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Microsoft 365 is not the only suite around, and it doesn't have the best tools on the market. Yet, many professionals, students, and casual users are completely tied to it. However, before you commit to another payment cycle, it's smart to hit the brakes and seriously look at alternatives that are free, open source, and may work better.

Internet outages are incredibly disruptive in our modern world. We don’t realize just how much is actually connected until everything goes down. While massive outages are uncommon, they do happen—here are 10 of the worst.

Recently, some in the computer geek community have started referring to Microsoft and its products as "Microslop". Partly alluding to the company pushing its AI technology everywhere (i.e. AI "slop") and partly because of the perceived degradation of Windows and all other products from the formerly glorious software company in Redmond.

TL;DR: The Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 curved gaming monitor has dropped to $699.99 at Amazon, hitting its lowest-ever price. That’s $300 off its $999.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 Curved Gaming Monitor $699.99 at Amazon
$999.99 Save $300 Get Deal

Samsung has been going strong with deals lately, but the latest gaming monitor offer might be the best of the bunch.

As of Jan. 21, the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 (G91F) is down to $699.99 at Amazon, marking a full $300 off its $999.99 list price and its lowest price to date — confirmed with price tracker camelcamelcamel. For anyone dreaming of an ultra-wide, wraparound setup without juggling multiple screens, this monitor’s truly worth considering.

At a massive 49 inches, the Odyssey G9 is built to dominate your desk; a 32:9 curved display of that size is essentially the equivalent of two 27-inch monitors fused together, minus the annoying bezel gap. With a Dual QHD resolution (5120 x 1440) and an aggressive 1,000R curve, it fills your peripheral vision and pulls you straight into the action, whether you’re racing in Forza Horizon 5, flying in Microsoft Flight Simulator, or exploring open worlds like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

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Performance doesn’t take a back seat, either. You’re getting a 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, helping fast-paced games like Battlefield 6 stay smooth and tear-free. Add VESA DisplayHDR 600, and darker scenes gain extra contrast without washing out highlights — a noticeable upgrade for cinematic titles and late-night gaming sessions.

Beyond gaming, this monitor shines as a productivity powerhouse for work, too. Picture-by-Picture and Picture-in-Picture modes make multitasking easy, while the ergonomic stand lets you fine-tune height and tilt for marathon sessions.

If you’re shopping around across different brands, LG’s 32-inch UltraGear QHD monitor is still $100 off. As for more from Samsung, the OLED version of the G9 monitor is also on sale at almost $400 off.

The 2026 Kia K4 Hatchback is like the playful cousin of the K4 Sedan—a bit sportier, a bit more compact, but still full of personality.

Computing is always changing, but few operating systems have as much cultural baggage and conflicting stories surrounding them as Linux does. If you're used to those proprietary software ecosystems, hearing the word probably brings up a bunch of old ideas. These assumptions rely on outdated information, hearsay, or plain misunderstandings.

Elon Musk and Ryanair have been experiencing turbulence of late, but what exactly has occurred?

The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO has been swapping barbs with Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary, with petty insults thrown around by two grown-ass men on public platforms. And it's all about internet on short-haul flights. Here's what's been happening.

SEE ALSO: X reportedly still allows Grok-created, sexualized images despite new ban

Back on Jan. 14, Ryanair ruled out the possibility of installing Musk's Starlink internet tech on its planes, like competitors British Airways and Lufthansa. O'Leary told Reuters, "You need to put antenna on fuselage, it comes with a two percent fuel penalty because of the weight and drag. We don't think our passengers are willing to pay for WiFi for an average one-hour flight."

The following day, Musk sprang into action on his social platform X, claiming O'Leary was "misinformed" and writing, "I doubt they can even measure the difference in fuel use accurately, especially for a one hour flight, where the incremental drag is basically zero during the ascent phase due to high angle of attack," and pairing it all with an AI Grok explainer.

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Since then, it's been on — and in increasingly lower levels of mature.

When X suffered a major outage on Jan. 16, Ryanair took a jab at Musk on the platform, asking, "perhaps you need Wi-Fi @elonmusk?" Musk fired back, tweeting, "Should I buy Ryan Air and put someone whose actual name is Ryan in charge?"

Featured Video For You Motorola is entering the wearable AI game

Then, in a radio interview on Ireland's Newstalk, O'Leary was asked about Ryanair's stance on Starlink. The airline CEO rejected the idea again, not only describing the impact of adding antennas to aircraft — "about a 2 percent fuel drag" and a boosted fuel bill of "$200, $250 million a year...in other words, about an extra dollar for every passenger we fly" — but then targeting Musk directly.

