IT General

Today's Connections: Sports Edition is for anyone who's ever lived in Arizona.

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Sports in the Copper State

• Green: Advanced stats

• Blue: Non-power conferences

• Purple: Receivers

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Arizona Teams

• Green: Baseball Stats, Abbreviated

• Blue: Mid-Major College Conferences

• Purple: NFL WR Nicknames

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #530 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Arizona Teams - CARDINALS, MERCURY, SUN DEVILS, SUNS

• Baseball Stats, Abbreviated - ERA, IP, OPS, WAR

• Mid-Major College Conferences - HORIZON, OHIO VALLEY, SUMMIT, SUN BELT

• NFL WR Nicknames - HOLLYWOOD, JSN, NUK, SUN GOD

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

Software doesn't usually age gracefully. If you're lucky, you might see 10 years of support for a typical desktop app, and most mobile apps have an even shorter life expectancy. That is what makes one legacy program so remarkable.

Bad news for gamers: the much-hyped Steam Machine, long rumored to see the light of day in the first half of 2026, may be delayed even longer due to memory and storage shortages and the astronomically high prices these shortages are pushing on to consumers. 

SEE ALSO: Out of stock: Valve Steam Deck is the latest casualty of global memory shortage

With the expansion of artificial intelligence, gaming hardware manufacturers have to compete for memory, storage, and graphical processing power with the deep pockets of Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, all of whom are racing to outcompete one another and win the AI race. 

As recently as February, Valve made some concessions to this reality in a blog post: 

"When we announced these products in November, we planned to share specific pricing and launch dates by now. But the memory and storage shortages you've likely heard about across the industry have rapidly increased since then. The limited availability and growing prices of these critical components mean we must revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing (especially around Steam Machine and Steam Frame)."

For the unaware, the Steam Machine is Valve’s latest attempt to leverage its dominant software position in the PC gaming market into hardware, promising what amounts to a budget gaming PC with the form factor of a gaming console allegedly priced under $1,000 but still capable of offering “4K gaming at 60 FPS with FSR” with either 512GB or 2TB of native storage, expandable via microSD, and running on their proprietary SteamOS. 

In their "Steam Year in Review 2025" update, Valve initially wrote that they "hope to ship in 2026," potentially indicating that the launch of the Steam Machine and its key accessories, the Steam Frame VR headset and controller, would be delayed until next year, but they have since amended the sentence to be more optimistic: "we will be shipping all three products this year."

While that almost certainly means we will have to wait until the second half of 2026, it also helps keep the hope alive among gamers hoping for a better budget gaming experience. 

Much like a fire extinguisher or home insurance, a panic button is something that could mitigate disaster, but that I really hope I never need to use. I set up a panic button for my smart home, and it's comforting to know it's there should the worst happen.

There are thousands of Docker containers that you could potentially run on your server. While I haven't run anywhere near all of them, here are 10 containers that I simply can't live without in my homelab, and why I think you should run them too.

I've been writing code for a long time. Over the years I've used countless development environments—sometimes simultaneously—trying to find the perfect tools for the multitude of languages that I've worked with. Those days are gone. My search is over. I've found the one to rule them all!

Ubuntu Studio is a Linux distro from Canonical that's designed for creatives. It comes preinstalled with a big array of free and open-source software for audio, video, graphics, and photography. Early on in my career, I did graphic design work for a while and I still draw illustrations for fun. These are my impressions of Ubuntu Studio.

In an ideal world, your PC should never be the only place where your important data lives. It can be one of the places, though, but the most critical files should be backed up following the 3-2-1 rule (or even more advanced methods).

For years, the idea of a complete home security system seemed to end with just cameras. However, the modern smart home is now heading into a time of seamless integration, especially when it comes to perimeter defense, which uses security and safety sensors.

Once, the Calendar app integrated into Windows was a capable scheduling companion. However, following several updates between Windows 10 and 11, the Windows calendar is now almost entirely useless.

This was another busy week in tech, with Apple releasing the affordable MacBook Neo and other new hardware, big updates for Obsidian and Home Assistant, changes coming to Windows 11, and much more. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed.

Note-taking has always been part of my daily routine, but it felt plain. My notes were practical, yes, but dull and often hard to skim. Everything changed when I started using emoji intentionally in my note-taking, especially inside Obsidian.

You might not consider your computer a vital part of your smart home, but it can be. Integrating your Windows, Mac, or Linux workstation with Home Assistant lets you use your computer as a trigger or condition for household automations, and even send commands depending on your operating system.

Linux is everywhere, and that's not a bad thing. It's an operating system that seems to end up in every sort of device imaginable. The only place where Linux is rare seems to be desktop computers. Of course in recent years Linux has been gaining in popularity, and I can see a future where it might even have the majority share of the desktop market.

