
Looking for a different day?
A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, January 28 (game #962).
Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #963) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…
- GOREY
- SILVERSTEIN
- GRIZZLY
- BEAR
- GRIMM
- GOLDILOCKS
- STAIN
- SCARRY
- FIBERGLASS
- SMUG
- BED
- LINER
- FOUNDATION
- STUMBLER
- BRONZER
- PORRIDGExx
NYT Connections today (game #963) - hint #1 - group hints
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: Cosmetics
- GREEN: Components of fairytale
- BLUE: Items to consume water from
- PURPLE: Sounds rough
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #963) - hint #2 - group answers
What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
- YELLOW: MAKEUP
- GREEN: FEATURED IN GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS
- BLUE: ENDING WITH DRINKING VESSELS
- PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF WORDS MEANING "BRUTAL"
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #963) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #963, are…
- YELLOW: MAKEUP BRONZER, FOUNDATION, LINER, STAIN
- GREEN: FEATURED IN GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS BEAR, BED, GOLDILOCKS, PORRIDGE
- BLUE: ENDING WITH DRINKING VESSELS FIBERGLASS, SILVERSTEIN, SMUG, STUMBLER
- PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF WORDS MEANING "BRUTAL" GOREY, GRIMM, GRIZZLY, SCARRY
- My rating: Hard
- My score: 1 mistake
Sometimes a group of words that seem obvious are an actual group, like today’s FEATURED IN GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS – which included both GOLDILOCKS and BEAR.
Other times a group that seems obvious – like Tuesday’s collection of Batman-related words – is just a red herring. I suppose this is part of the joys and frustrations of Connections.
My mistake came in collecting what I thought were all children’s story authors – SCARRY, GOREY, GRIM, and SILVERSTEIN. Fortunately, the one away gave me a shot at cobbling together a group that became HOMOPHONES OF WORDS MEANING "BRUTAL".
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, January 28, game #962)
- YELLOW: IMITATION DUMMY, MOCK, PRETEND, SHAM
- GREEN: CLEANING SUPPLIES BUCKET, GLOVES, RAG, SOAP
- BLUE: COMPONENTS OF A RECORD PLAYER MOTOR, NEEDLE, PLATTER, TONEARM
- PURPLE: SPARE ____ ME, RIB, TIME, TIRE
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
Source: TechRadar