formed by two men’s names (jackal, levitate, melted, patron)
You can check back for up-to-date hints and answers for each day’s Connections puzzle. If you get stuck elsewhere, we’ve also got answers for several other daily games – including Wordle, Framed, and Globle.