If you've chatted with any single friend lately or scrolled through social media, you know the general consensus: People are exhausted by online dating. App fatigue is real, it's excruciating, and it makes finding a genuine connection online feel impossible. As someone who's been testing and reviewing dating apps for years, I get asked one question constantly: Which dating apps actually work?

My answer is always the same: The only "hack" is choosing the right app for what you actually want. Someone on eharmony is looking for a ring, while users on hookup apps like Tinder are... well, you know what they're looking for.

I always follow up this advice with one more piece of wisdom: Don't give up! Despite burnout, the best dating apps remain among the most reliable ways to meet a partner. A 2025 SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus found that 65 percent of people aged 18 to 29 have used a dating app, and a 2023 Pew Research Center report found that one in five young people met their significant other on one.

You just need the right tool. That's why I've put in the hours, the swipes, and the subscription fees to find the best dating app for every kind of single person. To help you find your match, these are all of the top dating apps worth downloading in 2026.

If you need even more personalized advice, check out our guides to the best dating apps for men, women, and the LGBTQ community.

The dating apps I'd skip (and why)

You'll probably notice a few popular apps are missing from my list. That’s intentional. Part of my job is to filter out the platforms that aren't worth your time, money, or sanity. An app doesn't get my recommendation just because it's well-known — it has to be effective and safe.

Here are a few popular dating apps I'd skip:

• Plenty of Fish (POF): I know this one shows up on a lot of lists, but in my opinion, it's a dating app ghost town. POF launched as a dating site back in 2003, and it shows. In my experience (and based on widespread user feedback), the platform is filled with bots and scams, and the odds of finding a quality connection are stacked against you. Unless you enjoy sifting through fake profiles, I think your time is better spent elsewhere.

• Raya: Raya is basically the Soho House of dating apps. It's exclusive, expensive, and not for the average person. You have to fill out an application to use it, and the vetting process can take anywhere from a few days to a few years. While it might be great for networking or bagging an influencer, it's just not a practical recommendation for most people who are simply looking for a date. (See also: The League.)

• Niche "hookup" sites (like BeNaughty, Fling, etc.): There's a chance you've seen ads for sites like these, which promise quick, no-strings-attached fun. Based on my research and countless user reviews, I'd advise you to steer clear. These platforms are notorious for being overrun with bots and having questionable billing practices, with users reporting unexpected and hard-to-cancel subscription charges.

In today’s episode of f*ck the patriarchy, there’s a new website called “Check Her Body Count” that claims to use AI to calculate a woman’s “body count” using her Instagram profile. But it's both terribly inaccurate and misogynistic in nature — even if comparisons are being made to the whisper network site, Tea.

The website went viral on Feb. 26, after X user @weretuna shared an ad for Check Her Body Count on their feed. The post reads: “Suspicious that your girl has 10+ body count? Now you don’t have to guess. You paste her ig [sic] URL, and the app brutally estimates her body count by checking her followers, posts, and stories."

SEE ALSO: The best hookup apps for 2026: I swiped until my thumb hurt

The post has amassed 6.1 million views as of this publication.

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Before I go on an absolute rant, let’s just explain what “body count” is for the people who may not know: the number of sexual partners a person has had in their lifetime. Also, Mashable attempted to reach out to the Check Her Body Count contact email, but it bounced back.

OK, so here’s what I have to say about this.

1.) Obviously, this isn’t the most important point, but I just want everyone to understand that this site is completely inaccurate. There’s a little disclaimer at the bottom of the site that admits: "This tool does not access, connect to, or retrieve data from any third-party platform. All outputs are randomly generated for entertainment only and do not reflect real individuals."

Not only that, but a developer named Cappy (@CappyIshihara) reposted the viral post with his two cents, confirming that the site doesn't even access Instagram. It just validates the URL in your browser, spits out a random number, and caches it locally. In his words: “this sh*t is completely clientside, zero net, cache in localstorage."

My editor tried the site for herself, and it stated she had more "male followers" than actual total followers she has on Instagram.

2.) The idea of this is gross AF, and the fact that some commenters are saying that this site is no worse than the Tea App is exactly how and why tech is so dangerous today. The Tea App, which relaunched as a website after Apple's App Store booted it last year, is a safe space for women to discuss "red flags" and find info on potential suitors — it’s very “Are We Dating the Same Guy” — so that they can decide whether they're entering potentially dangerous situations.

Yet, here are just a few examples of what some men are saying about Check Her Body Count:

• "Nah, this stays up until [the] Tea App gets dumped."

• "Someone doesn't like the consequences of their actions?"

