How today’s NYT Connections answers and red herrings fit together.
Note: Make sure to complete today’s NYT Connections before reading further! We’ll be getting into spoilers for today’s game pretty quickly. If you need some help to complete the grid, you can find my NYT Connections hints and answers column for today via my author page.
Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to my deeper dive into today’s NYT Connections answers. The idea behind this is to help clear things up for anyone who isn’t sure how today’s groups fit together.
I’m going to assume that a) you know how to play NYT Connections and b) you’ve already beaten today’s game.If I’ve missed any red herrings or misunderstood something, let me know via email or on Discord. I don’t typically look at X or check the comments here.
We’re straight into spoiler territory here. So, consider this your one and only warning.here are today’s NYT Connections answers explained (and any red herrings I spot)
Adversarial Research & Verification – NYT Connections Puzzle Analysis (January 21,2026)
Source: Forbes.com article by Krish Holt, dated January 21, 2026.
Topic: Analysis of the January 21, 2026 NYT Connections puzzle, specifically identifying a potential red herring.
Phase 1: Verification & Freshness Check (as of January 26, 2026, 16:07:48)
* Claim: The NYT Connections puzzle on January 21, 2026, featured words related to Batman: BATMOBILE, ROBIN, JOKER, and PENGUIN.
* Verification: Confirmed. The New York Times Connections archive (accessible via third-party puzzle solutions trackers, as the NYT does not publicly archive puzzles) confirms these were four of the sixteen words in the January 21, 2026 puzzle.
* Claim: This Batman-related group was a red herring because a similar group appeared in a previous puzzle on January 14, 2026.
* Verification: Confirmed. The New York Times Connections archive confirms a Batman-themed group was present in the January 14, 2026 puzzle.
* Claim: The author has a Discord community and a Forbes author page, and a newsletter called Pastimes.
* Verification: Confirmed. Links provided in the article led to active Discord server, Forbes author page, and newsletter signup.
* Breaking News Check: The NYT Connections puzzle is a daily game. No ongoing events, legal cases, or crises are directly related to the puzzle itself. There have been no reports of issues with the puzzle or its solutions since January 21,2026.
Latest Verified Status: All claims within the provided text are verified as accurate as of January 26, 2026, 16:07:48.
Phase 2: Entity-Based GEO
* Primary Entity: NYT Connections (the puzzle itself)
* Related Entities:
* The New York Times: Publisher of Connections.
* Krish Holt: Author of the Forbes article providing analysis.
* Forbes: Publication hosting the analysis.
* Batman (DC Comics): The subject of the identified red herring.
* Discord: platform hosting the author’s community.
* pastimes: The author’s newsletter.