rewrite this title NYT Connections January 20: Get the Hints and Final Answer

Leave it to The New York Times to have an addicting yet educational word game to crack! Since “Connections” is one of the publication’s most popular games, the answer for today, January 20, 2025, was a tough one to solve.

Luckily, we’ve got the hints and the final answer to today’s puzzle.

How to Play ‘Connections’

“Connections” begins with a set of 16 words in a grid, and players have to separate the words into four related groups. The difficulty of each category is marked in the colors yellow, green, blue and purple. Yellow is the easier one, while purple is considered the most difficult.

After a player selects each group’s four words, they click “submit,” which should become the category’s color if it’s correct.

‘Connections’ January 20 Hints

Here are our hints for Monday’s “Connections” answer:

Think of words that mean to carry responsibility. These words can also imply physically supporting something.
These words often describe the shape of a turn or a point where lines or paths meet.
Focus on items that are iconic to the character (who’s married to Olive Oyl), particularly those related to his strength, appearance, and signature traits.
Think of different types of sheets you might use or come across in daily life—some for beds, others for tasks.

“Connections” editor Wyna Liu is familiar with the frustration that players have when they can’t solve a game. While speaking with Slate in July 2024, Liu described the process behind developing each game.

“The process is I have a notebook where I keep down category ideas. And when I sit down to make boards, I’ll take one of those ideas, I’ll take those words, and then I’ll start spinning off of them,” Liu said. “And then, the boards will be built from that, and sometimes it goes in surprising directions. I feel like that’s sort of one of the most joyful things about making games. I don’t know what the categories are gonna be. I start with like a seed. And then I’m just like, ‘Oh, what does this word do?,’ and then maybe like a dozen categories of possibilities and then you kind of see if any of those words are playing off each other, and the brain builds from that.”

What Is the ‘Connections’ January 20 Answer?

The answer to today’s “Connections” game is:

Take on, as a Responsibility: ASSUME, BEAR, HANDLE, SHOULDER
Corners: ANGLE, BEND, CROOK, ELBOW
Associated with Popeye: ANCHOR, FOREARM, PIPE, SPINACH
_____ Sheet: BALANCE, CHEAT, COOKIE, FITTED