• "So women are upset at this, but find the Tea App, which berates men and tells other women how supposedly bad a guy is and ruins his dating reputation, okay? Yea, no. I fully support this website."

Comparing a whisper network meant to keep women physically safe to a tool designed to arbitrarily shame and surveil women for having sex is peak misogyny.

“Body count is a gross, inaccurate metric rooted in misogyny — period,” Angie Rowntree, founder and director of the porn site Sssh.com, tells Mashable. “It dehumanizes women and normalizes the surveillance and violation of women.”

And let’s just pause and talk about the exhausting double standard fueling all of this. If a guy has a lot of sex, he’s celebrated as "the man." But if a woman has the exact same amount of sex, she’s branded a "whore." And god forbid she chooses not to have sex, because then she’s instantly labeled "prudish" or a tease. It's a completely rigged game designed to make us apologize for our own bodies, no matter what we do.

As Rowntree notes, obsessing over this number "completely ignores context like consent and pleasure, and pretends that having sexual experience somehow diminishes a person's worth." In reality, having multiple partners may translate to greater confidence, better boundaries, and more fulfilling sex lives.

3.) We are seeing a terrifying trend where AI and tech are being weaponized by male-dominated online subcultures to enforce patriarchal control. If that sounds dramatic, let's look at the receipts. Deepfake technology gained notoriety through the creation of non-consensual sexual images of women. A recent investigation by the Tech Transparency Project found 102 "nudify" AI apps (which render people, often women, naked) hosted across Google Play and the Apple App Store. Those apps were downloaded more than 705 million times and generated $117 million in revenue. As the Tech Transparency Project wrote, "Because Google and Apple take a cut of that revenue, they are directly profiting from the activity of these apps" — meaning they are making money off the digital abuse and sexualization of women.

And have we forgotten about Grok? During an 11-day period between December 2025 and January 2026 alone, Elon Musk's chatbot produced an estimated three million sexualized images, including deepfakes of real, well-known women.

“The Grok scandal shows how fast 'fun' AI features can quickly turn toxic when they ignore users' rights (in this case, women's rights) to control their own public images and narratives," says Rowntree.

This is about so much more than a fake Instagram scraper — it's about an online ecosystem (often tied to anti-feminist "red-pilled" and incel communities) that actively pits men against women and uses tech as a tool for harassment. Dr. Mathilde Pavis, a leading adviser on AI regulation, told Newsweek that the concept behind Check Her Body Count reflects a deeper, dangerous cultural logic: "that women's bodies and private lives are subject to algorithmic judgment, sexual scoring and public evaluation."

"The body count website did not happen in a vacuum," says Rowntree. "There are men (and entire cultures) in 2026 who still think a hymen is a 'freshness seal' and virginity is the sum total of a woman's worth." Whether it's deepfaking women's bodies or creating fake algorithms to publicly score their sexual history, the goal is the exact same: policing women.

“Women are not property; we are human beings,” Rowntree adds. “As such, our bodies are also not public property to be exploited without consent, including for algorithmic judgment or AI manipulation."

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We’re living in the era of the wearable. Smartwatches are replacing traditional timepieces, smart rings double as finger jewelry and health devices, and clip-on open earbuds make for fashionable ear accessories.

Now, we’re at the point where wearable speakers are a thing — or least, JLab seems to think so. The company just developed these portable Bluetooth speakers, which look like monstrous-sized wireless headphones for ogres. They're called the Blue XL Speaker Headphones, and they can be yours for $100.

The only thing more bonkers than the concept? The design itself. As someone who tests headphones and speakers, I’m obligated to check them out even if they're a weird novelty. Well, the Blue XL Speaker Headphones didn’t disappoint — at least on the weirdness front.

JLab loves to experiment Credit: Alex Bracetti / Mashable

This is a company that has built its reputation on low pricing and filling a niche. It was one of the first audio brands to launch wireless earbuds with charging cases that featured built-in charging cables. The Blue XL Speaker Headphones are JLab’s second most ambitious creation – a limited-edition release that draws more “umms” than “oohs.”

I chuckled a few times during the unboxing. My 5-year-old toddler burst out laughing when he saw the speakers around my neck and asked, “what the heck is that?” My wife had a similar reaction. Basically, we all found the Blue XL Speaker Headphones hilarious. They’re certainly nowhere near as stylish as category favorites like the Beats Pill.

They're also outlandishly heavy (52 oz., or 3.25 lbs). Wearing them around the neck weighed down my shoulders, giving me a frumpy posture.

More importantly, if you’re thinking of buying the Blue XL Speaker Headphones as a home speaker alternative, you better think long and hard about their placement and how they will be positioned. The earcups must face outwards, rather than pointing at each other, to get the best sound output.

