NYT Connections answers today: Friday, November 13, 2026 (#1251)

Updated: Friday, November 13, 2026 · Hints reviewed by Omer Liban · New puzzle daily at midnight US Eastern Time (5am UK). · Puzzle editor: Wyna Liu.

All four groups for today's NYT Connections puzzle (#1251) — yellow through purple, each connection explained — behind the single reveal below. Still want the win? Today's tiered Connections hints give it away one careful step at a time instead.

New to Connections? The four answer groups are colour-coded by difficulty: 🟡 yellow is the easiest, then 🟢 green, 🔵 blue, and 🟣 purple — the trickiest, usually built on wordplay. The hints below use those colours.

★ Today's full Connections answers (#1251)

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Use the internet”. The words: BROWSE, SCROLL, SEARCH, SURF.
Green (easy) — the connection is “Media attention”. The words: COVERAGE, EXPOSURE, PRESS, PUBLICITY.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “Things that are towed”. The words: BARGE, GLIDER, TRAILER, WATER SKIER.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “Brain ___”. The words: FREEZE, TEASER, TRUST, WAVES.

Today's puzzle, explained

The purple group's brilliance lies in the fact that BRAIN FREEZE, BRAIN TEASER, BRAIN TRUST, and BRAIN WAVES all complete the phrase "BRAIN ___," but they're disguised as completely different concepts—especially since FREEZE, TEASER, and WAVES could each fit other categories. FREEZE was probably the trickiest bait because it seemed to belong with GLIDER and TRAILER as things that get towed (since water skis cause brain freeze, right?), but it's actually just part of the compound phrase. TEASER could fool you into thinking it's media-related like COVERAGE and PUBLICITY, and WAVES might have seemed like it belonged nowhere until the wordplay clicked.

Yesterday's Connections answers

★ Yesterday's answers (Nov 12, #1250)

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “"gadzooks!"”. The words: GOOD HEAVENS, GREAT SCOTT, HOLY SMOKES, JIMINY CRICKET.
Green (easy) — the connection is “Starting with variations”. The words: CHANGE PURSE, FLUX CAPACITOR, SHIFT DRESS, SWING SET.
Blue (tricky) — the connection is “Ending in ways to cook things”. The words: ARCTIC CHAR, COMEDY ROAST, DOC BROWN, YOU'RE TOAST.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay) — the connection is “Starting with best picture oscar winners”. The words: GLADIATOR SANDALS, MARTY MCFLY, MOONLIGHT SONATA, ROCKY ROAD.

Missed it? Yesterday's full hints & answers →

Prefer to earn it? Today's Connections hints → — one answer per group, then the themes, then everything. New puzzle daily at midnight US Eastern Time (5am UK). Bookmark this page for tomorrow's answers.

More of today's puzzles

Every past Connections answer → · How to play Connections (and win more) →