Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle #383 on June 28, a little harder than yesterday's answer, this puzzle from Connections Companion has a difficulty rating of 27 out of 5

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've included a reflection on yesterday's puzzle, #382

There are spoilers for connection #383 Only read this if you want to know the answer to today's connection

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 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 to know the answer, scroll down further

Here's a bigger hint: Today's puzzle starts out a bit romantic, gets partisan, and then settles into either old age or San Francisco history Take your pick

Now for the answer to today's game #383, Connections

Drum roll, please

Today's puzzle was somehow easier and more boring than yesterday's Is it just me?

The first words I saw were word, brief, and messenger I started looking for a writing or communique connection But then I saw tote, and from there I quickly sniffed out bag

I skipped the green category Instead, I quickly looked at the blue category, where prompts and signals were stacked in a grid Cues and words were quickly found there

Today's purple category is a bit of fun in the overall puzzle The singular underwear is a bit funny Boxers, briefs, drawers, and shorts were all basically the same already, so it was tap, tap, tap

tap

I understand what the connection is for spaciousness with the four words they presented I don't like it, but I understand it Latitude, license, and freedom make the most sense Slack is inert as the word implies I like the idea of the categories, but none of the words chosen work for me I would like to see leeway or space as less exciting but more interesting words Merriam-Webster claims that slack is a synonym for wiggle room

I think the reason "easy" puzzles can be boring or stuffy is that I can't imagine words in other categories Sometimes the word-sequences can be frustrating, but they make you think a little more than a straight-forward puzzle

Expect a lot of excitement over the weekend

I'm reading this late in the day According to Connections Companion, the difficulty level was 22 out of 5

When I started today's puzzle, I thought Connections was in a romantic mood because the first two categories were quick In fact, I always solved the green categories first: kisses, love, and yours

Maybe I wrote too many emails, but I quickly unsigned my letter I'm not going to lie, because I think too much about how to sign my emails and letters I'm not saying love or kisses to my co-workers

Following the emotional mood, the yellow "Pursuit" section easily led to Chase, Hunt, Quest, and Search Yet, romance may not be the right word when one is immediately reminded of Pepe le Pew, the most problematic of the Looney Tunes

You would not believe how long I took from the last eight words In my mind it was "right" Right-wing, right-side, right-wing I knew those were right, but I couldn't find another "right" word I understood the connection of group within a group, but I couldn't find it I guessed at camp Perhaps subconsciously I knew the answer

Purple was ad hoc, but once I saw it, it made sense Indeed, I was trying to make a musical connection with Rush and Bond; Leaf and Mine were a fun way to close out