"I frankly wouldn’t pay any attention to anything that Elon Musk puts on that cesspit of his called X," he said. "He was the guy who advocated to getting Donald Trump elected. I would pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk. He’s an idiot. Very wealthy, but he’s still an idiot."

Of course, Musk hit back on X, recycling the insult and calling for O'Leary to be fired — a message he's repeated on X since.

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Since then, there's been a few side-eye barbs on social media — on Jan. 19, Ryanair's official X post retweeted a post responding to a question posted: "what is a propaganda you're not falling for?" The airline's response: ""Wi-Fi on planes."

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Now, Musk appears to be moving into his favoured tactic of controlling the narrative by buying it. Musk responded to the above post asking, "How much would it cost to buy you?" before later calling for O'Leary's firing while using the r-word slur. Then, on Jan. 19, Musk posted a poll to X, asking whether he should "Buy Ryan Air and restore Ryan as their rightful ruler."

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On Tuesday, Ryanair moved things into even more immature territory than Musk (hard to do), with a post on X announcing that O’Leary has called a press conference on Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Dublin, suggesting the airline is "launching a Great Idiots seat sale especially for Elon and any other idiots on 'X'." And yes, O'Leary did hold the conference, with Ryanair actually launching that sale.

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O'Leary thanked Musk "for the wonderful boost in publicity, which has seen our bookings rise significantly," and repeated Musk's r-word slur about himself (not great) during his address.

"The Starlink people believe that 90 percent of our passengers would happily pay for Wi Fi access," he said. "Our experience, sadly, tells us we think less than 10 percent of our passengers would pay for this access, and therefore we can't afford to shoulder costs of between 150 or 250 million a year. If Starlink wants to fit our aircraft and pay for the fuel drive, we'd happily put them on board. But the only way we see Starlink working on board our aircraft on short haul flights is if you give it away for free."

Credit: Paulo Nunes dos Santos / Bloomberg via Getty Images

As the BBC points out, Musk would have a hard time buying Ryanair, as airlines based in the EU must be majority owned by people from the EU, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland, or Switzerland.

At this point, can Ryanair get back to draining our wallets with oversized baggage fees and Musk actually address the issue of Grok continuing to created sexualized images despite being banned from doing so?

Donald Trump's anger at not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize appears to be leading to all sorts of global issues, and the Daily Show's Josh Johnson is here to point out how ridiculous the whole situation is.

"For the last year Donald Trump has been fiending for a Nobel Peace Prize. Like a humanitarian award addict he's tried everything from whining to pretending that he ended eight wars," says Johnson in the clip above. "But the Nobel committee gave the prize to Venezuelan opposition leader, María Corina Machado, and Trump was so butthurt he said that she should give her prize to him. And because that's the stupidest possible thing that could happen, guess what happened?"

Cue a news reel showing Corina Machado presenting her prize to Trump, accompanied with a photo of the U.S. president smiling while holding the plaque.

"Wow. This is one of the saddest images I've seen in months, and I follow one of those hairless cats on Instagram," says Johnson. "You know the medal is only a symbol, right? Like just because I steal A$AP Rocky's wedding ring, doesn't make it so that I'm married to Rihanna."

FREE BOOKS: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on Jan. 21-24. Play Game, hosted by Indie Author Collective, is offering free sports fiction books for Kindle e-readers.

Welcome back, Stuff Your Kindle Day. We missed you over the festive period.

Play Game, hosted by Indie Author Collective, is offering readers the chance to download heavily discounted or free sport fiction ebooks. And the books that you download are yours to keep forever. So stop what you're doing and take this opportunity to stock up. The Stuff Your Kindle Day schedule is pretty busy in 2026, but we don't see a lot of sports fiction in these giveaways.

SEE ALSO: I tested the best Kindles to help you find the perfect e-reader

Looking to make the most of the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day? We've lined up everything you need to know about this popular event.

When is Stuff Your Kindle Day?

Play Game takes place on Jan. 21-24. Stuff Your Kindle Days often take place over 24 hours, this event runs for four days. That gives you time to check out everything on offer, assess how much you can actually read, and then download a sensible number of ebooks. OK, there's no need to be sensible here.

Who can take part in Stuff Your Kindle Day?

One of the great things about Stuff Your Kindle Day is that everyone can participate. Kindle, Kobo, and Nook readers can download these books for free. You can even download these books on your preferred app and read them straight from your phone.

Which ebooks are free?

