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Today's NYT Connections hints and answers — Wednesday, January 31, #234

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Need help with Connections #234? Here are some hints and the answers

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Looking for today's Connections answers? The Connections answers on January 31 for puzzle #234 are easier than yesterday's, with the Connections Companion rating this puzzle's difficulty at 2.8 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, #233, in case you're reading this in a different time zone.

Spoilers lie ahead for Connections #234. 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 joyous sound
  • 🟩 Green: Say "I do" to these
  • 🟦 Blue: Poetic justice
  • 🟪 Purple: Watch your step

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: Prepare for a joyous affair in today’s Connections puzzle, but don’t let the harmonious sounds lead you off course. With words that could marry multiple meanings, be sure to RSVP with the right ones. And watch your step—sometimes it's easy to fall into the most obvious traps.

Today's Connections answers

So, what are today's Connections answers for game #234?

Drumroll, please...

  • 🟨 Merriment: Cheer, glee, festivity, mirth
  • 🟩 Booked for a wedding: Band, caterer, florist, officiant
  • 🟦 Rhymes: Choir, fire, liar, fryer
  • 🟪 ____ pit: Barbeque, orchestra, snake, tar

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!

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!

Yesterday's Connections answers

Reading this in a later time zone? Here are the Connections answers for game #233, which had a difficulty rating of 3.4 out of 5, according to the Connections Companion.

I unfolded today's Connections puzzle like the crisp rustle of a fresh morning newspaper, as so many names of publications were clearly vying for column inches in a category of newspaper titles. Chronicle, Sun, Herald, and Star—they were all potentials, but the fact we could include Register, too, stopped the presses for now.

Shifting focus, I eyed the breakfast nook, where Croissant, Banana, and Mushroom would all be quite tasty options. But a three-item breakfast would be too continental; I could only see Bang(-ers) as a potential companion and that seemed a bit too much of a stretch.

Feeling the pressure to not Bang, Hammer, Pound, or Slam down on my keyboard, I realized they themselves made the headline for the yellow category—verbs that packed a punch and delivered an impact.

  • 🟨 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

I was still sure that one of the remaining two categories was a list of newspaper names, but which of the five potentials would fit in well with Feather, Flower, and Mushroom? Aha! My misspent youth of computer gaming finally became useful, as I recognized them all as things you can pick up in Super Mario World, just as you can pick up a Star!

I returned to the newsstand one last time, where Chronicle, Herald, Register, and Sun awaited publication. "Read all about it!" I cried as I lined them up in the green category, the day's edition now complete.

Richard Sutherland
Richard Sutherland

Richard is a technology writer with over 20 years experience in website development, marketing, and SEO. A graduate in Computer Science, he has lectured in Java programming and built software for companies including Samsung and Walmart. Richard writes for TechRadar, IT Pro, Tom's Guide, and PC Gamer.

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