The New York Times Connections
The New York Times Connections

NEW YORK — The New York Times' Connections puzzle for Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, is game No. 1,249. This guide gives the full word list, hints for each group, and then the answers and how they fit together.

Spoiler warning: The answers appear below the hints.

How Connections works

Players see a grid of 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four that share a hidden link. The groups are color-coded by difficulty: yellow is easiest, followed by green, blue and purple, the hardest. Each puzzle has only one correct solution, and players can make four mistakes before the game ends.

Today's 16 words

SHREDDER, HERBAL, PATOOT, WHOOPIE CUSHION, GREEN, FOLK, BUBBLE, ROUGH, AFTERNOON, RHEOSTATS, TRADITIONAL, TIRE, SAND TRAP, HOLISTIC, AIR MATTRESS, TEE BOX

Watch out for red herrings

Several words fit more than one possible group. FOLK, GREEN and TIRE all have more than one meaning. GREEN could suggest herbal or natural products as well as golf, and FOLK could suggest music as easily as medicine. Make sure all four words in a group fit before submitting.

Hints for each group

Group 1: Think about different approaches to treating illness. Group 2: Fore! Picture a round of 18 holes. Group 3: Balloons would fit here too. Group 4: Look closely at the end of each word. Something reads the same forward and backward.

Today's Connections answers

KINDS OF MEDICINE: FOLK, HERBAL, HOLISTIC, TRADITIONAL

These are terms for approaches to healing outside, or alongside, conventional Western medicine. Folk medicine is remedies passed down through generations, herbal medicine uses plants, holistic medicine treats the whole person, and traditional medicine covers long-established practices such as traditional Chinese medicine.

PARTS OF A GOLF COURSE: GREEN, ROUGH, SAND TRAP, TEE BOX

A golfer starts each hole from the tee box, tries to stay out of the rough and away from the sand trap, also called a bunker, and finishes on the green.

THINGS FILLED WITH AIR: AIR MATTRESS, BUBBLE, TIRE, WHOOPIE CUSHION

All four need air to work. The whoopie cushion, the classic prank toy, is the most playful entry.

ENDING IN PALINDROMES: AFTERNOON, PATOOT, RHEOSTATS, SHREDDER

This is likely the hardest group because the link is hidden in the spelling. Each word ends in a palindrome, a sequence of letters that reads the same in both directions:

AFTERNOON ends in NOON. PATOOT ends in TOOT. RHEOSTATS ends in STATS. SHREDDER ends in REDDER.

A rheostat is an electrical component used to adjust current, as in old light dimmers. "Patoot" is a slang word for the backside.

How to approach today's puzzle

Many players start with the most obvious group to clear the board. Today, the golf terms are a good first target, since GREEN, ROUGH, SAND TRAP and TEE BOX have few other uses here.

Once those are gone, the medicine and air-filled groups become clearer, and the four leftover words, which seem unrelated, make up the palindrome group. That's a common Connections pattern: the hardest group often hides in plain sight once everything else is solved.

Tips for future puzzles

Look for wordplay. The hardest groups often rely on hidden words, homophones, prefixes or suffixes rather than meaning. Solve by elimination. If a group is unclear, solve the others first. Avoid early guesses. With only four mistakes allowed, it's better to be sure before submitting. Watch for words with double meanings. Puzzle editors often include words that fit more than one category.

Bonus puzzle

The New York Times' smaller Connections 3x3 puzzle on Wednesday had three groups. WELCOMING: CORDIAL, GRACIOUS, WARM. PHANTOM: APPARITION, SHADE, SPIRIT. ENDING IN HEADWEAR: CHAMBERET, NIGHTCAP, SUPERVISOR.

Connections is free on the New York Times Games website and app. A new puzzle comes out every day at midnight local time.