Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle #224 from January 21, Connections is considerably trickier than it was yesterday. The Connections companion rated this puzzle 4.0 out of 5 for difficulty.

We update our Connections hints and tips daily. And if the hints aren't enough, you can see all four solutions along with the category title and related words. In addition, for those of you reading this in a different time zone, we have included a reflection on yesterday's puzzle 223.

There are spoilers for connection #224. Only those who want to know the answer to today's connection should read on.

Alternatively, see our NYT Connections How to Play Guide for tips on how to solve the puzzle without our help.

While today's wordle solution guide recommends the best wordle starting words as a strategy, the Connections solution depends on identifying the categories that are connected from the 16 words. The difficulty of each category is represented by a color, with yellow being the easiest grouping and purple the most difficult. Hints are helpful as the answer is displayed after four wrong guesses.

If you need a hint to help you solve the groupings, here are each theme in order of difficulty:

If you read these hints, you should at least find the answer to today's connection. If not, please continue reading for larger hints. Also, if you only want the answer, scroll down further.

Now for a bigger clue. Some of today's connections may make you think you are looking for a human body part. But that is pulling you back. Instead, think about what is surrounding you the next time you go abroad on vacation.

Now, what is the answer to today's game #224 Connection.

Drum roll please.

I was convinced that the first category I was looking for must have something to do with the human body, and it says a lot about my subconscious that I chose to combine head, nose, and ears. Wings. Seriously. It was incorrect and a reminder that I should stop taking children's fairy tale books literally.

My next thought in a hurry was the possibility of connecting fleece, honeycomb, and candles as part of a natural byproduct theme. But when I found the crayon, I began to think that it might relate more specifically to wax. With the fleece gone and the stickers in, the first category of the day was complete.

Shuffling, Wing and Cabin were conveniently placed next to each other, bringing back wistful memories of summer vacations, which I immediately connected to the airplane parts Engine and Nose.

Once the blue and green were in place, the words Fleece and Hose reminded me of the complaint I've been constantly making at the supermarket lately ("How much."), and there was a bit of an impasse in the proceedings until Rob and Stiff completed the theme of rip-offs.

Bulb, Ear, Head, and Stalk remained. It was close, they are all vegetable units. If I had eaten more, I might have gotten them sooner.

I'm reading this late in the day. According to Connections Companion, the difficulty level was 2.5 out of 5.

Faucets, showers, and sinks. With today's Connections answer, we find ourselves in the bathroom. However, we could not find a fourth word that fits this theme.

Some people like to sing in the shower, but it is best to avoid dancing there. Tap is not only another name for tap, but of course it is a type of dance, as are modern, salsa, and swing.

After pondering the themes of fishing (Fly) and microphones (Boom) for a moment, I felt suitably defeated. But contemplating my decline soon helped as "Dip," "Drop," "Fall," and "Sink" rang too comfortably to complete the yellow category.

As luck would have it, I added Blaze, Fly, Tear and, yes, Race to complete the green category, and to complete the full set of "moving at speed". The result was

This left Boom, Carrot, Shower, and Talk. Then all the purple categories were revealed. As usual, the trick to solving the connections is to take baby steps.