Connections 956 - January 22, 2026 - Full Solution

Just completed today's NYT Connections puzzle and wanted to share the answers along with some thoughts on solving strategy for anyone still working on it.

Today's Answers

Yellow (Well-defined, as an image): CLEAR, CRISP, DISTINCT, SHARP

Green (Fruit desserts): COBBLER, CRUMBLE, STRUDEL, TURNOVER

Blue (Bungle): FLUFF, FUMBLE, MISS, TRIP

Purple (Magazines plus a letter): ELLEN, SPINY, TIMER, USE

Strategy Tips

For anyone struggling with Connections in general, here's what works for me:

1. Look for the most obvious grouping first. Usually the Yellow category has clear connections.

2. Don't commit too early. Shuffle the board and look at different combinations before locking in your guess.

3. Watch out for red herrings. Words often seem like they belong together but only one combination is correct.

4. Purple categories almost always involve wordplay, puns, or require thinking laterally. If you're stuck with four random words at the end, think about what they could represent beyond their face value.

5. Remember you only get four mistakes, so if you're not confident, take time to think it through.