Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle #479 from October 2, which is considerably easier than yesterday's puzzle, this puzzle from Connections Companion has a difficulty rating of 28 out of 5

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, #478

There are spoilers for connection #479 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 just want the answer, scroll down further [Watch the Bobby De Niro movie and count your arms before you cut them up with a knife

Now for the answer to today's game #479 Connection

Drum roll please

After nearly a week of puzzles with a difficulty of 35 or higher and at least three puzzles with a difficulty of 40 or higher, today's puzzle is down to a difficulty of 28

And I realized this as I was able to get through today's puzzle fairly quickly

I saw Octopus and Shiva right away, but was looking for other multi-armed options, so I actually used the Joker and forced Venus de Milo on the first shot Therefore, they forced the joker and Venus de Milo in the first blow

I had a casino mindset and saw chance and gamble Bets and risks I found pretty quickly to fill the yellow groups

Green was easy to fill with julienne, slice, dice, and cube

I had forgotten that De Niro was in the Joaquin Phoenix Joker movie, but I didn't care to see that movie either So

I forgot to mention yesterday that for those who like the real beginning of the Halloween season, happy spooky season

I'm reading this late in the day According to Connections Companion, the difficulty level was 36 out of 5

I got off to a good start today when I tried the “hair wash” category using conditioner, a lather, a rinse, and for some reason a wave Strike one

But shortly thereafter, I made it to the green category with “Health,” “Foam,” “Condition,” and then the “Shape” category under “Fitness”

I've been quibbling lately, and yes, all of these types of water can be fast moving, but that wasn't what I had in mind Anyway, I combined Cascade, Current, Rapid, and Wave into Blue

I was still thinking about hair, but I put the dishwasher cycle together with Normal, Rinse, Sanitize, and Quick I don't think I have ever used the quick setting on my dishwasher Has anyone used it?

The yellow categories make sense Bubbling, stewing, sweating, and dizziness are all, shall we say, panicky Still, I hated the grouping and found myself surprisingly confused when I finished the puzzle I'm not sure why, but I think it's because they are in different states of agitation at best Lazer and tizzy are more manic, I think Stew and sweat imply a more prolonged upset I don't know, but I don't like the term and haven't yet been able to articulate why