What about hanging them, say from a headphone stand? I tried that. The product is too long and won’t remain stable unless it’s propped on the back of the stand, which is a ridiculous-looking setup.

But how do the speaker headphones sound? With great headphones comes great function dial. Credit: Alex Bracetti / Mashable

In a word: impressive.

JLab doesn’t have the sonic pedigree of legacy audio companies like Sennheiser and Sony. What it does provide is adequate sound at highly competitive price points.

The Blue XL Speaker Headphones feature dual 2.5-inch drivers and passive radiators that blast incredibly loud audio and a powerful bass response. Lows have an effective presence on most contemporary recordings. Afro punk, EDM, hip-hop, and rock fans should enjoy what they hear. 

Listeners who like vocal performances and podcasts won’t be sold on the Blue XL Speaker Headphones’ audio quality, however. Vocals and high-range sounds (6 kHz to 20 kHz) are subdued. Sibilance is noticeable when listening to dialogue-heavy content; consonants like 's', 'sh', 'z', and 'ch' sound harsh. 

True stereo sound is out of the question — because the speakers don’t support JLab’s LabSync technology to pair multiple speakers at once. This a standalone unit with two mono speakers that broadcast the same thing. 

And in case you were wondering how it does with calls ... well, you can’t use the Blue XL Speaker Headphones as a speakerphone, either. 

Conclusion: a hilarious novelty Credit: Alex Bracetti / Mashable

The Blue XL Speaker Headphones aren’t ideal wireless headphones or speakers, mainly due to their enormous size. You must stretch your imagination to find any use for them.

To their credit, the Blue XL Speaker Headphones perform a lot better than you would think. Each driver pumps out strong, bass-filled sound. The dial with a multifunctional button is distinctive and works well. Up to 20 hours per charge is more than what most similarly priced speakers offer. And the overall build quality is solid.

I would have recommended hanging a pair from each ceiling corner to create wide surround sound, but the lack of multi-speaker connectivity kills that idea. 

The main purpose this product serves? Getting a laugh out of anyone who looks at them. Keep in mind that April Fool’s Day is around the corner!

Credit: Alex Bracetti / Mashable

Still, $100 is generous for these speakers, even as a white elephant gift.

In short, the Blue XL Speaker Headphones raise questions that inevitably lead to disappointing answers. No one is going to wear them outside unless they’re begging for attention, and the responses won’t be flattering. Sizing is excessive — you can’t set these speakers up anywhere.

JLab suggests placing them on a table, but there’s no direction on how to properly position them. Also, there’s no mention of the heavy reverberation they produce when placed on certain surfaces. Other shortcomings include no IP rating or app support to personalize the speakers. 

To all appearances, JLab conceived the Blue XL Speaker Headphones as a joke and ran with it. But after you get over the novelty factor, it will be hard to take them seriously.

The JLab Blue XL limited-edition headphones are currently out of stock, though you can find them on eBay for twice their retail price.

It's been almost 15 years since Julia Quinn published the third book in her Bridgerton series, An Offer from a Gentleman, and it still lands.

A risqué and romantic Cinderella story about class and hidden identity, it's the basis for Season 4 of the Shondaland/Netflix series. But it's not the only book running this season, which also draws from Quinn's sixth book in the series, When He Was Wicked, for the tale of Francesca, John, and Michaela Stirling — a simmering tale of guilt, lust, and longing that will take the lead in Season 5.

We went straight to the source, speaking to Quinn about the nuances of Sophie and Benedict's socially-impossible situation, and the impact of gender flipping the character of Michael Stirling in the TV series — a decision that opens up queer inclusivity in for Bridgerton, and one that has seen strong fan reactions, for better or worse. These two books, published in the early 2000s, are still finding new audiences in 2026 — in fact, fancy new collector’s editions of the first three Bridgerton books have just been published.

SEE ALSO: 'Bridgerton' Season 4 soundtrack, song-by-song

We also talked more broadly about Regency romance and the undying yearnaissance in fiction, as Quinn's latest project proves she's just as much a fan of romance writing as you are: a subscription book box called JQ Editions, in which Quinn handpicks the titles based simply on whether she liked them.

So, dear gentle reader, pour yourself a cup of tea and settle in. This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Shannon Connellan: There are a lot of fans who haven't read the Bridgerton books, who are watching the show. An Offer from a Gentleman, which you first published in 2001, the thing I love about this Bridgerton story is that it really digs into the working class. Obviously, Sophie is our Cinderella. Why do you think this theme of class is so important in this luxurious Regency ton?

