A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #585
hints & answers for January 16, 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 16, 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 B, C, M and T. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

BUSINESS belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

BUYING AND SELLING

Reveal all four words
  • BUSINESS
  • COMMERCE
  • MARKET
  • TRADE

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

BASEBOARD belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

INSTALLED ON A WALL

Reveal all four words
  • BASEBOARD
  • OUTLET
  • SCONCE
  • SWITCH

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

AGENT belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

SPY

Reveal all four words
  • AGENT
  • ASSET
  • MOLE
  • PLANT

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

GYM belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___ RAT

Reveal all four words
  • GYM
  • MALL
  • PACK
  • RUG

Each entry comes before "RAT" to form a word, expression or name: GYM → GYM RAT; MALL → MALL RAT; PACK → PACK RAT; RUG → RUG RAT.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: BUYING AND SELLING
  • Green: INSTALLED ON A WALL
  • Blue: SPY
  • Purple: ___ RAT

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

BUYING AND SELLING

BUSINESS · COMMERCE · MARKET · TRADE

Green

INSTALLED ON A WALL

BASEBOARD · OUTLET · SCONCE · SWITCH

Blue

SPY

AGENT · ASSET · MOLE · PLANT

Purple

___ RAT

GYM · MALL · PACK · RUG

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.