Do you like making connections in life? No, I am not talking about the ones on LinkedIn, but NYT’s much-hyped Connections game. Unlike the social media app, creating a connection in the game is pretty easy as you need to categorize four similar words into a category. It’s a simple yet challenging game that can test your wits as well as your vocabulary skills. So, without any further ado, here are the answers and hints for today’s NYT Connections #942 for January 8, 2026.

Today’s NYT Connections #942 Hints for January 8, 2026
Click here to reveal all the hints to get you started with today’s NYT Connections:
- Yellow category hint: Physical sensations often triggered by cold or excitement.
- Green category hint: Minor legal infractions or prohibited public behaviors.
- Blue category hint: Simple machines that use a central pivot point to function.
- Purple category hint: Look at the first few letters of each word for a sweet treat.
Did you guess all the words? Let’s take a look at them below.
Today’s NYT Connections #942 Answer for January 8, 2026
Click here to reveal the solution to today’s NYT Connections:
- Yellow Category: Chill, Goosebump, Shiver, Tingle (BIT OF A RESPONSE TO STRONG EMOTIONS)
- Green Category: Jaywalk, Litter, Loiter, Speed (BREAK THE RULES)
- Blue Category: Clothespin, Crowbar, Scissors, Seesaw (FIRST-CLASS LEVERS)
- Purple Category: Aeroplane, Dovetail, Heathers, Marsala (STARTING WITH CANDY BARS)
What do you think of today’s NYT Connections puzzle?
Today’s Connections puzzle offered a great mix of the physical and the mechanical. Yellow and Green felt very intuitive, as the words in those groups share a clear thematic energy that most solvers will pick up on quickly. Blue required a bit of a throwback to middle school science, which was a clever way to categorize everyday objects. Purple was the true standout, though; the connection is cleverly hidden within the spelling of the words themselves rather than their definitions. Overall, it was a very clever grid, earning a solid 4 out of 5 for its creative wordplay.
You can also checkout today’s answers for other NYT puzzles :
- NYT Strands Puzzle Answers
- NYT Wordle Answers
- NYT Spelling Bee Answers
- NYT PIPS Answers
- NYT Mini Crossword
How to Play NYT Connections
Playing NYT Connections is pretty straightforward, as you need to group four similar words in a single group. However, the difficulty increases, with theyellow category being the easiest and purple being the hardest. The green category refers to moderate difficulty, while blue is complex, being one notch above.
There are 16 words in each puzzle, and there is a theme for each group, although the puzzle doesn’t reveal it. You only get four chances to correctly guess every group’s meaning; you can have four incorrect guesses, so use them wisely. If the answer is correct, you can move on to the next group; otherwise, you are stuck with the same one.
Moreover, just like Wordle, Connections refreshes every 24 hours, so you will need to wait till the next day for a fresh one. Also, if you guess incorrectly, there’s no way to play the game again, and it will simply reveal the correct results.
While playing the game itself does not require an NYT connection, you will need to create one if you wish to track your progress. You can also share your results by copying them to the clipboard and pasting them wherever you want.