Hey there, Connectors! Welcome to the weekend!

I recently learned about the existence of rail grinders. These are maintenance trains that extend the lifespans of tracks by grinding them to prevent or get rid of corrugation. They cause a lot of sparks as well, which is cool, but risk starting fires.

To mitigate that, rail grinders typically have water cars. They can douse vegetation and such at the side of the tracks and even spray foam. Crew members in the rear car have water guns to put out fires too. A rail grinder might be accompanied by an extra vehicle that can help deal with blazes. I just thought this was neat and wanted to share:

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, September 5 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 bird noises first, followed by the yellows. SLEEPY and BOBBLE landing next to each other made the blues clear.

I really should have figured out the purple category (cobbler, pie, tart and torte), but I flubbed. No matter, since that's my 552nd win on the spin.

How did you get on this time? 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 haven’t mentioned Tim Curry’s passing until now. What a true legend. His charisma and screen presence was incredible. So I’d like to offer up The Rocky Horror Picture Show as your recommendation today. Curry gives a terrific performance in that film.

I’ve only seen it once, at a Halloween screening quite some time ago. I didn’t know any of the audience participation stuff, but I had a blast anyway. I was mostly trying to focus on the movie, in all honesty. It’s camp as hell, and so much fun:

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

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