Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle No 231, January 28, was easier than the answer earlier in the week, and the Connections companion rated this puzzle 22 out of 5 for difficulty

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, #230

There are spoilers for connection #231 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 only want the answer, scroll down further

Now here's a bigger clue There aren't that many traps in today's Connections answer

Now for the answer to today's Connections Round 231

Drum roll please

In Connections, you will find words that can be divided into two or more categories

For example, Vertex is not a word associated with more than one meaning, so I quickly combined it with Crest, Peak, and Summit to complete the yellow category

I also did a little work on the blue theme, finding Toy, Mini, and Baby, and took a little longer to find a fourth little friend, Pocket

But just as I began to dream of reaching today's summit without losing a single life, I was quickly pulled back to the ground as I submitted "Tile," "Board," "Bag," and "Digit" and accidentally tied them together as part of a vague board game theme

Thankfully, I was left with only one, which I quickly realized was because I needed to be more specific The game in question was Scrabble, which of course is all about words, not numbers (sounds familiar) So I took out the Digits and put in the Racks to complete the contents of my box

Number, Contact, Cell, and Digits remained, completing the category on exchanging phone numbers I only lost one life and ended up pressing submit, so as far as today's game was concerned, I would say I had the number

I am reading this late in the day According to Connections Companion, the difficulty was 26 out of 5

Wisdom, courage, and heart Some of today's Connections answers might work as the kind of personality traits you would list to make a good impression on a dating app However, "Ache," "Burn," and "Sting" are also words that describe the emotions one encounters after using the app I could not find the fourth word in my first hypothesis, but it seemed to fit nicely into the second The yellow category "Hurt" is now officially complete

Next up were Guard (dog) and Watch (dog), which I had in mind for my trusty canine companion, but wisely moved on, deciding that pet owners would never describe themselves as "house" dogs Mind and Tend completed the green category

A skillful press of the shuffle button produced a cyclone, and "Brains" and "Courage" were next to each other, and I was instantly thrown into the world of Oz, along with "Scarecrow" and "Cowardly Lion" The blue category was followed by "Heart" and "(No Place Like This) Home"

Answers, 2, Wrist, and Wrong remained, and the combination of wrong and right evoked memories of a failed school spelling bee This seemed especially appropriate given the "silent W" theme of the purple division After wrestling with the answers to today's connection, I smiled wryly as I hit the submit button