Indie Author Collective is running the show, and has a helpful hub page for Play Game. This has a bunch of filters for major tropes, spice level, content level, and representation. By utilizing these filters, you camn head directly to what you want to read most.

Is Stuff Your Kindle Day the same as Amazon Kindle Unlimited?

Everything you download on Stuff Your Kindle Day is yours to keep, and there's no limit on the number of books you can download. Stuff Your Kindle Day downloads don't count towards the 20 books that Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow at the same time, so there's no need to hold back. This is the time to be greedy.

The best Stuff Your Kindle Day deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Kindle (16GB) + Kindle Unlimited (3 Months) $109.99 at Amazon
  Get Deal Why we like it

These popular e-readers help you take your entire library on the go. With weeks of battery life and an anti-glare display, you can read anywhere and anytime with the Kindle. Plus, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with your purchase.

Bash—and other Linux shells—support powerful command plumbing using features like redirection. You may be used to the most basic type of input redirection but, as is often the case, Linux has more depth than meets the eye.

TL;DR: The Magic: The Gathering Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Booster Box is down to $150.90 on Amazon. That's around $14 off the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Magic: The Gathering Magic: The Gathering Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Booster Box $150.90 at Amazon
$164.70 Save $13.80 Get Deal

Locking in a good price on a new Magic: The Gathering expansion can be tough, depending on demand. Thankfully, the Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Booster Box preorder has dropped in price at Amazon. As of Jan. 21, The Magic: The Gathering Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Booster Box is down to $150.90 on Amazon.

This deal drops the Play Booster Box to market price vs. TCGplayer.

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This is a great deal for a bundle of 30 booster packs from a new trading card game expansion like this. And this preorder also qualifies for Amazon’s preorder price guarantee. That means if the price drops again before release day, Amazon will automatically charge you the lowest price offered between now and when the box ships. There’s very little downside to reserving a box early.

Lorwyn Eclipsed officially releases on Jan. 23, 2026, and revisits the fan-favorite in a split form — balancing the radiant harmony of Lorwyn with the chaotic darkness of Shadowmoor. The Play Booster Box includes 30 Play Boosters, designed for Limited formats and casual openings alike, with a guaranteed foil in every pack.

Each booster can contain multiple rares, and there’s even a slim chance of getting borderless foil mythics for collectors chasing premium pulls.

For more deals on Magic: The Gathering boxes, Foundations Jumpstart 2025 boosters are 23% off at Amazon right now. Plus, the MTG Avatar: The Last Airbender Beginner Box is down to its best-ever price at the retailer. 

SAVE $600: As of Jan. 21, the DJI Power 2000 portable power station is back to its lowest-ever price of $699 at Amazon. This is $600 off its list price of $1,299.

Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Power 2000 Portable Power Station $699 at Amazon
$1,299 Save $600   Get Deal

No matter if its for future camping trips or backup power in the event of a storm, a portable power station is always worth checking out. One option that's crossed our radar is the DJI Power 2000 portable power station, which has returned to its lowest-ever price at Amazon.

Amazon has knocked $600 off the price of the DJI Power 2000, bringing it down to $699. The clock is ticking to take advantage of this deal. Amazon's only running this deal through Jan. 21, so now is the time to make a move.

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The DJI Power 2000 is one of our favorite portable power stations. More specifically, it's our top pick for content creators. This is because it "packs in 2,048Wh capacity with great features for content creators. It comes with three standard AC ports, a 30-amp plug, four USB-A ports, four USB-C ports, and two SDC ports for quick recharging of drones." On top of that, it even has a "quiet operation, which won’t disrupt work."

Alongside its helpful handles for portability, it also has a sturdy, safe build with a 2,048Wh LFP battery, smart Battery Management System, sub-nano coating, and flame-retardant housing. So no matter where you go, it's built to handle the adventure.

Act fast to save $600 on the DJI Power 2000 portable power station at Amazon.

TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 NRL for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

There are few other sports that can compete with rugby league when it comes to physicality and skill. It's clever handling and outrageous trickery combined with absolute brutality, and that's why love it.

And if you're looking for all of that and more on a weekly basis, you should check out the NRL. It's an electric competition featuring some of the best players and teams in the world. We're definitely not knocking what you get in the Northern Hemisphere, but there's something special about the National Rugby League. It feels like something wild happens every week.

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If you want to watch the 2026 NRL for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is the NRL?

The National Rugby League (NRL) is a professional rugby league competition in Australasia, including clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and New Zealand.

Each team plays 24 matches in the regular season, with the first-placed team at the end awarded the minor premiership. This is followed by a finals series contested between the eight highest-placed teams from the regular season, culminating in the NRL Grand Final.

