A little help. Your own aha.

Connections #1249
hints & answers for November 11, 2026

Keep the satisfaction of the solve. Get a nudge for one group, reveal a category, or check the answers at your own pace.

This reference always shows November 11, 2026. It is released in at least one timezone; every answer stays closed until you reveal it.

Which group has you stuck?

Pick a colour. Reveal one step at a time.

Yellow group

Straightforward

1/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with F, H, H and T. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

FOLK belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

KINDS OF MEDICINE

Reveal all four words
  • FOLK
  • HERBAL
  • HOLISTIC
  • TRADITIONAL

Green group

A little trickier

2/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with G, R, S and T. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

GREEN belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

PARTS OF A GOLF COURSE

Reveal all four words
  • GREEN
  • ROUGH
  • SAND TRAP
  • TEE BOX

Blue group

More challenging

3/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with A, B, T and W. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

AIR MATTRESS belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

THINGS FILLED WITH AIR

Reveal all four words
  • AIR MATTRESS
  • BUBBLE
  • TIRE
  • WHOOPIE CUSHION

Purple group

Wordplay & surprises

4/4
First-letter clue

Look for four entries beginning with A, P, R and S. These initials are in sorted order.

Show one word

AFTERNOON belongs in this group.

Reveal the category

ENDING IN PALINDROMES

Reveal all four words
  • AFTERNOON
  • PATOOT
  • RHEOSTATS
  • SHREDDER
Show categories only
  • Yellow: KINDS OF MEDICINE
  • Green: PARTS OF A GOLF COURSE
  • Blue: THINGS FILLED WITH AIR
  • Purple: ENDING IN PALINDROMES

Ready for the full solution?

All four categories and their words, together.

Reveal all four answers

Yellow

KINDS OF MEDICINE

FOLK · HERBAL · HOLISTIC · TRADITIONAL

Green

PARTS OF A GOLF COURSE

GREEN · ROUGH · SAND TRAP · TEE BOX

Blue

THINGS FILLED WITH AIR

AIR MATTRESS · BUBBLE · TIRE · WHOOPIE CUSHION

Purple

ENDING IN PALINDROMES

AFTERNOON · PATOOT · RHEOSTATS · SHREDDER

Other spelling matches on this board

No alternative four-entry spelling match was found by the anagram, palindrome, shared-start and shared-ending checks. Semantic overlaps may exist; these checks do not assess them.

These are checked spelling comparisons, not claims about the editor's intent or the most common player mistakes.

This puzzle’s recorded solution

The date and puzzle number identify this exact board. Use the individual group controls to compare its recorded categories and words, then return to the archive to find another puzzle.

About the answers and hints

Categories and answers follow the recorded NYT puzzle. Our hints are independent: some are original category clues, while others give the first letters of the four words. Each hint is labelled so you can choose how much help to take.

Group colours follow the puzzle’s yellow, green, blue and purple order, from the most straightforward to the trickiest. Your own experience may differ. The reference tiles may appear in a different order from your game. Picture puzzles have separately hidden descriptions, since a description can give away the wordplay.

The daily page starts with the UTC puzzle date and, with JavaScript enabled, checks the puzzle for your local time zone. Every reveal starts closed when the date changes. Play Connections at The New York Times or contact us about a correction.