Looking for the answer to today's Connections puzzle, the solution to the July 4 puzzle "Connections" 389 was slightly less difficult than yesterday's solution, with a difficulty of 23 out of 5 for this puzzle from the Connections Companion

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, #388

There are spoilers for connection #389 Only those who want to know the answer to today's connection should read on

Or 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

There is a bigger clue Find the love, consider whether you are playing on a computer, and maybe take a spin before you get the rung to end it

Now, what's the answer to the connection in today's game #389?

Drum roll please

Despite being rated easier than the past two days, I took three strikes before solving two categories Perhaps I was already in the mood for a holiday

Today, after this puzzle, I will spend a good meal and a good time with family and friends After the recent Supreme Court shenanigans and the debate between two men who should not be the only options for leadership, it's a relaxing way to turn around and celebrate the holidays

Happy 4th, celebrants Hope it's a good day Watch out for fireworks One more day until the weekend

Let's move on

I don't know about your grid, but the four yellow category words were, for me, aligned straight diagonally from top left to bottom right Therefore, I immediately saw attraction, chemical reactions, fireworks, and sparks I can see why some people shuffle the grid before looking That may not be the strategy today

I ordered the categories, but got stuck on the blue category three times in a row Cycle, Revolution, and Turn were quick I just couldn't see the wrap I literally had to come up with a circular one with cookies and bars Some days there are no connections But after I won the green category, I could finally see the lap

After three strikes, I kind of backed off Magic looked at the puzzle, looked at the data and cache, and figured out what the puzzle wanted After that, the cookies and history made immediate sense

Then the blue category dropped

The purple category was cute Phil, but I honestly thought today's trap was hooked on something 4th of July related, so I avoided Liberty Bell Weiner Liu, got me

See you tomorrow

I'm reading this late in the day According to the Connections Companion, this is the Connections solution to game #388, which had a difficulty score of 28 out of 5

I should not have fallen for the two traps in today's puzzle, but I did

Watching the Arizona Diamondbacks just continue to exist in the NL West might make you think of baseball However, I quickly caught on to the curveball and the spitball It's not leading anywhere like Arizona's season has this year (no way they make it to the World Series again, right?)

Anyway, once I got past that, I saw Brainstorm, Idiate, and Spitball It took me a little while to see the workshops, but that was the end of the yellow category

To me, Connections is like a magic eye 3D puzzle Perhaps I should look at every word, but I like to see what pops into my brain and how I can connect the connections

I was still playing baseball, so I got the purple category after curves Also, I may have just watched "Dodgeball" the other night So throwing a spanner in the works was on my mind Then I learned that I could party and throw tantrums Sure, you can do those things in a figurative sense, but I think you can also do them in a literal sense

After entering the blue category, I wanted to eat cake The choices were Birthday, Crumb, Marble, and Pound, but I could have chosen Black Forest Cake They are all great cakes

The green categories were Solid, Concrete, Material, and Real