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Spoiler warning: This page contains the complete answers for the archived Wednesday, January 8, 2025, NYT Connections game, #577.
Spoiler warning: This guide reveals the words, categories, and complete solution for the archived Wednesday, January 8, 2025, NYT Connections puzzle, game #577. If you are still solving, start with the hints and stop before the solution sections.
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How to play this Connections puzzle
NYT Connections gives you 16 words and asks you to arrange them into four groups of four. Each group shares a connection, but some words are deliberately chosen to look as if they belong in more than one category. You can make up to four incorrect guesses, according to published guidance for this puzzle.
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Today’s Connections words
Here are all 16 entries from game #577, without the solution:
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- PICK
- MEMORY
- LIMB
- BISCUIT
- TRUNK
- DRUMSTICK
- CORN
- BRANCH
- EAR
- WING
- STAINED
- BOW
- LINCOLN
- MALLET
- TUSK
- DIVISION
Progressive hints for Connections #577
Try these broad clues before revealing the category names. They are arranged from the least specific to the most specific.
- One group consists of words describing a distinct part or subdivision of something larger.
- One group contains objects used to play or strike a musical instrument.
- For one group, think of a famous large mammal and its recognizable features.
- The trickiest group consists of ordinary words altered in the names of 2000s-era nu-metal bands.
Category answers
Ready to reveal the four connections? The categories are:
- Yellow: SECTION
- Green: ACCESSORIES FOR PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT
- Blue: DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF AN ELEPHANT
- Purple: WORDS MISSPELLED IN NU METAL BAND NAMES
Complete solution for Wednesday, January 8
Yellow: SECTION
BRANCH, DIVISION, LIMB, WING
Each of these words can refer to a part or subdivision of a larger thing. A branch can be part of an organization or a tree; a division is a subdivision; a limb is an appendage; and a wing can be a section of a building, organization, or group. The broad meaning of “part of something larger” is the key to this group.
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Green: Accessories for playing an instrument
BOW, DRUMSTICK, MALLET, PICK
A bow is used with bowed string instruments, while a drumstick and mallet are used to strike percussion instruments. A pick is commonly used to play guitar or other string instruments. These are playing implements rather than instruments themselves.
Blue: Distinctive features of an elephant
EAR, MEMORY, TRUNK, TUSK
This group points to familiar elephant associations: large ears, a trunk, and tusks. Memory completes the group through the familiar saying that elephants have excellent memories. Be careful not to mistake the entry for “TASK”—the correct word in this puzzle is TUSK.
Purple: Words misspelled in nu-metal band names
BISCUIT, CORN, LINCOLN, STAINED
The words become recognizable band names when their spelling is altered:
| Puzzle word | Band name connection |
|---|---|
| BISCUIT | Limp Bizkit |
| CORN | Korn |
| LINCOLN | Linkin Park |
| STAINED | Staind |
This is the puzzle’s most indirect group. The entries are not simply references to rock music; they are ordinary words whose altered spellings evoke nu-metal band names associated with the late 1990s and 2000s.
Why this puzzle was difficult
The yellow group uses several words that can describe physical objects, while the blue group relies partly on a cultural association rather than a literal definition. “Wing,” for example, can suggest an animal feature, and “limb” can look like it belongs with an elephant’s body parts. The purple group is even harder because the connection depends on spelling: recognizing Bizkit, Korn, Linkin, and Staind is more useful than considering the ordinary meanings of the four grid entries.
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More puzzles
If you enjoy Connections but want something away from the daily screen, Puzzle Mania! by The New York Times Games is a physical book collection featuring Connections-related puzzles alongside Wordle, Spelling Bee, the Mini, and other NYT Games formats. It is a way to continue with related puzzles—not a reproduction of the January 8, 2025 game #577.
How many guesses did you need to solve this archived Connections puzzle?
Frequently Asked Questions
What were the NYT Connections answers for January 8, 2025?
The January 8, 2025 NYT Connections answers were SECTION; ACCESSORIES FOR PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT; DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF AN ELEPHANT; and WORDS MISSPELLED IN NU METAL BAND NAMES.
Was the Connections answer “TUSK” or “Task”?
The correct elephant-related word was TUSK, not “Task.” The complete elephant group was EAR, MEMORY, TRUNK, and TUSK.
The Bottom Line
The January 8, 2025 Connections solution was SECTION (BRANCH, DIVISION, LIMB, WING), ACCESSORIES FOR PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT (BOW, DRUMSTICK, MALLET, PICK), DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF AN ELEPHANT (EAR, MEMORY, TRUNK, TUSK), and WORDS MISSPELLED IN NU METAL BAND NAMES (BISCUIT, CORN, LINCOLN, STAINED).
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