Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!

I recently wrote about an issue I’d been having with the headphones I use for my PC. As in, they don’t work properly anymore. That’s no good. I need to be able to listen to sound from my computer!

I considered a number of options before deciding that I need a real good set of headphones (which are tax-deductible since they’re for work). I was curious about the Sonos headphones and they were on sale, so here we are.

I won’t belabor you about my overall experience with the headphones so far. I just want to share one particular thing I’ve enjoyed.

They’ve allowed me to hear new subtleties and textures in songs that I’m intimately familiar with. I listen to “Goodbye” by Toe pretty much every single day. It’s the first song on my “go to sleep” playlist. Using these headphones to listen to it has helped me hear background instrumentation I didn’t pick upon before, helping me deepen my appreciation for what was already one of my favorite songs.

Cheap earbuds and headphones are totally fine for podcasts, those who don’t mind putting up with lower-quality audio and people who are likely to lose the things. But goodness, what a difference these headphones make.

I suppose I should use them to finally listen to the new Foo Fighters album, which I have not yet done. 🙈

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 9 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...

As soon as I got to THINK while writing out the word list, I had the purples in the bag thanks to PUFF in the top left spot.

The yellows were next up. I thought those were straightforward. As were the things that can go around your neck for the greens.

SHOELANCES and FRIENDSHIP BRACELET helped me figure out the blues. I don't think I'd ever heard of a QUIPU until now. It's an accounting device used in Andean cultures, such as the Inca Empire, that represents numbers with knots. They were used to record data like tax records and census information. It's super neat:

My streak is now at 433 wins in a row.

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. There’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure and I’m very happy to have this on my all-purpose playlist. But let’s be honest, the brass section makes “Picture of You” by Boyzone a lot better than it could have been:

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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