Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!

It has been quite a while since my last therapy session, but it’s time to start getting back into it. I’ve haven’t been at my best for a hot minute. I’ve been wracked with nerves and low confidence, among other things.

But you know what? That’s okay. I know I’ll be fine soon enough. Things like this can happen to anyone. Recognizing that there’s a problem is the first step of tackling it.

I have a therapist I’ve been working with off and on for a few years. He’s helped me immeasurably. Not everyone has access to therapy and that’s a travesty. I think a lot of the major problems the world is dealing with wouldn’t be nearly as big if many more of us dealt with our personal issues, ideally with the help of a therapist.

Before we begin, we have a great little community on Discord, where we chat about NYT Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of other stuff. Everyone who has joined has been lovely. It’s a fun hangout spot, and you’re more than welcome to join us.

Discord is also the best way to give me any feedback about the column, especially on the rare (or not-so-rare) occasions that I mess something up. I don’t look at Twitter much.

Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, May 16 are coming right up.

Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them.

Today’s 16 words are...

The level one hints for today’s Connections groups are:

Be warned: we’re really starting to get into spoiler territory.

Let’s take a look at one word for each group.

Today’s Connections word hints are…

Need some extra help?

Today’s Connections groups are...

Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.

This is your final warning!

Today’s Connections answers are...

I got the purples right away thanks to BEL(FAST) and NES(QUICK). The greens were up next. No issues there either.

It took me a second to remember a COUPE is a type of container. That left the blues for the win. ALLEGRO and FORTE were enough for me to figure out that category before submitting the guess.

Thankfully, the musical instruments red herring did not snare me today, as I got a perfect game to extend my streak to 440 wins.

How did you get on today? Here's my grid:

🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦

That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter for hints and the solution for Sunday’s game if you need them.

P.S. I was looking through the list of performers at the upcoming Les Francos de Montréal (which takes place just before the jazz festival) and checked a few of them out. I really enjoyed this song, “Âmes soeurs” by Ariane Roy. Even after all this time in Quebec, my French still stinks, but I know a bop when I hear one:

Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!

On weekdays, you can find this column over at Forbes. Please follow my blog there for more coverage of NYT Connections and other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot!

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