Spoiler warning: This retrospective covers NYT Connections puzzle #940, published Tuesday, January 6, 2026. Start with the four clues below if you only want a nudge; the complete categories and word groups appear farther down.
Today’s Connections clues for January 6, 2026
The puzzle’s 16-word grid was:
PARTY, BOAT, QUARTERS, QUADS, CLEAR, BALLOON, FLUSH, STUFFED, RICH, PACK, PAD, DEEP, FLAT, FULL, STRAIGHT, DIGS
Use these clues in increasing spoiler order:
- Yellow: Small home
- Green: Velvety vocals
- Blue: Hold ’em
- Purple: Add a word for beasts
Alternative clue wording describes the groups as having your own place, a voice like James Earl Jones, Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler,” and things that are usually wild.
Connections #940 answers
The four completed categories are APARTMENT, SONOROUS, POKER HANDS, FAMILIARLY, and ___ ANIMAL.
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| Color | Category | Words | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | APARTMENT | DIGS, FLAT, PAD, QUARTERS | “Digs” and “pad” are informal terms for a home; “flat” is the British term for an apartment; “quarters” can mean living accommodation. |
| Green | SONOROUS | CLEAR, DEEP, FULL, RICH | Each can describe a resonant, full or pleasing voice. |
| Blue | POKER HANDS, FAMILIARLY | BOAT, FLUSH, QUADS, STRAIGHT | “Boat” is familiar poker shorthand for a full house, while “quads” means four of a kind. Flush and straight are standard hand names. |
| Purple | ___ ANIMAL | BALLOON, PACK, PARTY, STUFFED | Add “animal” to make balloon animal, pack animal, party animal and stuffed animal. |
Yellow: APARTMENT
DIGS, FLAT, PAD and QUARTERS all refer to a place to live. “Quarters” can also suggest a service member’s or servant’s residence, which makes it less immediate than the other three.
Green: SONOROUS
CLEAR, DEEP, FULL and RICH are adjectives for a resonant or especially pleasing voice. The clue’s “velvety vocals” points to sound quality rather than a type of singer.
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Blue: POKER HANDS, FAMILIARLY
BOAT, FLUSH, QUADS and STRAIGHT belong to poker vocabulary. A “boat” is an informal name for a full house, and “quads” is informal shorthand for four of a kind.
Purple: ___ ANIMAL
BALLOON, PACK, PARTY and STUFFED each forms a familiar phrase when followed by “animal.” This is the wordplay category, so the shared connection appears only after adding the missing word.
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Why this grid was difficult
Several entries support convincing but incorrect patterns. A dated solving account described being drawn toward a carpentry-style set built around STRAIGHT, FLUSH, QUARTERS and PACK. The same writer also tried a wealth or abundance grouping involving FLUSH, RICH, STUFFED and DEEP; that mistake helped redirect attention to the apartment words. Those are one contributor’s reported false starts, not a guaranteed solving sequence for every player.
The overlap is deliberate. The New York Times says each Connections puzzle has exactly one solution and is made tricky by words that can appear to fit multiple categories. Here, “flat” and “quarters” look like general place or building terms, “flush” can suggest wealth as well as poker, and “party” can point toward celebration before it points to an animal phrase.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How this puzzle fits the NYT Connections game
Connections asks you to divide 16 words into four groups of four based on shared themes. The daily puzzle releases at midnight in the player’s local time zone and is free to play on the NYT platforms listed in the newspaper’s help documentation.
The full Connections archive, which the NYT says extends back to June 12, 2023, is available to All Access and Games subscribers. Archive and access policies can change, so the current NYT Help Center is the definitive reference for eligibility.
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NYT’s Connections Bot can provide difficulty and category statistics to eligible subscribers, but no verified puzzle-specific success rate or difficulty percentage is established for game #940.
Quick Recap
Quick spoiler-free recap
- Game number: #940
- Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2026
- Yellow category: APARTMENT
- Green category: SONOROUS
- Blue category: POKER HANDS, FAMILIARLY
- Purple category: ___ ANIMAL
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