Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle #477 on September 30, which is considerably easier than yesterday's puzzle, the Connections Companion gives this puzzle a difficulty rating of 37 out of 5

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, #476

There are spoilers for Connection 477 Only those who want to know the answer to today's Connections 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 the answer, scroll down further

There is a bigger clue Today's puzzle should take you around the world and remind you of cuisines, smells, cartoons, and cities from all over the world

Now, what is the answer to today's game #477 Connection?

Drum roll, please

Today's puzzle was easily solved Starting with the yellow category, I first saw Poach and thought it might have to do with the different ways of making eggs, but as soon as I saw Blanch, Boil, and Steam, I realized that the connections crew cast a wider evening than that

Next came the green category, and digging into what I had learned in high school English class about what ambergris is, it was easy to make connections with other scent cues like musk, rose, and vanilla

Only Wallace, of Wallace and Gromit fame, immediately came to mind, but for some reason my brain immediately went to the “famous duo” instead of the more obvious “character with a dog” Shaggy was the obvious choice, but it took me a second to realize I was barking up the wrong tree before choosing Dorothy and Charlie

Last but not least was today's memorandum, the purple category I always fail in the wordplay category, and today's was no different

Reading this late in the day? According to Connections Companion, the difficulty level was 45 out of 5

Yesterday, I started out feeling tentative about the 45 difficulty level, but with blankets, shampoo, sheets, and throws, I quickly earned the green category

Next came the purple category At first I thought honor and judiciary might be related, but in the absence of other clues to court positions, my news-addled senses kicked in and I chose energy, labor, and state as the other federal departments alongside judiciary

Then there was the easiest category, yellow, with fullfill, honor, keep, and uphold

Only blue was left as a memorization fill-in-the-blank, and even then I was able to guess the relevance, as all the clues were related to the card game This is my first time doing such a difficult puzzle, so it's really embarrassing when I stumble on an easy one