NYT Connections Hints 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.

This page has every level of help for the NYT Connections puzzle #1251 of Friday, November 13, 2026: 3 spoiler-free hint tiers that narrow things down step by step, followed by the complete answers with explanations — each behind its own tap-to-reveal card.

In a hurry? Jump straight to today's answers ↓ · Answers-only page →

Stuck on today's Connections? Work through the hint tiers below — each one gives away a little more, so you can get exactly as much help as you want and still keep the win.

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 Connections hints (November 13, 2026)

1One word from each group

Yellow (easiest): one of its words is “BROWSE”.
Green (easy): one of its words is “COVERAGE”.
Blue (tricky): one of its words is “BARGE”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): one of its words is “FREEZE”.

2Category hints (no answers)

Yellow (easiest): the theme is “Use the internet”.
Green (easy): the theme is “Media attention”.
Blue (tricky): the theme is “Things that are towed”.
Purple (trickiest, usually wordplay): the theme is “Brain ___”.

3One full group revealed

Yellow (easiest) — the connection is “Use the internet”, and its four words are: BROWSE, SCROLL, SEARCH, SURF.

Connections answers — November 13, 2026 (#1251)

★Today's full Connections answers, explained

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 Connections hints & answers (Nov 12, #1250) →

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Connections — common questions

What time does NYT Connections reset?

A new Connections puzzle is released daily at midnight US Eastern Time — that's 5am in the UK (4am during US daylight-saving transitions) and 12:00am for US East Coast players.

What do the Connections colours mean?

Yellow is the easiest group, then green, then blue, and purple is the trickiest — purple usually involves wordplay such as homophones, hidden words or 'words before/after X'.

How many mistakes are allowed in Connections?

You can make four mistakes before the puzzle ends. If you see 'one away…', exactly three of your four selected words belong together.

Previous Connections puzzles

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