Looking for today's Connections answer for puzzle #550 on December 12, which is considerably more difficult than yesterday's puzzle, the Connections companion rated this puzzle 3.6 out of 5 for difficulty.

We update our Connections hints and tips daily. And if the hints aren't enough, see the four answers below, along with the category name 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 #549.

There is a spoiler for connection #550. Only read this if you want to know the answer to today's connection.

Or 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.

Today's connecting words are: Fudge, Bed, Saw, Tee, Ti, Gear, Rats, Delta, Zipper, Nuts, Tea, Geez, Mouth, Tee, Comb, Bank

If you need a hint to solve the groupings, the difficulty level each theme in order:

If you read these hints, you should at least be able to find the answer to today's connection. If not, continue reading for larger hints. Also, if you only want to know the answer, scroll down further.

There is a bigger clue.

Now, what is the answer to today's game #550 connection?

Drumroll please.

When I opened today's puzzle and saw a bunch of pictures, I was really stunned. For a moment I thought it was broken. Between yesterday's one-ranked puzzle and today's more difficult picture puzzle, Connections is taking me on a roller coaster ride this week.

Here's the thing: I'm dissatisfied, but I want answers. Complaints last.

I saw the gears and immediately thought they were teeth. After the zippers, then the saws and combs. The green fell out.

Purple came next because I was saying the image of the picture out loud. When I said bunks, beds, and mouths, it hit me. I wasn't sure if the triangle represented the delta, but none of the other images seemed to fit, so my guess worked here.

I had a yellow 3/4 with a tee and two tees, but I can't read music, so this bar means nothing to me.

The blue summed up the rest of the image except for the 3 T's. It is indeed a gentle oath.

Thus ends yellow.

Briefly, my complaints are as follows: 1) several friends have pointed out that people with poor eyesight had bad luck with this puzzle because there is no alt text in this puzzle. This is a complete failure and an unforced error. Braille readers can “see” the text in regular puzzles, but not the images.

And second, I do not like these pictogram puzzles. In a manner of speaking, they are not my favorite. I prefer the nuances of the words rather than trying to guess by hand what part of the image the picture puzzle is referring to. My personal hope is that you will not do this again. If you do, at least provide alt text for those who can't see the image clearly.

I am reading this late in the day. According to the Connections Companion, this is the Connections solution to game #549, which had a difficulty level of 1 out of 5.

A little backstory, but I always start putting this guide together by checking the Connections Companion. Today's is a 1, a number I don't think I've ever seen in a Connections rating. Maybe a 1.8, but not lower. I was shocked.

I'm not sure what makes this puzzle a 1 compared to any other puzzle I've rated, but I solved it fairly quickly.

I started with yellow because I saw Shangri-La and Xanadu. Both are paradisiacs, so I solved Paradis and Seventh Heaven quickly.

I saw Magic Eight Balls and Hairspray and figured they were going for the shake, so I went with Snow Globe and Salad Dressing.

At this point I was thinking a bit too much and didn't immediately recognize the portmanteau of blue groupings. Jazzercise solved that problem and led me to the Paralympics, Pokemon (Pocket Monster for those who don't know), and Wikipedia.

Thus we had ket (buddies), pay (mates), pre (friends), and rose (buds).

Was it 1? I don't know, but it would be interesting to see what they would consider 1 as opposed to 3 or 4.