Looking for today's Connections answers? The Connections answers on January 31 for puzzle #235 are slightly harder than yesterday's, with the Connections Companion rating this puzzle's difficulty at 3 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, #234, in case you're reading this in a different time zone.
Spoilers lie ahead for Connections #235. 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: A little off the top
- 🟩 Green: Arnie in his prime
- 🟦 Blue: Obsessed? Me?
- 🟪 Purple: Nature's crinkles
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: Your intellect might get swole as you try to bench-press the right words into their respective categories. It's not about how much you can lift, but about finding the perfect form. Watch out for those that might seem to fit into two categories, and don't get clipped by a red herring that's flexing too hard.
Today's Connections answers
So, what are today's Connections answers for game #235?
Drumroll, please...
- 🟨 Make shorter: Clip, cut, pare, trim
- 🟩 Muscular: Built, jacked, ripped, swole
- 🟦 Enthusiast: Buff, fan, lover, nut
- 🟪 Wrinkly things: Brain, prune, pug, walnut
Today's puzzle flexed its muscles with a theme that could have been straight out of a bodybuilder's diary. The gym was virtually calling my name, as Built, Buff, Cut, Ripped, Swole, and Jacked all suggested they could work out together.
There is of course more than one way to keep fit, and I glanced sideways at a potential gardening task, with words like Cut, Pare, Prune, Trim, and Clip all suggesting an aggressive approach to hedge maintenance.
Well, today's task was going to be tough. My first win came from realizing Fan, Lover, Nut, and Buffs were all dedicated followers of their passions.
Returning to the gym, I realized it was time to separate the cardio crowd from the true meatheads. Focusing on the heaviest lifters, I locked in Built, Jacked, Ripped, and Swole for the green category, the corner of the gym where the grunters dwell.
With the weight room sorted, my shears came out as I trimmed down the list to Clip, Cut, Pare, and Trim, shaping the yellow category into something neat and tidy.
And finally, the odd assembly of a wrinkly-faced dog, a brain, a dried fruit, and a hard-shelled nut brought home the realization that they all shared a common crinkled texture.
Today's session was a full-body workout of the mind, with a cardio warm-up of sorting and a heavy-lifting finish of categorization. I left the gym of thought with all categories locked in, feeling mentally swole and ready for the rest of the day.
Yesterday's Connections answers
Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Connections answers for game #234, which had a difficulty rating of 2.8 out of 5, according to the Connections Companion.
Today's grid made me feel like I was organizing the most eclectic party in town. I was trying to harmonize Glee with a Choir and Orchestra but realized that that was perhaps a note too far. I had to take another look at the guest list.
I spotted an Officiant, which instantly sent my mind to church bells. Oh, it wasn't a party, it was a wedding! I briskly escorted the Caterer, Florist, and Band to the same table, and to my relief, they all heartily RSVP'd 'yes' to form the green category.
The reception was in full swing now, with Glee finding its rightful place amongst Cheer, Mirth, and Festivity, an ensemble of joy. My puzzle-solving was in high spirits!
- 🟨 Hit hard: Bang, hammer, pound, slam
- 🟩 Newspaper names: Chronicle, Herald, Register, Sun
- 🟦 Crescent-shaped things: Banana, croissant, moon, sickle
- 🟪 Power-ups in Super Mario World: Feather, flower, mushroom, star
But then, the final act. Snake, Tar, Orchestra, and Barbeque? No clear commonality sprouted in my mind, to be honest. Upon submission, the answer was revealed – each could be paired with the suffix pit to make a common phrase.
In the end, I was happy achieving a perfect score even if the last category had left me pit-ifully perplexed!
