Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, and Strands puzzles.

Need the answers to the New York Times Connections puzzle? To me, Wordle is more of a vocabulary test, but Connections is more of a brainteaser. You are given 16 words and asked to divide them into four groups that are connected in some way. Sometimes they’re obvious, but game editor Wyna Liu knows how to fool you by using words that fit into more than one group. Read on for today’s Connections hints and answers.

There is also news in the Connections world. The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one that has been around for Wordle for a while. Go there after you play to receive a numerical score and to let the program analyze your answers. And players registered with the Times Games section can now go about their business by tracking their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win percentage, number of times they’ve achieved a perfect score, and their win streak.

Read more: NYT Connections could be the new Wordle: our hints and tips

How to play Connections

Playing is easy. Winning is difficult. Look at the sixteen words and mentally assign them to related groups of four. Click on the four words that you think match. The groups are color coded, but you won’t know what goes where until you see the answers. The yellow group is the easiest, then green, then blue and purple is the hardest. Look carefully at the words and think about related terms. Sometimes the connection has to do with only part of the word. Four words were once grouped together because they each started with the name of a rock band, including “Rushmore” and “Journeyman.”

Read more: Connections Bot gives you a numerical score every day

Tips for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest, yellow group, to the difficult (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Fill a jar

Green group hint: Giorgio, Charlie, Chanel No. 5

Blue group hint: Think of the people of Lassie or Clifford

Purple group hint: “Deli” is another one

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Cooking with heat and water

Green group: Common perfume ingredients

Blue group: Characters with dogs

Purple group: Homophones in the capital

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the most popular letters used in English words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is cooking with heat and water. The four answers are blanching, boiling, poaching and steaming.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is common perfume ingredients. The four answers are ambergris, musk, rose and vanilla.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is characters with dogs. The four answers are Charlie, Dorothy, Shaggy and Wallace.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is homophones in the capital. The four answers are keto, roam, Sophia and soul. (Quito, Rome, Sofia and Seoul.)