Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle #218 on January 15, which is easier than yesterday's, the Connections companion rated this puzzle 3.3 out of 5 for difficulty.

We update our Connections clues and hints daily. And if the hints aren't enough, you can see all four answers along with the category title and related words. In addition, for those of you reading this in a different time zone, I have included a reflection on yesterday's puzzle 217.

There are spoilers for connection 218. Please only read this if you want to know the answer to today's connection.

While today's Wordle answer guide recommends the best wordle starting words as a strategy, the answer to Connections 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 solve the groupings, here are each theme in order of difficulty:

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

Now for a bigger clue. Watch today's political climate carefully and don't let protective measures cushion your fall too much. Remember, it is not easy being green when seeking the right prescription for success.

So what is the answer to today's Round 218 connection?

Drum roll please.

Amidst a jumble of words that could be mistaken for the latest wellness blog post, I found myself sifting through cream, syrup, soup, and tablet. The idea of a strange new diet trend was quickly dismissed when Buffer, Cushion, Pad, and Shield caught my eye, forming the very obvious category of protective barriers.

With one category firmly in place, I turned my attention to the next group: the Ticket, Ballot, Slate, and Roster, each of which plays an important role when choosing leaders. My vote for this political quartet was successful, and just like that, another category fell into place.

The remaining words seemed to whisper the secrets of the apothecary's closet. The "creams," "syrups," "capsules," and "pills" were indeed ingredients of the blue category, various forms of medicine, not to be ingested together, but here they sat very comfortably together.

Last category. I was left with only four words, but the connections between them gave me pause. They were all somewhat green, somehow. But that alone lacked specificity. Of course. Pea coat, pea green, pea pod, pea soup ....... With a perfect score and a new appreciation for peas, I was ready to tackle the day with the precision of a surgeon and the insight of a politician.

Read this late in the day. According to Connections Companion, the difficulty level was 3.6 out of 5.

In an inexplicable mishmash of words, the tangled threads of today's puzzle seemed to weave an ambiguous tapestry. Why were there so many men's names? There were enough to create a small social club. But as we struggled to decide who would pass for membership and be selected, another word stood out like a flower on a dance wall: punt. Singular in its meaning, it beckoned the legwear crowd-jean, short, and tight-to fashion a snug-fitting purple category.

With the legwear lads correctly partnered, my eyes roamed the rest of the word and found the bull. This beast did not fit into any pasture I had ever envisioned. But just as the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle found their proper place, I learned that it was not about the men's names, but about the masculine members of the animal kingdom. Bill, Buck, Jack, and Tom were not a club of gentlemen, but rather the animals that made up the blue (not male) group.

The eight remaining culprits were all about ways to pay for things or cocky ways to avoid paying for the same; Swipe seemed to fall into both the green and yellow categories, but after counting up the various options, Pinch, Rob, and Steal, Swipe's dastardly foursome lined up in felonious fashion.

Finally, four words remained, and the fiscal foursome commanded my attention: Bill, Check, Tab, Invoice, to which yellow category I metaphorically reached for my wallet. The puzzle solved, the unknown names gone, I closed this chapter.

Connections rely heavily on guesswork and general knowledge, and there is no way to know which word (or words) are not in the grouping you guessed. If even one wrong word is included, the game will tell you so.

To win a connection, you should look carefully at all 16 words before making your first guess. Are there words that have more than one meaning than they are pronounced? Are there words that have more than one meaning? Are there any words that are part of a larger phrase?

Often, the first answer that jumps out at you may be intentionally misleading you. Therefore, identifying possible five-word categories is a good strategy to start with. Bookmarking them and coming back to them after solving one or two other categories should help you figure out which of the five words belong in a different category.

Most connection categories are not as obvious as they might seem. Editors typically use phrases, puns, and other tricky topics that require thought. If you get stuck on a category, cycle through each word in the grid and brainstorm possible categories to which the word might apply.

Connections is a category matching game and was released in beta on June 12, 2023. It was then officially added to the NYT Games app (iOS and Android) on August 28, 2023. The app allows users to play the daily New York Times crossword and the ultra-popular Wordle game. However, playing the crossword requires a paid subscription, while Wordle and Connections are free.

In Connections, you are presented with 16 words and have to group them into four four-word categories. Often there are words meant to mislead you, or words that are seemingly in five-word categories. Your goal is to group the words appropriately without going beyond four guesses; if you do not solve the puzzle within four attempts, you have failed and the answer will be revealed.

NYT Connection Puzzles will be available daily. Games are updated at midnight local time on your device.

Connections can be played on the New York Times Game App available for iOS/iPadOS and Android. If you are using a computer or device browser, you can access NYT Connections online here.