Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle #398 from July 13, which is down from yesterday's answer. The Connections companion rated this puzzle 2.5 out of 5 for difficulty.

We update our Connections clues and hints daily. And if the hints aren't enough, see the four answers below, 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, #397.

There are spoilers for connection 398. Only read this if you want to know the answer to today's connection.

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, 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.

Here's a bigger clue: Look for a word that means big, thinking about whether the T makes a sound. Then, words that describe anthropomorphisms and words that ring a bell.

Now, the answer to today's game #398 connection.

Drum roll please.

After the last two days of "school" based shenanigans, it was a relief over the weekend not to have that word near today's puzzle.

But this puzzle still disappointed me. This is because I like to find connections between things, not concepts.

Avatars, characters, and figures flew by and I found the green category first. It took me a little while to find the figures, but I ended up with that color.

While I was putting the greens together, I saw the beginnings of blue with partial appearers and looks. After that it was a matter of finding the Same and Sound.

Part of my personal disappointment with this puzzle is that I wanted something that wasn't. When I saw the Giant and the Monster, I was kind of excited and wanted to have more mythological creature connections in the puzzle. I didn't want to acknowledge the connection between the mammoth and the Titanic.

I didn't submit it, but I did provide categories: giants, witches, castles, and monsters. This would have been desirable. Instead, we get a silent "T." Ugh.

Enjoy your weekend. Summer is going to fly by, so enjoy it while you can or beat the heat as much as you can.

I'm reading this late in the day. According to the Connections Companion, this is the Connections solution to game #397, which had a difficulty level of 3 out of 5.

This is the second day in a row that a yellow category about schools has appeared on the Connections grid; it's July, so why put the word "school" anywhere near it?

July means lazy summer heat, grilling, days at the beach, and turning on 40 fans in the bedroom so you can sleep. Not school. I'm a mile or two away from school, but I'll leave school for August and September.

Anyway, I got the yellow category first because I saw the auditorium first and immediately looked for other rooms, gym, lab, library.

As soon as I wrapped up yellow, I saw Golden and the first thought in my head was Goose. It was a bit of a hunt to find the gray, mother, and silly.

Red and black jumped out at me and Vegas popped into my head before I saw the odd and even numbers. It worked. It would be a good addition to the "Alice in Wonderland" set.

I saw the title of the blue category and thought okay, but was a bit miffed at "pigeons" since doves and pigeons are relatively the same kind of bird. Still, it's a cute category and a nice way to end after all the shenanigans at school.

I would be quite disappointed if I could include a school category in my Saturday puzzles, since I'm not sure I'd be able to find a way to make it work.