On your last attempt, and don’t want to risk losing your NYT Connections streak? We’ve got some pointers to guide you to an easy win. As you scroll down, you’ll see some general hints to nudge you in the direction of the answers. Then, we’ll give you one entry from each group, followed by the list of themes. Finally, the answers and their explanations will be waiting for you at the end of the page. So, let’s dive into all the hints, clues, and answers to today’s NYT Connections (#1,251, November 13, 2026).
In This Article
What is Connections?
After Wordle, Connections is the New York Times’ most popular word game. The rules are simple. You need to find the tiles with a common theme and group them into 4 groups of 4. The 16-tile grid is designed with an increasing level of difficulty. The Yellow group is the easiest to spot, followed by Green, Blue, and Purple. The misdirects and red herrings can trip you up, but they also make the puzzle more fun. You can play Connections in the NYT Games app or on the NYT website.
Some tips to solve Connections
Look for the obvious patterns: Not every category in the puzzle is confusing. The Yellow and Green category words are relatively easy to spot. However, if something seems too obvious, it could be a red herring. Typically, the first two categories comprise verbs and adjectives. The misdirects are often nouns.
Double-check your submissions: ‘Do not overthink’ is usually a good tip for solving most puzzles, but it doesn’t really apply to Connections. Before submitting a set of words, you should always check whether they fit somewhere else too.
Hit a dead end? Use the shuffle button: The shuffle button at the bottom of the grid exists for a reason. Placing the words in different positions can spark new connections. Think of it as a mental refresh. New patterns will emerge, and you may be able to find a breakthrough.
Tackle the Purple category with extra caution: The Connections team is known to serve up the toughest and most unexpected words for the Purple category. Here are some of the common tropes that you should look out for:
- Homophones (For example: ‘Where’, ‘Wear’, ‘Ware’, and ‘Weir’)
- Words within words (For example: ‘Slip’, ‘Hear’, ‘Keyes’, and ‘Undiagnosed’ could be ‘Words containing parts of the face’)
- Words minus a letter (For example: ‘Anther’, ‘Easel’, ‘Hark’, and ‘Lama’ could be ‘Animals minus starting letter’)
- Words preceded or followed by another word (For example: ‘Face’, ‘Sports’, ‘Note’, and ‘Year’ could be ‘____ Book’)
Here’s your grid for today
- PRESS
- BARGE
- SCROLL
- WATER SKIER
- SURF
- TEASER
- WAVES
- TRAILER
- TRUST
- EXPOSURE
- SEARCH
- FREEZE
- COVERAGE
- GLIDER
- PUBLICITY
- BROWSE
Hints for NYT Connections (#1,251) November 13, 2026
Let’s get you started with some general, spoiler-free hints.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Logging on.
- 🟢Green Group: In the news.
- 🔵Blue Group: Attached to the back of a vehicle.
- 🟣Purple Group: Preceded by something cerebral.
One Entry Per Category (Contains Spoilers)
Can’t seem to find an in? We’ll give you one word from each category.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Browse.
- 🟢Green Group: Coverage.
- 🔵Blue Group: Barge.
- 🟣Purple Group: Freeze.
List of Themes (Major Spoilers)
Maybe getting to know the common themes among the words will help you spot them faster. Here are all the categories for today.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Use The Internet.
- 🟢Green Group: Media Attention.
- 🔵Blue Group: Things That Are Towed.
- 🟣Purple Group: Brain ___.
Answers to NYT Connections (#1,251) Today (November 13, 2026)
Close to waving the white flag? Fine, we’ll give you the answers.
- 🟡Yellow Group: Browse, Scroll, Search, Surf. (Use The Internet)
Logging on and visiting websites or scrolling daily feeds.
- 🟢Green Group: Coverage, Exposure, Press, Publicity. (Media Attention)
Getting in the news and grabbing headlines.
- 🔵Blue Group: Barge, Glider, Trailer, Water Skier. (Things That Are Towed)
These things are attached to the back of vehicles.
- 🟣Purple Group: Freeze, Teaser, Trust, Waves. (Brain ___)
Brain freeze – Sharp sensation in the forehead and temples that’s triggered by tasting something cold. Brain teaser – Puzzle. Brain trust – Think tank or advisory group. Brain waves – Electrical waves emitted by neurons.
Answers to yesterday’s puzzle (#1,250, November 12, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Good Heavens, Great Scott, Holy Smokes, Jiminy Cricket. (“Gadzooks!”)
- 🟢Green Group: Change Purse, Flux Capacitor, Shift Dress, Swing Set. (Starting With Variations)
- 🔵Blue Group: Arctic Char, Comedy Roast, Doc Brown, You’re Toast. (Ending in Ways to Cook Things)
- 🟣Purple Group: Gladiator Sandals, Marty McFly, Moonlight Sonata, Rocky Road. (Starting With Best Picture Oscar Winners)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,249 (November 11, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Folk, Herbal, Holistic, Traditional. (Kinds of Medicine)
- 🟢Green Group: Green, Rough, Sand Trap, Tee Box. (Parts of a Golf Course)
- 🔵Blue Group: Air Mattress, Bubble, Tire, Whoopie Cushion. (Things Filled With Air)
- 🟣Purple Group: Afternoon, Patoot, Rheostats, Shredder. (Ending in Palindromes)
Answers to NYT Connections #1,248 (November 10, 2026)
- 🟡Yellow Group: Brouhaha, Foofaraw, Hullabaloo, Kerfuffle. (Hubbub)
- 🟢Green Group: Hyperbole, Metonymy, Onomatopoeia, Oxymoron. (Literary Devices)
- 🔵Blue Group: Apothecary, Haberdasher, Scrivener, Wainwright. (Old-Timey Occupations)
- 🟣Purple Group: Abracadabra, Beekeeper, Invisibility, Protozoology. (Words With Five of One Vowel)
How did other Connectors do today?
NYT’s early testers rated today’s Connections puzzle 2.3 out of 5. This puts it in the medium difficulty level. Let us know how you fared in the comments!
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