Julia Quinn: I just think it was something that was so... unsurmountable. I don't know that viewers understand what a big deal it was. When I was writing it, most of the people who I knew were going to read it were either my fans or fans of Regency romance, who were already pretty well schooled in the ins and outs of Regency society. So they knew this is a big deal. Does it ever happen that somebody of the nobility will marry somebody working class? Yes, but it is a big deal and comes with big consequences… You want to come up with a big conflict, and there wasn't much that was bigger than this.

"I don't know that viewers understand what a big deal it was." Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

SC: I think a lot of the 2026 lens on the show looks at Sophie's reluctance and insistence on not becoming a mistress, and Benedict's privilege saying 'Why not?' Why not?' — but to a Regency reader that would be really obvious.

JQ: For him, he is truly acting with the best of intentions. This seems like a way to take her out of poverty, a way that they can be together, a way that she gets away from a lot of abuse — and it is the way that society tells him it can be done. But I think the real story is, how does he go from this offer with the best of intentions to making one that is truly world-altering, and saying, OK, I'm willing to change my whole world for this person.

SC: It's really powerful.

JQ: I think so, and I know there are a lot of people who are like, 'Ew, why does he keep asking her to do this?' Like he's a predator or something. He's not a predator. He's a man of his time who is a kind person, truly, who is trying to keep her safe. I mean, yeah, he definitely tricks her into getting her the job at Bridgerton house, but he also knows that she's going to be treated so much better there than she's been treated somewhere else. It is a little bit of mansplaining, I will acknowledge that, but he really is looking out for her safety.

"How does he go from this offer with the best of intentions to making one that is truly world-altering..." Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

SC: Definitely, I read it like that too. I think people don't understand a modern workplace in the same way as a 19th century workplace and everything that goes with it. So it's really interesting to watch how that functions in the book and in the series.

JQ: Yeah, it's tough, because you're writing these books that are set in the early 19th century, but you are aware that you're writing them for modern readers. There's always this balance that you have to try to find and it's never going to be the right balance for everybody.

SC: Speaking of balance, romance writing has changed a lot in the last 20 years, especially for queer inclusion. And now, with Francesca Bridgerton's story from When He Was Wicked, Michael Sterling's character is gender flipped for the Netflix series. So we're looking at the first leading queer storyline for Bridgerton [in Season 5]. You've said this publicly, that you're "deeply committed to the Bridgeton world becoming more diverse and inclusive." So what does Michael becoming Michaela mean to you?

JQ: It just means that more people will be able to see themselves in a story about joy and happy endings, truly. I hear there are a lot of readers who are upset, and they have made themselves known, and while I think some of them are truly homophobic, I think some of them truly just loved the story and wanted it to remain the way that they loved — unfortunately, now they're getting called homophobic, so there's layers upon layers of things happening there. I'm touched because it's amazing to have written something that resonates so deeply with people, but the book isn't going to change. I'm not going to rewrite the book, because I always have that story, and I think it will just be very, very interesting. 

"It just means that more people will be able to see themselves in a story about joy and happy endings." Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

I think that the main themes of this story can remain true. The biggest theme for me while I was writing was the guilt that both Francesca and Michael felt over falling in love with each other, because John was Francesca's beloved husband, and John was Michael's beloved best friend and cousin, so they felt deeply guilty falling in love with each other. That was the big inner struggle. I haven't seen the script yet, but I have every faith that it will remain true to the story. I don't see why gender flipping a character would change that.

SC: I wholeheartedly agree. You wrote the books in the 2000s and since then, and the release of the Netflix series, fandom has changed on the internet. It must be very strange or interesting for you to see these debates, ships, and loves for these characters that you wrote over two decades ago. How does the internet change how you see characters you created?

JQ: I wouldn't say it changes, it's just very interesting. I guess one thing that really surprised me was you have these fandoms, the ships — people have their special couples that they love so much — and usually, the Simon/Daphne people are pretty quiet, but the Kanthony, Benophie, and Polin people, I mean, they go at it with each other. And I'm just like guys, everybody gets a happy ending… but I just stay out of it.

Choose your fighter: Saphne, Kanthony, Polin, Benophie. Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

SC: One of my favorite things about An Offer from a Gentleman is that although the connection with Jane Austen and Bridgerton is alluded to, the Mr Darcy legacy is real in Bridgerton. You have this frankly hilarious scene [in the book] when Benedict needs to 'control himself' so much that he plunges himself into icy water. I wanted to ask you, what is it about Regency romance and bodies of water, what is going on here?

JQ: Well, you couldn't take a cold shower! I actually remember I was writing my first book [The Duke and I], and the main character thinks, 'I need a cold shower,' and then all of a sudden's like… That probably was in there for three days before I was like, wait a minute, they don't have cold showers, what's he gonna do? 

