A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #572
hints & answers for January 3, 2025

Keep the satisfaction of the solve. Get a nudge for one group, reveal a category, or check the answers at your own pace.

This reference always shows January 3, 2025. It is released in at least one timezone; every answer stays closed until you reveal it.

Which group has you stuck?

Pick a colour. Reveal one step at a time.

Yellow group

Straightforward

1/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with A, B, H and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

ARCH belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

PARTS OF A FOOT

Reveal all four words
  • ARCH
  • BALL
  • HEEL
  • SOLE

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with B, C, S and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

BUCK belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

ONE DOLLAR

Reveal all four words
  • BUCK
  • CLAM
  • SINGLE
  • SMACKER

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with B, M, O and T. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

BUTTON belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

KINDS OF MUSHROOMS

Reveal all four words
  • BUTTON
  • MOREL
  • OYSTER
  • TRUMPET

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try putting the same beginning before each entry.

Show one word

BELLY belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

POT___

Reveal all four words
  • BELLY
  • HOLE
  • LUCK
  • STICKER

Each entry comes after "POT" to form a word, expression or name: BELLY → POT BELLY; HOLE → POT HOLE; LUCK → POT LUCK; STICKER → POT STICKER.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: PARTS OF A FOOT
  • Green: ONE DOLLAR
  • Blue: KINDS OF MUSHROOMS
  • Purple: POT___

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

PARTS OF A FOOT

ARCH · BALL · HEEL · SOLE

Green

ONE DOLLAR

BUCK · CLAM · SINGLE · SMACKER

Blue

KINDS OF MUSHROOMS

BUTTON · MOREL · OYSTER · TRUMPET

Purple

POT___

BELLY · HOLE · LUCK · STICKER

This puzzle’s recorded solution

The date and puzzle number identify this exact board. Use the individual group controls to compare its recorded categories and words, then return to the archive to find another puzzle.

About the answers and hints

Categories and answers follow the recorded NYT puzzle. Our hints are independent: some are original category clues, while others give the first letters of the four words. Each hint is labelled so you can choose how much help to take.

Group colours follow the puzzle’s yellow, green, blue and purple order, from the most straightforward to the trickiest. Your own experience may differ. The reference tiles may appear in a different order from your game. Picture puzzles have separately hidden descriptions, since a description can give away the wordplay.

The daily page starts with the UTC puzzle date and, with JavaScript enabled, checks the puzzle for your local time zone. Every reveal starts closed when the date changes. Play Connections at The New York Times or contact us about a correction.