Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today's NYT Connections puzzle features a couple of very fun categories. Blue and purple made me smile, and considering the subject for the purple group, maybe they should have switched places. (That's a hint.) Read on for clues and today's Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today's Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Sometimes spicy ingredient.

Green group hint: Up, up and away!

Blue group hint: Mice love this food.

Purple group hint: Cookie Monster is one.

Answers for today's Connections groups

Yellow group: Peppers.

Green group: Things that pop up.

Blue group: Descriptors for Swiss cheese.

Purple group: Blue characters.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today's Connections answers?

The yellow words in today's Connections

The theme is peppers. The four answers are bell pepper, Carolina reaper, chipotle and pepperoncino.

The green words in today's Connections

The theme is things that pop up. The four answers are ejector seat, jack-in-the-box, pop-up book and toaster.

The blue words in today's Connections

The theme is descriptors for Swiss cheese. The four answers are firm, holey, nutty and Swiss.

The purple words in today's Connections

The theme is blue characters. The four answers are Blue, Genie, Gonzo and Sonic.

Toughest Connections puzzles

We've made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they'll help you see patterns in future puzzles.

#5: Included "things you can set," such as mood, record, table and volleyball.

#4: Included "one in a dozen," such as egg, juror, month and rose.

#3: Included "streets on screen," such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.

#2: Included "power ___" such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.

#1: Included "things that can run," such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.