Looking for the answer to today's Connections puzzle, #382, from June 27, the difficulty level for this puzzle from Connections Companion was 22 out of 5, down from yesterday's solution

We update our Connections clues and hints 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, I have included a reflection on yesterday's puzzle, #381

There are spoilers for connection #382 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 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

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 #382, Connections

Drum roll, please

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

Maybe I wrote too many emails, but I quickly erased the letter signatures I'll be honest, because I overthink how I sign off on any email or letter I am not saying love or kisses to my colleagues

Following the bellicose mood, the yellow Pursuit category was easily connected with chase, hunt, quest, and search Nevertheless, romance may not be the right word when one immediately recalls 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, the connection 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 perfunctory, 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

I'm reading this late in the day According to the Connection Companion, the difficulty level was 33 out of 5

I am from a Navy town (Yale to 757), so the yellow category of today's puzzle should have been easy However, something must have short-circuited in my brain when I saw the word "private" alongside "public" and "audience" It took me hours to find the fourth answer after "general," "captain," and "major

Purple was a surprisingly easy decision, as "pop-up" was the crucial clue As I began to think about advertising, "attack" seemed obvious, and "personal" and "want" followed nicely

Green really confused me At first I thought it was related to tools like "jack" and "socket" "But it finally hit me when I realized that "outlet" or "port" has nothing to do with "audience" or "market": this has to do with plugs It is not a person

That leaves only blue Since I had already connected the aforementioned "audience" and "market," the only things left were "appetite" and "demand," and it became clear that the advertising theme of today's puzzle was deeper than I had expected