NYT Connections Hints and Answers for Jan. 17 (#586)
The New York Times Connections puzzle for Jan. 17 (#586) offers a delightful mix of themes, wordplay, and a few challenges to test your deduction skills. Whether you’re stuck on a tough category or want to check your answers, here’s a detailed breakdown of today’s puzzle.
What is NYT Connections?
NYT Connections challenges players to group words based on shared themes. Some categories are straightforward, while others require creative thinking, like finding hidden patterns or shared elements in words. The game has recently introduced a Connections Bot for tracking stats, offering insights into your progress and strategy.
If you’re tackling other NYT puzzles, such as the Mini Crossword, Wordle, or Strands, you can find daily hints for those too.

Hints for Today’s Connections Puzzle
Each Connections puzzle features four distinct groupings. For Jan. 17, here are the hints, ordered from easiest to most challenging:
- Yellow Group Hint: Hot dog
- Green Group Hint: Punch
- Blue Group Hint: Used to browse
- Purple Group Hint: Raise a glass
Answers for Jan. 17 Connections Groups
Here are the complete answers, grouped by their respective themes:
Yellow Group (Theme: Frankfurter)
- Banger
- Brat
- Link
- Sausage
Green Group (Theme: Strike)
- Bop
- Hit
- Knock
- Tap
Blue Group (Theme: Web Browsers)
- Chrome
- Edge
- Opera
- Safari
Purple Group (Theme: Ending with Beer Brands)
- Autoharp
- Contrabass
- Pepperoni
- Rosebud
Analyzing Today’s Puzzle
The puzzle offered a mix of easy and challenging themes, with the purple group standing out as particularly tricky. Instead of focusing on word meanings, the solution relied on recognizing shared word endings related to beer brands. This type of wordplay adds a unique twist to the solving experience.
Important Tips for Solving Connections Puzzles
If you’re aiming to improve your performance, these strategies can help:
- Start with Obvious Themes
- Identify easy groupings first, like today’s “Web Browsers,” which included well-known software names (e.g., Chrome, Safari).
- Pay Attention to Wordplay
- Tricky categories often involve hidden patterns, such as words ending with specific brands or items.
- Eliminate Options Strategically
- If a word doesn’t fit a clear theme, set it aside and focus on grouping others. This approach helps narrow down tougher categories.
- Use the Connections Bot
- After completing the puzzle, review your stats and learn from the bot’s analysis to improve your approach for future games.
- Recognize Common Themes
- Previous puzzles often feature recurring patterns, such as “things you can set” (mood, table) or “things that run” (candidate, faucet). Spotting these trends can speed up your solving time.
Top 5 Toughest Connections Puzzles (So Far)
Here are some of the trickiest puzzles noted by players, which might help you spot patterns in future challenges:
- Things that can run: Candidate, faucet, mascara, nose
- Power ___: Nap, plant, Ranger, trip
- Streets on screen: Elm, Fear, Jump, Sesame
- One in a dozen: Egg, juror, month, rose
- Things you can set: Mood, record, table, volleyball
Conclusion
The Jan. 17 NYT Connections puzzle provided a satisfying mix of themes, from the straightforward “Frankfurter” group to the more obscure “Beer Brands” category. Whether you’re a seasoned solver or just starting out, these hints and answers should help you tackle today’s challenge with ease.
Happy puzzling!