Another day, another sixteen words that almost make sense. This is our guide to Connections #1,250 for Thursday, November 12, 2026: hints first, categories second, the full solution last.
Our read of the board: 16 tiles are phrases rather than single words; two of the category names are long, which tends to mean a specific, lateral theme. 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.
GREAT SCOTTROCKY ROADYOU'RE TOASTFLUX CAPACITORMOONLIGHT SONATAJIMINY CRICKETMARTY MCFLYCOMEDY ROASTDOC BROWNCHANGE PURSEARCTIC CHARGOOD HEAVENSSHIFT DRESSGLADIATOR SANDALSHOLY SMOKESSWING SET
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 ", one wordGreen: starts with S, 3 wordsBlue: starts with E, 6 wordsPurple: starts with S, 6 words
Level 2 · One word from each groupYellow contains GOOD HEAVENSGreen contains FLUX CAPACITORBlue contains DOC BROWNPurple contains ROCKY ROAD
Level 3 · The category namesYellow category
"GADZOOKS!"
Green category
STARTING WITH VARIATIONS
Blue category
ENDING IN WAYS TO COOK THINGS
Purple category
STARTING WITH BEST PICTURE OSCAR WINNERS
Today's Connections answers
The full solution to Connections #1,250 is behind the button, yellow to purple. Nothing is shown until you click.
▶ Reveal the answers to Connections #1,250
"GADZOOKS!"
GOOD HEAVENS, GREAT SCOTT, HOLY SMOKES, JIMINY CRICKET
Yellow · the most straightforward group
STARTING WITH VARIATIONS
CHANGE PURSE, FLUX CAPACITOR, SHIFT DRESS, SWING SET
Green · usually a step harder
ENDING IN WAYS TO COOK THINGS
ARCTIC CHAR, COMEDY ROAST, DOC BROWN, YOU'RE TOAST
Blue · where the red herrings start to bite
STARTING WITH BEST PICTURE OSCAR WINNERS
GLADIATOR SANDALS, MARTY MCFLY, MOONLIGHT SONATA, ROCKY ROAD
Purple · the trickiest, often wordplay
Yesterday's Connections
Connections #1,249 on Wednesday, November 11 had these four groups (our full write-up is still up):
KINDS OF MEDICINEFOLK, HERBAL, HOLISTIC, TRADITIONAL
PARTS OF A GOLF COURSEGREEN, ROUGH, SAND TRAP, TEE BOX
THINGS FILLED WITH AIRAIR MATTRESS, BUBBLE, TIRE, WHOOPIE CUSHION
ENDING IN PALINDROMESAFTERNOON, PATOOT, RHEOSTATS, SHREDDER
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.
Come back tomorrow for Connections #1,251, and find today's Wordle and the rest of the Puzzles desk in the section menu.