NYT Connections Answers January 18: Hints and solution revealed for the Sunday puzzle #952

The New York Times’ daily word game Connections returned on Sunday with puzzle #952, challenging players to identify subtle links among 16 seemingly unrelated words. While the grid appeared approachable at first glance, overlapping meanings and deliberate misdirection made the puzzle trickier than expected, prompting many players to seek hints before arriving at the final NYT Connections answer.

Designed to test pattern recognition and lateral thinking, Connections has quickly built a loyal following alongside other NYT Games such as Wordle and Strands.

Category types in today’s NYT Connections puzzle

Each Connections puzzle features four categories of increasing difficulty, colour-coded from yellow to purple. For January 18, the category types were as follows, as per a report by Life Hacker:

• Yellow category: Parts of a whole
  
• Green category: Related verbs
  
• Blue category: Related nouns
  
• Purple category: Pop culture and history references
  

While these descriptions were spoiler-free, the overlap between literal and figurative meanings made correct grouping less straightforward.

Spoiler-free hints for today’s Connections themes

To help players narrow down possibilities, the following thematic clues applied to each colour group:

• Yellow: They are physical features of an animal
  
• Green: Verbs commonly linked to car accidents
  
• Blue: Items commonly found on a book jacket
  
• Purple: Well-known performers from classic Hollywood
  

Several words, including bill, price, quote, and total, appeared deceptively connected to money, but the puzzle required players to move beyond surface interpretations.

Tricky words that caused confusion

A key challenge in today’s puzzle lay in misleading assumptions. Bill, for instance, did not refer to payment but instead meant a bird’s beak. Price functioned as a surname rather than a cost, while total was used as a verb describing a vehicle written off after damage. Such twists forced players to reconsider initial groupings.

Categories in today’s NYT Connections puzzle

After careful elimination, the correct categories for puzzle #952 were revealed as:

• Yellow: Features of a duck
  
• Green: Destroy
  
• Blue: Found on a book jacket
  
• Purple: Classic Hollywood actors
  

NYT Connections answer for January 18, 2026

Here is the complete NYT Connections answer, with all four groups and their associated words, as per a report by Life Hacker:

• Yellow – Features of a duck: BILL, FEATHERS, WEBBING, WINGS
  
• Green – Destroy: BREAK, DAMAGE, TOTAL, WRECK
  
• Blue – Found on a book jacket: AUTHOR, QUOTE, SYNOPSIS, TITLE
  
• Purple – Classic Hollywood actors: COOPER, GRANT, PECK, PRICE
  

The purple category referenced iconic film stars Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, and Vincent Price, making it the most challenging group for many players.

How today’s puzzle NYT Connections was solved

Many players reported identifying the yellow group early after recognising bird anatomy. The blue group followed once book-related terms were isolated. The purple category initially appeared to be a list of surnames before revealing its classic cinema connection. This left the green group, centred on destruction-related verbs, as the final deduction.

How to play NYT Connections

Available on the New York Times website and Games app, Connections presents players with 16 words arranged in a grid. The goal is to select four words that share a common theme. Players have four attempts to correctly identify all groups. Yellow is the easiest category, while purple is the most complex.

FAQs

What is today’s NYT Connections answer?

The NYT Connections answer for Sunday, January 18, 2026, includes groups based on duck features, destruction verbs, book jacket elements, and classic Hollywood actors.

Where can I play NYT Connections?

The game is available daily on the New York Times website and through its Games app.