NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, January 11

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

There’s something I’ve been meaning to write about here for a while. Nothing too serious, just a video I found quite profound. It’s not something that would work as a Connections intro or recommendation. It needs a little more room than that. I just haven’t found the time or mindspace to write it up yet.

Still, that’s got me thinking more broadly about the ideas we hang onto but never act upon. I’ve had a million ideas for projects that I thought were pretty good but never did anything with. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty content with my position in life right now. Still, procrastination is a killer of ideas, and I’m eternally frustrated that I submit my mind to that black hole, over and over. I don’t live with regret, but part of me wonders what might have been.

So, act on your positive thoughts. That’s my advice to you for this week.

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, January 11 are coming right up.

What Are Today’s Connections Hints?

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...

• HALTER

• DRAIN

• BIT

• DROP

• CROP

• PACK

• TANK

• CREW

• BASIN

• CRATER

• STOPPER

• BAND

• CRASH

• SADDLE

• TEAM

• FAUCET

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

• 🟨 Yellow group — a whole bunch of ‘em

• 🟩 Green group — what a slide whistle might soundtrack

• 🟦 Blue group — linked to a common after-dinner destination

• 🟪 Purple group — jockey for position

One Word For Each Connections Group

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…

• 🟨 Yellow group — PACK

• 🟩 Green group — DROP

• 🟦 Blue group — STOPPER

• 🟪 Purple group — CROP

What Are Today’s Connections Groups?

Today’s Connections groups are...

• 🟨 Yellow group — group

• 🟩 Green group — plunge

• 🟦 Blue group — parts of a sink

• 🟪 Purple group — equestrian gear

What Are Today’s Connections Answers?

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...

• 🟨 Yellow group — group (BAND, CREW, PACK, TEAM)

• 🟩 Green group — plunge (CRASH, CRATER, DROP, TANK)

• 🟦 Blue group — parts of a sink (BASIN, DRAIN, FAUCET, STOPPER)

• 🟪 Purple group — equestrian gear (BIT, CROP, HALTER, SADDLE)

The sink parts were immediately clear to me because of FAUCET, so I was a little surprised that they were the blues. After that, CRASH and TANK led me right into the greens. That eliminated the red herring of HALTER, CROP, CREW and TANK — T-shirt or top styles.

From there, CROP, BIT and SADDLE landed together. I figured HALTER made the most sense with those for horse-y words. That left the yellows, which I thought were clear enough.

I didn’t think that was an exceptionally difficult day, aside from the red herring. I’ll take that perfect game for my 316th win in a row.

How did you get on today? Here’s my grid for this one:

🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟨🟨🟨🟨

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. I hadn’t heard “Strange and Beautiful” by Aqualung in a very long time until it popped into my head this week. I don’t know how or why my brain recalled it, but I’m not complaining. The title is very apt:

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!

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