NYT Connections #1250 for November 12, 2026 has four color groups and sixteen tiles.
Clues and answers are tucked inside separate closed panels, so you can choose how much help to reveal.
Select a color to see its clue, or use the answer section for the complete solution. Definitions and explanations follow in their own section.
Playing The Athletic's sports puzzle? Sports Edition hints and explanations.
Connections hints (no spoilers)
Yellow
Show hint Hide hint
Familiar exclamations expressing surprise, astonishment or dismay
Green
Show hint Hide hint
Read the opening word of each tile as a term for a change or fluctuation.
Blue
Show hint Hide hint
Each phrase ends with a word that can be a cooking verb, such as charring or browning food.
Purple
Show hint Hide hint
Each phrase opens with a title that won the Best Picture Oscar.
Connections answers — November 12, 2026
Yellow Familiar exclamations expressing surprise, astonishment or dismay Reveal group Hide group
"GADZOOKS!"
- GOOD HEAVENS
- GREAT SCOTT
- HOLY SMOKES
- JIMINY CRICKET
GOOD HEAVENS expresses surprise or dismay, GREAT SCOTT expresses astonishment, HOLY SMOKES marks surprise or excitement, and JIMINY CRICKET is a mild exclamation. All four can stand alone as reactions, matching the exclamatory use of the category title GADZOOKS.
Read this group’s word explanationsGreen Read the opening word of each tile as a term for a change or fluctuation. Reveal group Hide group
STARTING WITH VARIATIONS
- CHANGE PURSE
- FLUX CAPACITOR
- SHIFT DRESS
- SWING SET
The opening words all have senses involving variation. CHANGE is an alteration, FLUX is continual change, SHIFT is a change in position or emphasis, and SWING can mean a change from one attitude or condition to another. These senses connect the first words across four different complete phrases.
Read this group’s word explanationsBlue Each phrase ends with a word that can be a cooking verb, such as charring or browning food. Reveal group Hide group
ENDING IN WAYS TO COOK THINGS
- ARCTIC CHAR
- COMEDY ROAST
- DOC BROWN
- YOU'RE TOAST
Read the final word of every tile as a cooking verb. CHAR means to scorch a surface, ROAST means to cook with dry heat, BROWN means to cook until brown, and TOAST means to heat and brown food such as bread. Each ending supplies a kitchen action within a phrase with another everyday meaning.
Read this group’s word explanationsPurple Each phrase opens with a title that won the Best Picture Oscar. Reveal group Hide group
STARTING WITH BEST PICTURE OSCAR WINNERS
- GLADIATOR SANDALS
- MARTY MCFLY
- MOONLIGHT SONATA
- ROCKY ROAD
The opening words are four films that won the Academy's top picture award. GLADIATOR won at the 2001 Oscars, MARTY at the 1956 Oscars, MOONLIGHT at the 2017 Oscars, and ROCKY at the 1977 Oscars. Each title occupies the first word of a longer tile.
Read this group’s word explanationsWhy these words fit
Read explanations
Full spoilers below: a closer look at every group and the wordplay behind it.
Yellow
"GADZOOKS!"
GOOD HEAVENS expresses surprise or dismay, GREAT SCOTT expresses astonishment, HOLY SMOKES marks surprise or excitement, and JIMINY CRICKET is a mild exclamation. All four can stand alone as reactions, matching the exclamatory use of the category title GADZOOKS.
- GOOD HEAVENS
-
An exclamation of surprise or dismay. It works as a polite stand-in for stronger language rather than as a literal reference to the sky.
- GREAT SCOTT
-
GREAT SCOTT is a fixed exclamation of surprise or wonder. Its use as an interjection supplies the connection to the other three reactions.
- HOLY SMOKES
-
HOLY SMOKES expresses astonishment or excitement. The expression works as a complete reaction.
- JIMINY CRICKET
-
An exclamation of surprise in its own right, also familiar as the name of a character in Pinocchio. As a tile it belongs with the other mild oaths because of its exclamatory use.
Green
STARTING WITH VARIATIONS
The opening words all have senses involving variation. CHANGE is an alteration, FLUX is continual change, SHIFT is a change in position or emphasis, and SWING can mean a change from one attitude or condition to another. These senses connect the first words across four different complete phrases.
