Looking for that Latest Answers to connections? Click here for today’s Connections tips, as well as our daily answers and clues for the New York Times Mini Crosswords, Wordle Puzzles and Strands Puzzles.

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Oh, today’s New York Times Connections puzzle was really about crazy puns. The categories yellow and green are somewhat understandable, but blue and purple are off base. Both have no connection to the meaning of the four words. Instead, they look at the composition of the words and play off similarities there. I kind of love these categories, but that doesn’t mean I pass them. But with these pointers you can get started and solve the problem.

Read more: New NYT Connections game for sports fans has players swinging for the fences

Notes for today’s Connections groups

Here are four clues for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ordered from the easiest yellow group to the difficult (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Note on the yellow group: Perfect place

Note from the green group: Also maracas.

Note on the blue group: Words crammed together.

Note on the purple group: Amigo.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Utopia

Green group: Things you shake.

Blue group: Proper name Portmanteaux.

Purple group: Ending in the synonym for “friend”.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the most popular letters used in English words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is utopia. The four answers are Paradise, Seventh Heaven, Shangri-La and Xanadu.

The green words in today’s Connections

The topic is things that you shake. The four answers are hairspray, Magic 8-Ball, salad dressing, snow globe.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is portmanteaux with proper names. The four answers are Jazzercise, Paralympics, Pokémon and Wikipedia.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The topic ends with synonyms for “friend”. The four answers are Ketchum, Paypal, Primate and Rosebud.