"You couldn't take a cold shower!" Credit: Liam Daniel / Netflix

SC: That is superb. Obviously, you are an iconic part of the "yearnaissance," this never-ending love for yearning that often accompanies Regency romance. We've got romance bookshops popping up all over the world with historical fiction sections. Dating apps even saw a rise in the 2020s of the mention of 'courting' in dating bios, which is wild. Why do you think that Regency romance, in particular, never goes out of fashion?

JQ: I think that it is far enough in the past that we can romanticise it and give it a fairy tale quality that say, we couldn't for… I mean, I love reading novels set in World War I or World War II, but I think that's too close. It is hard to romanticize that time period in that way.

I'm sure I've written a book where everything could have been solved if somebody had a mobile phone. And we can allow for characters to behave in ways that wouldn't necessarily work today, like the workplace issue. Sophie doesn't have the kind of options she would have today, so when Benedict's really pushing hard to get her a job in his mother's house, it's because she really doesn't have any other options. Also it's modern enough that we can give characters hopes, dreams, foibles, and emotions that feel just generally familiar to us. One of the big things of Benedict's character is he feels like he's not seen as an individual, that he's just seen as the "number two" Bridgerton. With Penelope, you had a character who felt like she knew who she was on the inside, but she did not know how to be that person on the outside. I think a lot of people resonate with that today and so I think that works.

"I'm sure I've written a book where everything could have been solved if somebody had a mobile phone."

If you went farther back in time to say, medieval times, I think there's a religiosity and mysticism to the world that changes the way we view it, that makes characters' thoughts, dreams, and hopes a little bit too foreign. So it's really the sweet spot. 

SC: I have read that you are into sports romance. 

JQ: I like some of them, yeah.

SC: The whole Heated Rivalry phenomenon that's happened, I'm just saying that there's a high stakes game of pall mall in The Viscount Who Loved Me. Is there room for a sports romance?

JQ: I don't think it's my wheelhouse as a writer. I think I'm a sports romance reader. I quite like Tessa Bailey, in fact, I know I've known her online for a while, and I finally got to meet her in person recently, because I did a book signing in New York City and she was my conversation partner. She's really fun, I like her a lot. 

SC: You've written over 40 books. Where do you write?

JQ: I write in a number of different spots. I often write in cafes. I often will also just go away for a week or two to a hotel or resort somewhere where I'm all by myself and nobody can bother me, and I don't have to get up at a specific time to get my kids to school — although that's not an issue anymore, because they're grown. So it's a combination of things. I don't have a set writing schedule, and if I did, I'd probably get an awful lot more done.

Bridgerton is now streaming on Netflix.

The Deluxe Collector’s Editions of the first three Bridgerton titles — The Duke and I, The Viscount Who Loved Me and An Offer From A Gentleman – are available in hardback (Piatkus, £25).

Featured Video For You Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley reveal the real surprise in 'Hamnet'

I was a lost puppy in my early days on Grindr, especially as I tried to ditch the juvenile online abbreviations I’d been using for years. Gone were the days of “ur”. As a wide-eyed, new college freshman, I was more “literate” than ever. These were the times of spelling the whole word out: “you’re.” 

After my first Grindr download, I realized acronyms like gh, gen, ff, ws, poz, and pnp were being thrown around everywhere, but I didn't think it was necessary to learn them. Let me be clear: it was, and it still is. It took a few weeks until someone asked me if I wanted to “parTy”. A spelling error, I had assumed. My iPhone keyboard sometimes does that, too. But, I was an eighteen-year-old first-year college student living on my own for the first time. What a stupid fucking question. Hell yes, I like to party!

SEE ALSO: All your Grindr questions, answered

It took one Google search to realize that I was right, I do like to party… but I absolutely do not like to parTy (which is a reference to drug use). That’s when it hit me. To stay safe, I actually needed to understand these terms, something I’d been innocently ignoring since I first joined the app. Knowing them is how you avoid ending up in a situation you don’t want to be in.

But, why are people using acronyms and terms on Grindr to begin with? The short answer: speed. Acronyms and terms are quick. They get the point across efficiently, even with the learning curve. It minimizes the need for longer, direct conversations. I think it’s safe to say that the vast majority of people using these terms aren’t looking to beat around the bush. They want to meet up right now

Acronyms and terms are also used on Grindr for discretion, which exists for two reasons: safety and plausible deniability. 

Using an acronym for safety might include why a trans person would use a term such as “ftm” (female to male), “mtf” (male to female), or “t4t” (trans for trans). These acronyms enhance safety for trans people meeting strangers online by providing a shorthand for identity and intent.