The defending champions are the Brisbane Broncos.

When is the 2026 NRL?

The 2026 NRL season is the 119th edition of professional rugby league in Australia and the 29th season run by the National Rugby League. This season runs from Feb. 28 to Sept. 5.

How to watch the 2026 NRL for free

Select fixtures from the 2026 NRL season are available to live stream for free on 9Now.

9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the NRL from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2026 NRL from anywhere in the world by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia

4. Visit 9Now

5. Live stream the 2026 NRL for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch the 2026 NRL without actually spending anything. This clearly isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select NRL fixtures before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for 9Now?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on 9Now, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Australia

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream the 2026 NRL for free with ExpressVPN.

Just 10 years ago, thumb drives were commonplace everywhere. You probably carried one around in your keys, or you had one in your backpack. Things have changed a lot, though.

TL;DR: Live stream the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free on ICC.TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

There are so many incredible sporting events taking place in 2026. Fans can look forward to the Winter Olympics, World Cup, and so much more this year. And cricket fans really don't need to wait long for arguably the biggest showpiece event on the calendar: the 2026 T20 World Cup.

The best international T20 teams are heading to India and Sri Lanks to compete for the top prize. You can expect the likes of India, Australia, South Africa, and England to be fighting it out in the knockout rounds. Those teams are the pre-tournament favorites, but don't count out the likes of Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Anything can happen in this electric form of the game.

If you want to watch the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

What is the T20 World Cup?

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup is a Twenty20 International cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council. The event is generally held every two years. India are the defending champions.

In 2026, 20 teams will compete in 55 matches across five venues. The 20 qualifying teams are divided into four groups of five. In the group stage, each team will play four matches in a round-robin format, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the Super 8 stage. At this point, teams will be placed into two groups of four, and will play three matches. The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stage.

When is the 2026 T20 World Cup?

The 2026 T20 World Cup is the 10th edition of the competition. This year's event takes place from Feb. 7 to March 8 in India and Sri Lanka.

How to watch the 2026 T20 World Cup for free

The 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup is available to live stream for free on ICC.TV.

This free live stream on ICC.TV is only available in select regions (see full list of territories here), but anyone can live stream the T20 Cricket World Cup for free with a VPN. These helpful tools can hide your IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in a location with free access. This simple process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can live stream on ICC.TV from anywhere in the world.

Access free T20 Cricket World Cup live streams by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in a location with access

4. Visit ICC.TV

5. Watch the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch every game from the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for ICC.TV?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ICC.TV, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $78.18 and includes an extra four months for free — 78% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2026 for free with ExpressVPN.

Your Excel spreadsheet might be lying to you. No, it's not a conspiracy—it's just a collection of common, invisible killers that bypass error checks and ruin your reporting. So, let's hunt down these silent traps and fix them for good.

The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you love comics.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for January 21, 2026 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Reuse

• Green: Needed to sleep

• Blue: To copy

• Purple: Associated with a famous superhero

Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Items to recycle

• Green: Bedding

• Blue: Plagiarize

• Purple: Batman's "Bat" things

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #955 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Items to recycle: BOTTLE, CAN, CARDBOARD BOX, NEWSPAPER

• Bedding: BLANKET, SHAM, SHEET, THROW

• Plagiarize: COPY, CRIB, LIFT, PIRATE

• Batman's "Bat" things: CAVE, MOBILE, SIGNAL, SUIT

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for January 21, 2026

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you don't have proper etiquette.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for January 21, 2026 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for January 21, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: That's not very polite

The words are related to ettiquette.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe things that are impolite.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Don't Be Rude.

NYT Strands word list for January 21

• Gloat

• Tease

• Burp

• Shout

• Don't Be Rude

• Stare

• Point

• Interrupt

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you love geometry.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for January 21, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for January 21, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Cube-shaped.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter C.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

CUBIC

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for January 21, 2026

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: How to play Pips, the newest NYT game

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026:

AcrossThe slightest amount

• The answer is A bit.

With 2-Down, intentionally inflammatory posts

• The answer is Rage.

Dirty stuff

• The answer is Filth.

Five Below or 7-Eleven

• The answer is Store.

Something used to steer a rowboat

• The answer is Oar.

DownSounds from a doggy daycare

• The answer is Arfs.

See 5-Across

• The answer is Bait.

See 5-Across

• The answer is Igloo.

Small, colorful fish that's popular in aquariums

• The answer is Tetra.

2013 film in which Joaquin Phoenix's character falls in love with an A.I. operating system

• The answer is Her.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Mini Crossword.