Get NYT Connections Hints for January 4, 2025. Find hints and solutions for puzzle #573, including word connections and hidden categories.
As a fellow word puzzle enthusiast, I've designed these hints to be progressive to preserve your enjoyment of the game. Please reveal them in order, starting from the top. While official hints and answers are available at the bottom, I strongly encourage you to think through each connection yourself before checking them.
CRUMPLE: Paper doesn't crumple under pressure - it transforms into art. Maybe we're the ones who need to learn from paper.
Actions that make something compact or compressed
Ways to transform something flat into a tight shape
Crush into a compact shape
ANT: You think ants are tiny, but to bacteria, they're basically Godzilla.
Ways to fasten or secure things together
Quick connecting actions with a satisfying click
Fasteners
BALL: You play with balls, but in cosmic perspective, you're living on one giant ball playing with you.
Simple symbols used to indicate status
Basic marks for yes/no or complete/incomplete
Mark as completed
BRANCH: You see branches reaching for the sky, but really they're just arms trying to push the earth away.
Elements that appear in surrealist artwork
Objects often depicted in distorted ways in art
Depicted in dalí’s “the persistence of memory”
⚠️ Spoiler Warning!
We strongly recommend trying to solve the puzzle yourself first! Looking at the answers directly will take away the joy and satisfaction of discovering the connections on your own. If you've already given it your best shot and still want to see the solution, you can continue scrolling down - the answers are below the image.

Hint: Crush into a compact shape
Hint: Fasteners
Hint: Mark as completed
Hint: Depicted in dalí’s “the persistence of memory”