Looking for the most recent NYT Connections puzzle answers? CNET publishes daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

In Connections, you look at a grid of 16 words and pick four words that have a connection to each other. You do this four times, until all 16 words in the puzzle are grouped. The tough part is that Times Associate Puzzle Editor Wyna Liu chooses words that could fit in multiple groups. The obvious guess — hey! those are four animals! — is almost always going to be wrong. I’ve compiled my favorite tips for Connections if you need a boost.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, the number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a tricky one. Cat lovers are going to spot a couple of cartoon cats (and the doggy nemesis of one of them), but of course, it’s never that easy. Read on for hints and today’s Connections answers.

Hints 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 tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Not sturdy.

Green group hint: Washington and Lincoln.

Blue group hint: “Envy” is another one.

Purple group hint: Related words are hidden at the end of these four words.

Read more: We Need to Talk About That Doggone Connections Puzzle

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Lacking in firmness.

Green group: US presidents.

Blue group: Words that sound like two letters.

Purple group: Ending in elevated landforms.

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is lacking in firmness.

The four answers are droopy, flaccid, sagging and slack.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is US presidents.

The four answers are Cleveland, Garfield, Grant and Madison.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is words that sound like two letters.

The four answers are empty (MT), excess (XS), kewpie (QP) and Odie (OD).

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ending in elevated landforms.

The four answers are doublespeak (peak), Heathcliff (cliff), paramount (mount) and porridge (ridge).

CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.

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