Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle #472 of September 25, the same difficulty level as yesterday's answer, this puzzle from the Connections companion has a difficulty level of 3 out of 5

We update our Connections clues and hints daily If the hints are not enough for you, we have also included the solutions to all four puzzles, the category names, and the related words In addition, for those of you reading this in a different time zone, I have included a reflection on yesterday's puzzle, #471

There are spoilers for Connections #472 Only those who want to know the answer to today's Connections 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 only want to know the answer, scroll down further

The bigger hint is to get your tre done before you paint the room and get a Philly cheesesteak or London broil before you go to the local derby

So what's the answer to today's Connections Round 472?

Drum roll please

I struggled yesterday, but today was much easier, despite the same difficulty level

I started with a hat trick, which quickly led to the other three-based sports achievements, Three Pete, Trifecta, and Triple Crown The three-peat is one of the more interesting of the five major sports, and there are few examples outside of ongoing travesties like Man City in the Premier League Yes, I am a fan of other Premier League teams

Sticking to sports, I see soapboxes and home runs next to each other I tried to incorporate roller derby and got a few strikes But then I got wise and chose Kentucky and demolition

Then I arrived at the green category of rollers, drop cloths, paint, and tape

I had fun with city-inspired foods like (London) broil, (Philly) cheesesteaks, (Brussels) sprouts, and (Buffalo) wings

Are you reading this in a slow time zone? According to Connections Companion, the difficulty level was 3 out of 5

I did notice one question about this game

When I saw balloons, banners, confetti, and garland, I started with the blue category I was hit by an early strike when there was a streamer on top of the garland This strike gave me pause, but the other three didn't fit elsewhere, so I went back and replaced them with Garland

The streamer led me to the purple category, which added influencers, models, and ambassadors Despite the existence of the “brand ambassador” combo, I object to including ambassadors in this list, especially since they are functionally the same term as influencers and not online personalities in the same way Models and streamers who can be influencers are at least different To put it in a tricky way, I would choose something that could reasonably be placed elsewhere, such as a poster or a host

From there, I saw green categories for book, charter, reserve, and secure The simplest one so far

Yellow was my last category Creative, fresh, innovative, and original made sense I saw these words, but I don't know why I didn't connect them to the end here It was certainly inspired, I suppose