(I love that GIF so much. Mariah’s so proud of herself. Bless.)

Hey there, Connectors! I hope you’ve had a fantastic weekend so far.

I’ll be honest: I’ve found it difficult to write these intros recently. I don’t know if it‘s a lack of inspiration, a general malaise, a lack of sleep or something else. But in the face of this relatively minor hurdle and everything else that’s going on, I’m trying my best to maintain a positive outlook.

Creativity and ideas, like anything else, ebb and flow. Writer’s block exists and it happens to everyone. I’ll get back into a rhythm again sooner rather than later. I know it. And as I’ve mentioned, there’s something I want to write up for Pastimes when I have the time and mental bandwidth to do it. I’m going to make a point of setting aside some time to do that this week. Putting that together will hopefully help me grease the wheels and get back to normal.

Before we begin, we have a great little community on Discord, where we chat about NYT Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. Everyone who has joined has been lovely. It’s a fun hangout spot, and you’re more than welcome to join us.

Discord is also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare (or not-so-rare) occasions that I mess something up. I don’t look at Twitter much.

Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, February 1 are coming right up.

Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.

Today’s 16 words are...

And the level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:

Need some extra help? 

Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.

Let’s take a look at one word for each group.

Today’s Connections word hints are…

Today’s Connections groups are...

Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.

This is your final warning!

Today’s Connections answers are...

I got the blues at the jump, thanks to BANGER and BOP. It took me a second to realize that HEATER was the fourth word I needed. That eliminated JAM from going with CLOG, PLUG and WEDGE, so I figured that had to be a red herring.

Instead, PLUG went with the rest of the yellows. That also meant CLOG and WEDGE had to be types of shoes. Greens, sorted.

That left the purples. It took me a beat to figure out the connection, but I got there for another perfect game and win number 337 in a row.

How did you get on today? Here's my grid:

🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪

That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. I’ll be back over at Forbes for the Monday-Friday editions for the column. And if you haven’t subscribed to Pastimes already, definitely do that! It would be super sweet of you.

P.S. It’s Sunday, which means I go with a more laid-back recommendation. “In These Arms” by The Swell Season just popped into my head, so let’s go with that one. I love this song with every fiber of my being:

Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!

On weekdays, you can find this column over at Forbes. Please follow my blog there for more coverage of NYT Connections and other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot!

Sharing this column with other people who play Connections would be appreciated too. Also, subscribe to this newsletter if you haven’t already!