Today's NYT Connections groups are shockingly easy if you don't come across “Compound.”

Welcome to the weekend, puzzle lovers! And what better way to start the weekend with a nice short puzzle? Challenging but short. There are benefits to not getting sucked into a week-long epic slog of a game.

And with that, your daily sweet 16 words are back and ready for your best grouping efforts. The New York Times' popular brainbuster “Connections” features four groups of words with a common theme or similarity, but mixed in random order so you can figure them out. Remember to take your time – many words have multiple meanings. So think twice before clicking.

Today's words: QUALITY, BIRTH, HOUSE, PLANT, REMOTE, LODGE, HYBRID, CONNECTION, CROSS, CRUISE, STICK, HOTEL, TOKEN, BLEND, WEDGE, And DID.

Note on NYT Connections yellow group

Above is your visual cue for today's yellow group. Maybe it's just right for you? If you're still scratching your head, we hate to break it to you, but yellow is the easiest group.

Do you need a verbal cue? This can be anything from chocolate milk (no, it doesn't come from brown cows) to your work week. Yes, that's vague, but this time it wasn't that hard.

Knock out? There was no profanity from the Times with this group – no words that could easily have ended up in another group. A nice basic start to the weekend for you!

Today's answer from the yellow group is Composed and his words are MIXTURE, COMPOUND, CROSS, And HYBRID.

NYT Connections Blue Group Note

Here's your visual cue for today's blue group. It could be your Eureka! Moment. (No, sorry, that wasn't a hint.) Or it wouldn't have helped at all. Hey, let's try.

Time for the verbal clue: This group could have included dice, trains and money. Even instructions that no one ever reads.

NO? That was “elimination” for us today, but when we saw the result, it was a serious “D’oh” moment. Should have been easier!

Today's answer from the blue group is Items in a Monopoly box and his words are certificate, hotel, house, And TOKENS.

Note on NYT Connections Green Group

We'll put it lightly and say that this is a pretty powerful visual cue. Will it get you to the finish line? That's the catch: you still have to find the right words.

Do you also need the verbal cue? Maybe it's because we slept weird and our backs feel like something… oops, wait, that's too big of a spoiler.

Give up? Yes, think about pain. Unfortunately, this is the quickest way to this solution. If you have pain in your back and feel like something is stuck there. Or stuck….

Today's response from the Green group is: Embed and his words are LODGE, PLANT, STICK, And WEDGE.

NYT Connections Purple Group Note

The purple group is the most difficult, so don't fret if this visual clue doesn't take you straight to the promised land.

Here's your verbal clue: It's the missing word category of the day. Add the same word to each of these and voila! Purple group captured.

Crying uncle? This was a bit purple as far as difficulty goes, but we've seen worse. And tomorrow things will probably be even worse for us!

Today's answer from the purple group is ___ Control and his words are BIRTH, CRUISE, QUALITY, And REMOTE CONTROL.

We'll see if the Times makes it easier for us tomorrow – then check back and find out!

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