Need a nudge for NYT Connections #938, the puzzle for Sunday, January 4, 2026? Start with the spoiler-safe clues below. The full category names and word groups follow the spoiler warning.
Spoiler-free hints for Connections #938
- Yellow: Think of something published on paper.
- Green: Think of a spool and ways to wind something around it.
- Blue: Think of actions by a defensive football player.
- Purple: Look for words that become synonyms for “butt” when their first letter is removed.
Spoilers: Sunday, January 4 Connections answers
The 16 words in the puzzle were GRUMP, COPY, BLOCK, PRINT, ISSUE, SCAN, CRANK, SACK, REEL, ETAIL, TACKLE, WIND, DREAR, BLITZ, COIL, and EDITION. The groups reported by TechRadar and Parade are:
- Yellow — PAPER PUBLICATION: COPY, EDITION, ISSUE, PRINT.
- Green — SPOOL: COIL, CRANK, REEL, WIND.
- Blue — THINGS A DEFENSIVE FOOTBALL PLAYER DOES: BLITZ, BLOCK, SACK, TACKLE.
- Purple — SYNONYMS FOR BUTT PLUS STARTING LETTER: DREAR, ETAIL, GRUMP, SCAN.
How the purple group works
Remove the first letter from each word and the remainder is a synonym for “butt”: DREAR becomes REAR, ETAIL becomes TAIL, GRUMP becomes RUMP, and SCAN becomes CAN. This wordplay is the link that makes the group fit.
Puzzle details
This is Connections game #938, dated Sunday, January 4, 2026. WordHint also archives the same solution. TechRadar’s dated guide describes Connections as a game of sorting 16 words into four related groups, with colors indicating category difficulty and up to four mistakes allowed; it says the puzzle can be played free on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile. Those gameplay details are from that guide, rather than a separate confirmation of current NYT rules.
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