Looking for today's Connections answers? The Connections answers on January 22 for puzzle #225 are much easier than yesterday's, with the Connections Companion rating this puzzle's difficulty at just 2.4 out of 5.
Every day, we update this article with Connections hints and tips to help you find all 4 of today's answers. And if the hints aren't enough, you'll find all 4 answers below, with the category titles and the correlating words. Plus, we're including a reflection on yesterday's puzzle, #224, in case you're reading this in a different time zone.
Spoilers lie ahead for Connections #225. Only read on if you want to know today's Connections answers.
Alternatively, visit our how to play NYT Connections guide for tips on how to solve the puzzle without our help.
Today's Connections answer — hints to help you solve it
Unlike our guide to today's Wordle answer, where we recommend the best Wordle start words as your strategy, solving Connections relies on identifying connecting categories among 16 words. Each category's difficulty level is represented by a color; yellow is the easiest grouping, and purple is the most challenging. Once you've made 4 mistakes in your guesses, the answers will be revealed, so hints can be helpful.
If you need hints to solve the groupings, then here are the themes of each, based on the order of difficulty:
- 🟨 Yellow: Potter's tool
- 🟩 Green: Open wide
- 🟦 Blue: Office ink
- 🟪 Purple: Anniversary
These hints should get you at least some of the way towards finding today's Connections answers. If not, then you can read on for bigger clues; or, if you just want to know the answer, then scroll down further.
Alright then, here's a larger hint: Don't be swayed by first impressions; today's grid holds court with words that could easily mingle with nobility or mystique. But keep an eye on the clock and remember, some of the most straightforward solutions might just be a smile away.
Today's Connections answers
So, what are today's Connections answers for game #225?
Drumroll, please...
- 🟨 Symbolic rods: Baton, scepter, staff, wand
- 🟩 Dental terms: Cavity, crown, filling, plaque
- 🟦 Rubber stamp words: Approved, paid, urgent, void
- 🟪 ____ year: Gap, leap, light, school
I faced today's Connections puzzle like a knight on a magical quest, but instead of dragons, it was words that needed taming. Spotting crown and scepter, I first thought I'd wandered into a royal court, but no—these were symbolic rods, full of wizardry power. Baton, scepter, staff, and wand all snapped into place, yielding the yellow category as I cried 'Connectiamus!'
Next, the dentist's lair beckoned with terms that would make anyone's teeth clench. Cavity, crown (a term of many hats, it seems), filling, and plaque grouped together as easily as a set of pearly whites, giving me the green category without a single drill whirring.
Then, it was off to the office. Words like urgent, paid, void, and approved seemed ready to stamp their authority on paperwork, and they did just that, neatly fitting into the blue category.
Concluding my wordly adventure, I assembled the puzzle's annual quartet. Gap, leap, light, and school—distinct yet bound by the theme of "year"—wove together into the purple category, a tapestry depicting the flow of time.
The puzzle was solved in less time than a coffee break, each category falling into place without the need for any grand gestures, leaving me to lower my imaginary scepter in quiet triumph.
Yesterday's Connections answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Connections answers for game #224, which had a difficulty rating of 4 out of 5, according to the Connections Companion.
Convinced that the first category I was looking for must have something to do with the human body, it says a lot about my subconscious that I opted to combine Head, Nose, and Ear with... Wing. Seriously. An incorrect answer and a reminder that I should probably stop taking my kids' fairytale books so literally.
Moving swiftly on, my next line of thinking was to potentially connect Fleece, Honeycomb, and Candle as part of a theme of natural byproducts. But it was when I spotted Crayon that I came around to the thought that it may be more specifically related to wax. Out went Fleece and in came Seal to complete my first category of the day.
- 🟨 Rip off: Fleece, Hose, Rob, Stiff
- 🟩 Things made of wax: Candle, Crayon, Honeycomb, Seal
- 🟦 Parts on an airplane: Cabin, Engine, Nose, Wing
- 🟪 Units of vegetables: Bulb, Ear, Head, Stalk
A shuffle conveniently placed Wing and Cabin next to each other, which prompted wistful memories of summer holidays and I soon connected them to Engine and Nose, for parts on an airplane.
With blue and green complete, there was a little impasse in proceedings until the words Fleece and Hose reminded me of my recent and regular grumbles in the supermarket ("How much?!"), and so Rob and Stiff completed the rip-off theme.
Bulb, Ear, Head, and Stalk remained, which I assumed was plant-related when I hit submit to complete a successful game. I was close, they're all units of vegetables. A useful reminder that I might have gotten that quicker if I only ate more of them...
