A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #580
hints & answers for January 11, 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 11, 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, G, M and T. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

ARRAY belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

DISPLAY OF ROWS AND COLUMNS

Reveal all four words
  • ARRAY
  • GRID
  • MATRIX
  • TABLE

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

CIRCULATE belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

THINGS TO DO AT A WORK EVENT

Reveal all four words
  • CIRCULATE
  • CONVERSE
  • MINGLE
  • NETWORK

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

BREAKING belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

OLYMPIC EVENTS SINCE 2000

Reveal all four words
  • BREAKING
  • SURFING
  • TAEKWONDO
  • TRAMPOLINE

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

FOOD belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___ COURT

Reveal all four words
  • FOOD
  • KANGAROO
  • SUPREME
  • TENNIS

Each entry comes before "COURT" to form a word, expression or name: FOOD → FOOD COURT; KANGAROO → KANGAROO COURT; SUPREME → SUPREME COURT; TENNIS → TENNIS COURT.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: DISPLAY OF ROWS AND COLUMNS
  • Green: THINGS TO DO AT A WORK EVENT
  • Blue: OLYMPIC EVENTS SINCE 2000
  • Purple: ___ COURT

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

DISPLAY OF ROWS AND COLUMNS

ARRAY · GRID · MATRIX · TABLE

Green

THINGS TO DO AT A WORK EVENT

CIRCULATE · CONVERSE · MINGLE · NETWORK

Blue

OLYMPIC EVENTS SINCE 2000

BREAKING · SURFING · TAEKWONDO · TRAMPOLINE

Purple

___ COURT

FOOD · KANGAROO · SUPREME · TENNIS

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.