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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle was all over the place for me. I solved the blue category right away, but did not even see the purple theme coming. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now 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 now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

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: A bad situation.

Green group hint: Tiny circles.

Blue group hint: Frosty the Snowman smoked one.

Purple group hint: Not up.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Predicament.

Green group: Small spherical things.

Blue group: Pipe-smoking accessories.

Purple group: What «down» might mean.

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 predicament. The four answers are fix, jam, mess and pickle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is small spherical things. The four answers are mothball, pea, pearl and pom-pom.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is pipe-smoking accessories. The four answers are filter, lighter, pipe cleaner and tamper.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is what «down» might mean. The four answers are feathers, guzzle, sad and willing.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Some students have been back to school for weeks, but others see that first day looming large. Today’s NYT Strands puzzle has a timely related theme. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Back to school.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Stock your locker.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

• PACK, PACT, TOLL, LAPS, SLAP, SLAT, LOST, BOOK, BOOKS, CRAP

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

• LAPTOP, FOLDERS, BACKPACK, NOTEBOOKS, CALCULATOR

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is SUPPLIES. To find it, look for the S that is five letters down on the far-right row, and wind backwards.

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Looking for more ways to save on your phone plan but not sure if this deal is for you? Check out our list of the best cheap phone plans or best family plans so you can find exactly the plan you need.

Why this deal matters

At just $15 per month for three months (and $25 after this period), Tello’s Unlimited plan is one of the most budget-friendly deals available in the market right now and can save you hundreds over the year. This deal is available until Monday, and now is an excellent time to take advantage of it.