NYT Connections puzzle #946 is for Monday, January 12, 2026. The 16 words and progressively revealing hints are below; stop before the answer section if you want to solve it yourself.
Today’s Connections words
Here are the 16 words in the January 12 puzzle:
HANDSHAKE · COMPACT · ARMCHAIR · EXPERT · CONSOLE · HEADQUARTER · NOVICE · FOOTSTOOL · UNDERSTANDING · PUMPERNICKEL · PROFICIENT · AGREEMENT · CEFTAZIDIME · INTERMEDIATE · BOOKCASE · MONEYPENNY
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Hints for each Connections group
These nudges move from the broad idea toward the answer. The wording below is editorial, not official NYT clue text.
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- Yellow: You might see these lounging around.
- Green: You might reach one of these after 10,000 hours of practice.
- Blue: Locked in.
- Purple: Change comes to those who wait.
Connections answers for January 12, 2026
Spoilers below: the category names and all 16 answers follow.
#1 Best Overall
Yellow — Living room furniture
ARMCHAIR, BOOKCASE, CONSOLE, FOOTSTOOL
Green — Experience levels
EXPERT, INTERMEDIATE, NOVICE, PROFICIENT
Blue — Promise
AGREEMENT, COMPACT, HANDSHAKE, UNDERSTANDING
Purple — Ending in U.S. coins
CEFTAZIDIME, HEADQUARTER, MONEYPENNY, PUMPERNICKEL
The purple connection is in each word’s ending: dime, quarter, penny, and nickel. CEFTAZIDIME is an antibiotic; it belongs because it ends in “dime,” not because the group is about medicine.
How NYT Connections works
Connections presents 16 words and asks players to sort them into four groups of four that share a feature. Yellow is the easiest color and purple the trickiest. The New York Times says each puzzle has one solution, while words may appear to fit more than one category. NYT Help Center: Connections
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to play and find this puzzle
The daily game is available through the Games app, the Connections page on nytimes.com, nytimes.com/theathletic, and the News app. It resets at midnight in the player’s timezone. The NYT archive goes back to June 12, 2023; archive access is for All Access and Games subscribers. Completed archive puzzles cannot be replayed, and archive games affect some statistics but not streaks. NYT Help Center: Connections
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