Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle #244 from February 10, with a slight increase in difficulty from yesterday The difficulty level for this puzzle in the Connections Companion is 32 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 another time zone, I have included a reflection on yesterday's puzzle, #243

There are spoilers for connection 244 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 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 just want the answer, scroll down further

Now, there is a bigger clue And if you think of stretching the truth or telling a story, stretch the body instead

So, the answer to today's game #244 connection is

Drum roll please

Today's Connection was like a busy word pet store, with all manner of creatures and critters There was no way we could decide which of these animals to take home, we had to trim the herd first

I ignored their soft meows and gentle neighs and went straight to the gossipy birds section Along with the canaries, finks, and rats, I found the yellow category

Feeling like Ace Ventura: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, I made my way to the supplies section, which was crammed with Stuff, Jam, Squeeze, and Pack Obviously, I thought they were candidates to be combined into one category, and I was right

Then my winning streak hit a snag Puzzles tortured me with partial matches that didn't make sense Dragons, fire, mountains They seemed to allude to a mythical landscape, but I could not find a fourth that would complete the story

I rearranged the words in my head, looking for connections Butter, fire, spread I was about to overbutter my bread with that idea I took a deep breath, and then it hit me Fire (fried), Dragon (fried), Horse (fried), and Butter (fried) were the creatures in the air that completed the purple category [Remaining were the Triangle, the Cow, the Mountain, and the Cat What in the world is the connection? Is it a poem, a song, or a picture book? Only with the encouragement of my wife, a yoga enthusiast, did the answer bend into place They all seem to be yoga poses Cow Oh, right Okay, then

With this revelation, the last category was skewed into place and today's tumultuous trip to the pet store was over

You are reading this late in the day Here is the Connections Answer for game #243, which according to Connections Companion had a difficulty rating of 30 out of 5

Today's head-to-head battle opened with a techno twist But it was a digital red herring I had to do more math

Rewind and shuffle cut through the carpet in tandem, skips and stops joined in for a series of button presses And just like that, the yellow category grooved into place, all while ticking a beat

Further exploration brought us to the broadcast booth, where words like Show, Air, Screen, and Run were flying around

The next group wondered if they could hold up Picture, Card, Curtain, or Net It was like a decorator's inventory list But then we realized that we could hang Curtain, Bath, Card, and Picture We don't hang things here; we paint

The remaining words were a jumble I put on my linguist's fedora and conversed with my inner word magician - It's an anagram of numbers The purple category was complete, and the puzzle was solved without a single digit being out of order