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 is a fun mix, but that purple category is a real stumper. It you need help, you’re in the right place. 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 the 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: When you might shine.

Green group hint: Editing a document.

Blue group hint: Bright and pretty.

Purple group hint: Look at the end of the word for a connection.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Best years.

Green group: Things you can do to text.

Blue group: Things known for being colorful things.

Purple group: Ending in accessories.

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 best years. The four answers are heyday, pinnacle, prime and zenith.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is things you can do to text. The four answers are bold, highlight, strikethrough and underline.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is things known for being colorful things. The four answers are kaleidoscope, peacock, rainbow and sunset.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ending in accessories. The four answers are Baywatch, cootie, herring and kingpin.

Toughest Connections puzzles

We’ve made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they’ll help you see patterns in future puzzles.

#5: Included «things you can set,» such as mood, record, table and volleyball.

#4: Included «one in a dozen,» such as egg, juror, month and rose.

#3: Included «streets on screen,» such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.

#2: Included «power ___» such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.

#1: Included «things that can run,» such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.

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

Today’s Mini Crossword seems like it should have run near Valentine’s Day, not Halloween. Need some help solving it? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Dove’s soft call
Answer: COO

4A clue: Write-up on a book jacket
Answer: BLURB

6A clue: Two to one, for one
Answer: RATIO

7A clue: Cupid’s weaponry, along with 5-Down
Answer: ARROW

8A clue: Jennings of «Jeopardy!»
Answer: KEN

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: N.B.A. star Caitlin
Answer: CLARK

2D clue: Beyond bizarre, from the French
Answer: OUTRE

3D clue: What has a «belt» seen only at night
Answer: ORION

4D clue: Supportive undergarment
Answer: BRA

5D clue: See 7-Across
Answer: BOW

Microsoft unveiled its Copilot Fall Release on Thursday, introducing a range of new features, along with a new face for the AI chatbot: Mico (Microsoft Copilot). Despite the buzz of the new «Human-Centered AI» pitch Microsoft is going for, all eyes are on what looks to be the first official Clippy successor — built for the AI-centric world we live in. 

It’s hard not to admit that Microsoft nailed it on the cute factor with Mico, but those who don’t want to see the character don’t have to — it’s completely optional to use. 

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Mico brings a face to Copilot and was designed to be expressive, customizable and warm. This approach is intended to make voice conversations feel more natural — like you’re actually talking to something instead of a disembodied voice. It will respond in ways beyond just a voice reply, such as changing colors and animation.

Here’s Mico doing appendage-less cartwheels and changing colors for 40 seconds:

Another touch point Microsoft brought up was «real talk,» which will challenge assumptions «with care» and adapt to your vibe. This is apparently to help conversations spark growth and connection. 

If you needed any more indication that Micro is the new Clippy, AI and Tech site, Testing Catalog (via Windows Central) spotted an Easter egg on the mobile app: If you tap on Mico enough, it will eventually turn into Clippy temporarily. My attempts to have Mico turn into Clippy failed, though it did turn silver as a direct response to my request for it to «turn into Clippy.»

You can watch the full announcement from Microsoft below, with Mico’s appearance taking center stage at the 42-minute mark.