Yesterday's Connections answers (#1250): Thursday, November 12, 2026
Missed yesterday's NYT Connections — puzzle (#1250) from Thursday, November 12, 2026? Every answer is below, behind a single reveal. Solving today instead? Nothing here spoils it — today's Connections hints are here.
★ Yesterday's answers, revealed (#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.
The puzzle, explained
The purple group was sneaky because each word starts with a Best Picture winner—GLADIATOR, MARTY, MOONLIGHT, and ROCKY—but they're all disguised as normal compound words or phrases you'd never suspect. MARTY MCFLY was probably the hardest to see through since it looks like a character name (and it is!), but it's really MARTY + MCFLY. The blue group laid some traps: YOU'RE TOAST and COMEDY ROAST both have "roast" energy and could feel like they belong together, while ARCTIC CHAR and DOC BROWN might've tempted you toward the purple group since they contain actual movie/character names. The green group's SHIFT DRESS was the trickiest of the easier ones since it doesn't immediately scream "clothing item with a fashion-related first word" like CHANGE PURSE does.
Want the full walkthrough?
Yesterday's page with the complete tiered hints is at Connections November 12, 2026 — hints & answers, and every past puzzle lives in the Connections archive.
Playing today's puzzle? NYT Connections Hints Today → — spoiler-safe tiers from a gentle nudge to the full solution. Bookmark this page for whenever you miss a day.