Sixteen words, four groups, four mistakes allowed. Here is our companion to Connections #1,240 for Monday, November 2, 2026, with the hints in order from gentle to giveaway.
Our read of the board: 8 tiles are phrases rather than single words. As always, the purple group is the one built to mislead; if you see an obvious category of five or six words, that is the trap.
Today's board
The sixteen words, in the order they appear on the board. No spoilers here.
MEDICINE CABINETCOMPASSFOG MACHINEINCENSEWATERFALLDISCO BALLNETTLEHIKING BOOTSDRESSING ROOMDRY ICEWATER BOTTLEWIND UPPIQUEKALEIDOSCOPEHUMIDIFIERBACKPACK
Hints for today's Connections
Three levels of help. Level one nudges, level two points, level three names the categories one at a time.
Level 1 · The categories, by first letterYellow: starts with T, 6 wordsGreen: starts with A, one wordBlue: starts with M, 2 wordsPurple: starts with T, 3 words
Level 2 · One word from each groupYellow contains BACKPACKGreen contains NETTLEBlue contains HUMIDIFIERPurple contains MEDICINE CABINET
Level 3 · The category namesYellow category
THINGS TO BRING ON A TREK
Green category
ANGER
Blue category
MIST MAKERS
Purple category
THINGS WITH MIRRORS
Today's Connections answers
The full solution to Connections #1,240 is behind the button, yellow to purple. Nothing is shown until you click.
▶ Reveal the answers to Connections #1,240
THINGS TO BRING ON A TREK
BACKPACK, COMPASS, HIKING BOOTS, WATER BOTTLE
Yellow · the most straightforward group
ANGER
INCENSE, NETTLE, PIQUE, WIND UP
Green · usually a step harder
MIST MAKERS
DRY ICE, FOG MACHINE, HUMIDIFIER, WATERFALL
Blue · where the red herrings start to bite
THINGS WITH MIRRORS
DISCO BALL, DRESSING ROOM, KALEIDOSCOPE, MEDICINE CABINET
Purple · the trickiest, often wordplay
Yesterday's Connections
Connections #1,239 on Sunday, November 1 had these four groups (our full write-up is still up):
KINDS OF TEETHBICUSPID, CANINE, INCISOR, MOLAR
KINDS OF LOVEBROTHERLY, PUPPY, SELF, UNREQUITED
ENTHUSIASTFIEND, HEAD, HOUND, LOVER
SYNONYMS FOR "SOAKED" WITH FIRST LETTER CHANGEDDOGGY, MATURATED, TRENCHED, TRIPPING
How Connections works
Sixteen words hide four groups of four that share something in common. Pick four, submit, and the row locks in if you are right; four wrong submissions end the game. The groups are colour-coded by difficulty, yellow being the most direct and purple the most devious, and most boards include at least one word that could plausibly sit in two groups. Today's puzzle was edited by Wyna Liu at The New York Times.
A reliable habit: before submitting anything, find the five or six words that seem to belong to one obvious category and work out which of them is the imposter. Solving the strange group first is often easier than solving the obvious one.
That is Monday's board. If purple got you, you are in good company; see you tomorrow for #1,241.