Plausible deniability, on the other hand, is where things get a little more illicit. Acronyms are often used to bypass moderation for topics that would otherwise result in a ban, including the use of illegal drugs. Codewords allow users to discuss illegal activities with enough ambiguity to claim they were talking about something else entirely. It’s ridiculously problematic, but it is rather foolproof.

Grindr   Learn More at Grindr Grindr’s most-used acronyms and terms in 2026

As language shifts, so does the coded shorthand used on Grindr. Some terminology seen on the app ten years ago might not have much pertinence anymore. Whether you’re new to Grindr in 2026 or just need a little bit of a cheat sheet to hold onto, here are the most common acronyms and terms you'll encounter and what they signify.

SEE ALSO: The best gay dating apps of 2026: Grindr is still king, even if we wish it weren't

• anon: anonymous; interest in anonymous sex

• bb: bareback; raw sex without condom-use

• bear: bear; a subculture of gay men with typically larger, hairier bodies

• bttm: bottom; one who prefers to be on the receiving end of anal sex

• cd: crossdresser; a man who dresses up as a woman during (and occasionally not during) sexual acts

• discreet: discreet; someone not publicly out as gay/trans/etc. looking to partake in sexual acts and conversation on a secretive level

• dl: down low; essentially means the exact same thing as above

• dp: double penetration; exactly what you think it is

• ff: fisting; someone either into fisting/wanting to be fisted (you can ask more about who’s taking which side in the DMs)

• ftm: female to male; a person who was assigned female at birth, who now identifies as male 

• fwb: friends with benefits; a friend you can f*ck

• gen: generous; someone looking a financial arrangement, typically involving payment for a sexual encounter

• gh: gloryhole; a typically anonymous encounter involving oral and/or anal sex through a hole in a wall or sheet

• host: host; A user who has their own place and can accommodate guests for a hookup

• into: into; a quicker way to ask someone, “what are you into sexually?”, meaning the person asking does not care that you like to hike and play ultimate frisbee

• jo: jerking off; someone interest in mutual masturbation with a partner

• jock: jock; a man with a muscular/athletic body who is typically into fitness

• ltr: long-term relationship; someone with interest in pursuing a romantic connection

• mtf: male to female;  assigned male at birth, now identifying as female 

• npnc: no pic, no chat; someone with no interest in chatting with someone who is unable to provide a photo of their face

• nsa: no strings attached; a sexual/physical connection with no romantic connection

• otter: otter; a hairier gay man with a slim, lean, or more athletic build

• parTy: chemsex; refers to sex involving drug use, specifically "tina" (crystal meth), with the capitalized "T" serving as a coded signal for the substance

• pnp: party and play; broader term that can include various substances to enhance sexual experiences

• poz: HIV+; a term to signify an HIV+ person

• rn: right now; interest in meeting up for sex as soon as possible

• side: side; a user with preference to sexual encounters that don't involve penetration

• t4t: trans for trans; a trans person looking for encounters with another trans person

• top: top; one who prefers to be on the giving end of anal sex

• twink: twink; a hairless, leaner, younger gay man

• twunk: twunk; a hairless, more athletically-built gay man

• uc: uncut; someone with an uncircumcised penis

• u=u: undetectable = untransmittable; medically proven status meaning those on sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART) with an undetectable HIV viral load cannot sexually transmit the virus to someone without HIV

• vers: versatile; someone who enjoys being both on the receiving and giving end during anal sex

• ws: watersports; interest in urine-play during sexual experiences

• wya: where you at; used to quickly determine a person’s location before or during a meetup

Should I be using acronyms and terms on Grindr?

Grindr may be built for fast connections, but navigating the app effectively requires understanding the specific acronyms and terms users rely on. So, do you need to use them? Technically, no, you don’t, but you should absolutely be familiar with what most of these mean when using the app. If you ever encounter an unfamiliar term or request, a quick Google search is a perfectly normal way to stay informed. And trust me, knowing the lingo will help you steer clear of some very uncomfortable situations.

Grindr   Learn More at Grindr

The poster for the play Data sports a foreboding warning: "The data is out there. The danger is real."

That tagline is no exaggeration. Data, written by Matthew Libby, directed by Tyne Rafaeli, and now playing Off Broadway at New York's Lucille Lortel Theatre, deals in all-too-real concerns. Data privacy, AI acceleration, immigration... It's all on the table.

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Data follows Maneesh (Karan Brar), a brilliant programmer at Silicon Valley company Athena Technologies. When he joins the data analytics team, he learns the truth of their top-secret project. Athena is competing for a government contract to (spoiler alert!) work with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on a new form of AI-powered immigrant surveillance.

