A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #591
hints & answers for January 22, 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 22, 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 D, L, L and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

DISCUSSION belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

TYPES OF ACADEMIC COURSES

Reveal all four words
  • DISCUSSION
  • LAB
  • LECTURE
  • SEMINAR

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with D, H, P and T. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

DITCH belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

RESULTS OF SOME DIGGING

Reveal all four words
  • DITCH
  • HOLE
  • PIT
  • TRENCH

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

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

Show one word

BOXER belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

ONES WEARING ROBES

Reveal all four words
  • BOXER
  • JUDGE
  • MONK
  • WIZARD

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
Wordplay hint

Try adding the same ending to each entry.

Show one word

BATTER belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

___ UP

Reveal all four words
  • BATTER
  • BOTTOMS
  • CHIN
  • LAWYER

Each entry comes before "UP" to form a word, expression or name: BATTER → BATTER UP; BOTTOMS → BOTTOMS UP; CHIN → CHIN UP; LAWYER → LAWYER UP.

Show categories only
  • Yellow: TYPES OF ACADEMIC COURSES
  • Green: RESULTS OF SOME DIGGING
  • Blue: ONES WEARING ROBES
  • Purple: ___ UP

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

TYPES OF ACADEMIC COURSES

DISCUSSION · LAB · LECTURE · SEMINAR

Green

RESULTS OF SOME DIGGING

DITCH · HOLE · PIT · TRENCH

Blue

ONES WEARING ROBES

BOXER · JUDGE · MONK · WIZARD

Purple

___ UP

BATTER · BOTTOMS · CHIN · LAWYER

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.