Looking for answers to today's Connections? The difficulty level of Connections Companion is 34 out of 5

Every day we update with hints and tips to help you find the 4 answers And if the hints are not enough, see the 4 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 431

There are spoilers for connection #432 Please read only 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 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: Listen to Nancy Sinatra and remember the zip code It's a bit of an up-and-down puzzle

Now, what's the answer to today's game #432, Connections?

Drumroll, please

3 has been difficult the last couple of days, and for the most part, it didn't seem any harder than 2 the day before Nevertheless, today's puzzle might make you pause as you solve the connections

I solved the yellow category early, but skipped it to follow the other categories So the first thing I got were the state abbreviations: HI (Hawaii), MA (Massachusetts), OR (Oregon), PA (Pennsylvania); OK might remind you of Oklahoma, but don't fall for that little trap

Having passed up yellow again, I saw Ankle High and Momo High and thought it was a sock connection, which I did again last week Fortunately, cowboy and go-go were easy spots

Knowing the yellow category, I opted for the up-and-down ones: elevator, sun, tide, and yo-yo I think it worked, but so what?

Then I hooked up average, so-so, so-so, so-so, and finished with Meh

Again, this puzzle was no harder than any other puzzle this week If anything, it was so-so

Are you reading this late in the day? According to Connections Companion, the difficulty was 32 out of 5

I got 3 strikes on this problem, but I think many people will find this easier than they think, despite the much higher difficulty level

I don't know about myself, but I found the blue category first, then Sierra, Bud, Natty (Natty Ice would be more fitting), and Stella

Trying to put together a green category, I took a strike here I got stuck on Pal

Sometimes when you are struggling, it is best to pause the category you are working on and try somewhere else I did so and soon found the yellow category

It was Extent, Range, Reach, Scope

I ignored the green word, which I knew was the correct answer, and the purple category fell next For me, the words “hit paydirt” came to mind From there it was easy to find paycheck, pay pal, and pay phone

Finally, I got green on complement, match, mate, partner