The January 17, 2026 NYT Connections grid hides four tricky categories—here’s how to spot the anagrams, recess games and spreadable clues before you hit a wall.
Puzzle #951 lands on a weekend, but the difficulty dial is still cranked to weekday levels. If your streak is on the line, these spoiler-controlled hints will keep you moving without giving away the farm.
How to Use These Hints
Each category is teased below in order from easiest to hardest. Read only as far as you need, then pause and return to the grid—your brain will thank you for the incremental dopamine hits.
Category 1: “Like jam or peanut butter”
Think texture and application. These four words all describe the act of smearing or layering something across a surface. If you’ve ever buttered toast, you already know the vibe.
Category 2: “Like shotput”
Athletic verb alert. Every entry is a synonym for launching an object through the air with force. No equipment required—just raw arm power.
Category 3: “Tom Marvolo Riddle, as a literary device”
The Harry Potter villain’s famous name scramble is your clue: look for four words that are perfect anagrams of one another. Rearranging letters is the entire game here.
Category 4: “Popular at recess”
Childhood nostalgia incoming. These are the first words in the titles of playground games that need zero batteries and only a handful of friends.
Today’s Connections Answers—Full Spoiler
Still stuck? Here’s the complete breakdown for January 17, 2026:
- SPREAD OVER: BLANKET, COAT, COVER, PLASTER
- THROW: CAST, HURL, PELT, SLING
- ANAGRAMS: INKS, KINS, SINK, SKIN
- FIRST WORDS OF KIDS’ GAMES: CAPTURE, HIDE, RED, SIMON
Why Today’s Grid Feels Sneaky
The anagram set is the ultimate misdirect—four common letters that look unrelated until you realize they’re the same jumble. Meanwhile, “RED” and “SIMON” seem like colors or names until you remember the playground classics that start with them. The spread-and-throw duo keeps the top half of the board deceptively simple, luring solvers into early confidence before the lateral-thinking left hook.
Streak-Protecting Strategy
- Start with the most physical verbs—your throwing synonyms group fast.
- Next, hunt the anagram: type the four letters into a scratch pad and cycle them until every word clicks.
- Use process of elimination on the remaining eight tiles; the recess starters will surface once everything else is grayed out.
Crossed the finish line? Compare your path to ours and brag—or sigh—in the comments. Either way, your streak lives to fight another day.
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