Watching the play unfold, it's impossible to separate its story from current events. Not only are Data's themes of shady tech companies and surveillance especially relevant, but some elements of its premise are coming to life in real time. In 2025, months after Data's 2024 run at Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enlisted tech company Palantir to create an AI- and data mining-powered platform to track immigrants. In 2026, Palantir developed ELITE, an app that uses data from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to pinpoint neighborhoods to raid. Both projects feel ripped straight from Athena's internal memos.

These kinds of real-world events have had a direct impact on audiences' reaction to Data, playwright Libby and star Brar told Mashable during a joint video interview.

"In D.C., we were very much in the heart of it, of the people who would be engaging in this contract, whether that be consultants or government contractors," Brar said. "I think we saw a lot of Patagonia vests and blue shirts in the lobby, and a lot of people being like, 'Yeah, this rings really close to home with what I'm doing.'"

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The Arena Stage production of Data began Oct. 31, 2024, mere days before Donald Trump's 2024 re-election. Before the election, Libby recalled that there was never an audible audience reaction to Data's first DHS mention.

"After the election, there was a reaction every single time," he said. "One of the things that that made me realize was the extent to which people were going to be bringing the real world into the space."

That realization impacted how Libby approached how he prepared Data for its New York run.

Karan Brar and Sophia Lillis in "Data." Credit: T. Charles Erickson

"The play never mentions Trump, the play never mentions ICE. We never even mention what political party is in power," Libby said. "But a lot of the rewrites we were doing were just writing more consciously towards the fact that people are going to have associations coming into this."

Some of Data's evolution stemmed from the public's growing knowledge of the relationship between the government and big tech companies. Libby began writing Data in 2018, years before AI was the hot-button topic on every tech CEO's lips. Initially, he hoped to give audiences "a peek into the black box of this world [of Silicon Valley]." It was a world he was familiar with, having attended Stanford and even interviewed for an internship with Palantir. Now, though, audiences have more awareness of that world.

"One of the big differences between fall of 2024 and right now is that everyone saw tech titans bend the knee to the current administration," Libby said. "Everyone knows now that there is a connection."

SEE ALSO: Some AI users are starting to consider themselves 'AI-sexual'

Brar added: "Before I worked with Matthew, I didn't know what Palantir really was. I've learned about that side of Silicon Valley and these tech companies whose whole mandate is 'We solve problems,' and now the public is very aware of that. I think that has become a massive paradigm shift for the way that something like [Data] is perceived."

Data's ending was also reworked between its D.C. and New York runs.

"The ending is, in some ways, the thing that has been the most reactive to world events," Libby said. "As I've realized that the play did have a growing resonance with the real world, I was feeling a lot of pressure on myself to work through how I felt about it."

Data's original ending was "plottier," with more of a corporate espionage feel, something borne from Libby's feeling that the characters needed to "hashtag resist and solve the problem."

Yet as he worked on it further, he zeroed in on Maneesh's core dilemma: Does he act on what he knows about Athena? Does he risk upending his entire life and career to do what he knows is right?

"There's power in just watching a person make a decision for the first time in a long time," Libby said of the new ending. "It doesn't matter what's going to happen offstage. What matters is that this guy has broken out of a cycle of dehumanization. The more I realized that, the more I was like, 'That feels to me like the thing that I am trying to live right now, at this moment in history. How do I feel everything? How do I not dehumanize myself?'"

These calls for action persist after Data has ended, when its cast members take their bows. In New York, they return to the stage wearing anti-ICE pins. The show's first preview took place Jan. 9, two days after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renée Good in Minneapolis. Brar recalled that on Jan. 24, the day Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer Raymundo Gutierrez fatally shot Alex Pretti, Data's evening audience was especially subdued.

The cast's anti-ICE pins were initially just pen on Scotch tape, improvised by Brar's co-star Brandon Flynn. Later, the cast received a donation of more formal, visible pins, and they've since become a permanent part of the bows.

"I'm so grateful that we have a creative team that's so aligned and together about what we're saying that we can bring ourselves into the bows and make a statement like that," Brar said. "As someone who's first-generation, it is hard for me not to continuously think about what the institution of ICE represents. The most patriotic Americans that I've ever met in my life are actually immigrants. The way my father has spoken about this country — his hope, his fears, his inspiration — is what America is. Something like ICE is the antithesis of that, and [wearing the pins] felt instinctual to do and obvious to do. It feels like a staple that will stay."

Brar concluded: "It's been really powerful doing it every night. I know that sounds cheesy, because we're doing art and people are dealing with real-life consequences, but it is nice to feel a little bit fearless in a world that is so fearful."

Data is playing at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City through March 29.