NYT Connections Hints & Answers — Friday, January 2, 2026 (#936)
Puzzle #936. Start with a gentle nudge and work down — the full answers are at the bottom, hidden until you ask for them.
Just tell me the answer
The NYT Connections answer for Friday, January 2, 2026 (puzzle #936) is: YELLOW — WRITE: JOT, LOG, NOTE, RECORD. GREEN — SHTICK: BIT, GAG, NUMBER, ROUTINE. BLUE — BENCHMARK: BAR, EXAMPLE, METRIC, STANDARD. PURPLE — VEGETABLES MINUS STARTING LETTER: ALE, EEK, HIVE, QUASH.
Today's 16 words
The grid exactly as NYT laid it out for Friday, January 2, 2026. Nothing below this point is spoiled until you open it.
HIVE
ROUTINE
RECORD
NUMBER
LOG
STANDARD
BIT
JOT
QUASH
BAR
NOTE
EEK
METRIC
GAG
ALE
EXAMPLE
How hard is Connections #936?
Easy40/100
• Lots of very short words, which carry more possible meanings.
Where to start: Every category here is meaning-based, so group by topic first and use the four-per-group constraint to settle any word that could go two ways.
Connections hints for Friday, January 2, 2026
Four levels, each giving away a little more. Open only as many as you need.
yellow(the most straightforward group — start here) A group united by what they ARE, not by wordplay — the category is a single word beginning with "W".
green(a little trickier, but still direct) A group united by what they ARE, not by wordplay — the category is a single word beginning with "S".
blue(where the misdirection usually starts) A group united by what they ARE, not by wordplay — the category is a single word beginning with "B".
purple(the wordplay group, and almost always the last to fall) A group united by what they ARE, not by wordplay — think about letter.
yellow4 things that belong to the same real-world set — the link is meaning, not spelling.
green4 things that belong to the same real-world set — the link is meaning, not spelling.
blue4 things that belong to the same real-world set — the link is meaning, not spelling.
purple4 things that belong to the same real-world set — the link is meaning, not spelling.
yellowOne member is
greenOne member is
blueOne member is
purpleOne member is
yellow
green
blue
purple
NYT Connections answers for Friday, January 2, 2026
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Common questions
What is the NYT Connections answer for Friday, January 2, 2026?
The NYT Connections answer for Friday, January 2, 2026 (puzzle #936) is: YELLOW — WRITE: JOT, LOG, NOTE, RECORD. GREEN — SHTICK: BIT, GAG, NUMBER, ROUTINE. BLUE — BENCHMARK: BAR, EXAMPLE, METRIC, STANDARD. PURPLE — VEGETABLES MINUS STARTING LETTER: ALE, EEK, HIVE, QUASH.
What is the purple group in Connections #936?
The purple (hardest) group is "VEGETABLES MINUS STARTING LETTER": ALE, EEK, HIVE, QUASH.
What is the easiest group in today's Connections puzzle?
The yellow group is the most straightforward: "WRITE" — JOT, LOG, NOTE, RECORD. Solving it first removes four words from the grid.
What number is today's Connections puzzle?
Friday, January 2, 2026 is NYT Connections puzzle #936. Connections launched on 12 June 2023 with puzzle #1, and a new puzzle is published every day.
What time does a new NYT Connections puzzle come out?
A new Connections puzzle unlocks at midnight in your own local time zone, so the changeover happens at a different moment around the world. The puzzle itself is the same for everyone on a given date.