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Spoiler warning: The January 9, 2026 NYT Connections puzzle is #943. Its four groups are Things That Are Red; Used in Metaphors for Precarious Situations; Musical Artists Minus Starting Numbers; and Cardinal Directions With First Letter Changed.
NYT Connections #943 answers for January 9, 2026
| Color | Category | Tiles | How the connection works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Things That Are Red | 3 BALL, CARDINAL, HEART EMOJI, SOLO CUP | A billiards 3-ball, a cardinal, the standard heart emoji and the familiar Solo cup are commonly red. |
| Green | Used in Metaphors for Precarious Situations | 8 BALL, DEEP END, LIMB, THIN ICE | They complete “behind the eight ball,” “in the deep end,” “out on a limb” and “on thin ice.” |
| Blue | Musical Artists Minus Starting Numbers | 6 MAFIA, CHAINZ, DIRECTION, NON BLONDES | Restore the omitted numerals to make Three 6 Mafia, 2 Chainz, One Direction and 4 Non Blondes. |
| Purple | Cardinal Directions With First Letter Changed | COUTH, FORTH, LEST, OAST | Change the first letter to create COUTH → SOUTH, FORTH → NORTH, LEST → WEST and OAST → EAST. |
The 16 tiles are FORTH, LEST, CARDINAL, DIRECTION, 8 BALL, SOLO CUP, NON BLONDES, OAST, 3 BALL, THIN ICE, HEART EMOJI, CHAINZ, 6 MAFIA, DEEP END, COUTH and LIMB.
Why each group can be deceptive
Yellow: familiar red objects
“Cardinal” may initially look like a directional word, while “3 BALL” and “HEART EMOJI” can suggest other categories. Their shared visual color is the intended link.
Green: phrases describing risk
These tiles are not synonyms. Each becomes part of a common idiom describing an exposed, uncertain or dangerous position.
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Blue: remove the opening number
The artist names are recognizable only after restoring their missing starting numbers. This makes the category depend on music knowledge and a precise word reconstruction.
Purple: one-letter compass transformations
The four unusual-looking words become SOUTH, NORTH, WEST and EAST when only their initial letters change. “FORTH” is especially tempting as an ordinary word, but here it transforms to NORTH.
A practical solving order
- Look for direct visual matches. The red objects provide the most concrete starting set: 3 BALL, CARDINAL, HEART EMOJI and SOLO CUP.
- Test idioms among the leftovers. 8 BALL, DEEP END, LIMB and THIN ICE each fit a familiar precarious-situation expression.
- Restore missing numerals in artist names. The remaining music-related fragments resolve to 6 MAFIA, CHAINZ, DIRECTION and NON BLONDES.
- Apply the letter-change rule. The final four words map one-to-one to the compass directions.
This route is an editorial assessment of the category mechanisms, not a measured player-difficulty study. The yellow and green groups rely more on everyday associations and idioms; the blue and purple groups require more transformation and recall.
How NYT Connections works
Connections is a free daily New York Times word game on the NYT website and Games app, playable on desktop or mobile. You arrange a 16-tile grid into four groups of four. Forbes describes three incorrect guesses as allowed; a fourth incorrect guess ends the game. An All Access or Games subscription provides access to the New York Times game archive.
Which date applies to “today”?
This answer is for January 9, 2026, puzzle #943. A new puzzle appears at midnight in each time zone, so the puzzle shown as “today” can differ for readers in different locations. Use both the date and the puzzle number when checking a result or sharing it.
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