Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
To solve today’s NYT Connections puzzle, it’ll help if you know the music of a certain singer. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Salute.
Green group hint: Pants.
Blue group hint: Barbadian singer.
Purple group hint: Not dry.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Army ranks.
Green group: Legwear in the singular.
Blue group: Rihanna #1 hits.
Purple group: Wet ____.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The completed NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 3, 2026.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is army ranks. The four answers are captain, general, major and private.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is legwear in the singular. The four answers are jean, jogger, overall and slack.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Rihanna #1 hits. The four answers are Diamonds, SOS, Umbrella and Work.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is wet ____. The four answers are bar, blanket, nurse and Willy.
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Quick tips for Connections
#1: Say the clue words out loud, pausing before and after each. That helps you hear the words in the context of a phrase. The Connections editors love to group words together that are used in similar phrasing, like ____ Up.
#2: Don’t go for the obvious grouping. These editors are smart. Once, they offered SPONGE, BOB, SQUARE and PANTS in the same puzzle. None of those words were in the same category. If you like, hit the “shuffle” button to give yourself a different perspective on the words.
#3: Break down any compound words and look for similarities. “Rushmore” was once in a puzzle where the connection was that each word started with the name of a rock band.
Source: CNET