- CHANGE PURSE
-
A small pouch for coins, opening with change, a word for alteration or for coins themselves. The compound is a physical object, but the group connection is the opening word.
- FLUX CAPACITOR
-
The FLUX CAPACITOR is a fictional component of the time machine in Back to the Future. FLUX also means constant change or fluctuation, supplying the opening-word connection.
- SHIFT DRESS
-
A SHIFT DRESS has a loose silhouette that hangs straight from the shoulders. SHIFT also means a change in position, direction or emphasis, which supplies this tile's opening-word connection.
- SWING SET
-
A SWING SET has swings suspended from a frame. SWING can also mean a change from one attitude, position or condition to another, the variation sense used by the group.
Blue
ENDING IN WAYS TO COOK THINGS
Read the final word of every tile as a cooking verb. CHAR means to scorch a surface, ROAST means to cook with dry heat, BROWN means to cook until brown, and TOAST means to heat and brown food such as bread. Each ending supplies a kitchen action within a phrase with another everyday meaning.
- ARCTIC CHAR
-
ARCTIC CHAR names a fish. Its final word CHAR also means to scorch a surface, the cooking sense that supplies the group connection.
- COMEDY ROAST
-
A humorous event where a person is teased, ending with roast, which is also a cooking method. The event name and the kitchen verb share the spelling.
- DOC BROWN
-
DOC BROWN is the inventor in Back to the Future. BROWN also means to cook food until brown, so the surname supplies this tile's cooking verb.
- YOU'RE TOAST
-
A teasing way of saying someone is in trouble, ending with toast, which as a verb means to brown bread by heat. The idiom and the cooking verb share the spelling.
Purple
STARTING WITH BEST PICTURE OSCAR WINNERS
The opening words are four films that won the Academy's top picture award. GLADIATOR won at the 2001 Oscars, MARTY at the 1956 Oscars, MOONLIGHT at the 2017 Oscars, and ROCKY at the 1977 Oscars. Each title occupies the first word of a longer tile.
- GLADIATOR SANDALS
-
GLADIATOR SANDALS are strappy footwear. The opening word matches Gladiator, the Best Picture winner at the 2001 Academy Awards.
- MARTY MCFLY
-
MARTY MCFLY is the time-traveling teenager in Back to the Future. His first name matches Marty, the top picture winner at the 1956 Academy Awards.
- MOONLIGHT SONATA
-
MOONLIGHT SONATA is the familiar name of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2. Its opening word matches Moonlight, the Best Picture winner at the 2017 Academy Awards.
- ROCKY ROAD
-
ROCKY ROAD names chocolate, marshmallow and nut confections and an ice cream flavor. Its first word matches Rocky, the Best Picture winner at the 1977 Academy Awards.
How difficult is this puzzle?
Test the first and last words of each longer tile separately. Several entries share a film reference, while their assigned groups use different spelling positions and meanings. Check that the same operation works on all four proposed members.
More Connections answers
Frequently asked questions
What are the four groups in Connections #1250?
The yellow group is exclamations of surprise: GOOD HEAVENS, GREAT SCOTT, HOLY SMOKES, and JIMINY CRICKET. The green group is phrases starting with words for change or fluctuation: CHANGE PURSE, FLUX CAPACITOR, SHIFT DRESS, and SWING SET. The blue group is phrases ending in words that can be cooking verbs: ARCTIC CHAR, COMEDY ROAST, DOC BROWN, and YOU'RE TOAST. The purple group is phrases starting with Best Picture Oscar winners: GLADIATOR SANDALS, MARTY MCFLY, MOONLIGHT SONATA, and ROCKY ROAD.
Why does JIMINY CRICKET belong with GOOD HEAVENS and HOLY SMOKES?
All four yellow tiles are fixed exclamations used to express surprise or dismay. JIMINY CRICKET is also familiar as a character name in Pinocchio, but as a tile it works as a mild oath, which is the shared function that places it with the other exclamations.
How do CHANGE PURSE and SWING SET fit the green group?
The opening words carry the variation meanings. CHANGE means alteration, FLUX means continual change, SHIFT can mean a change in position or emphasis, and SWING can mean a change from one attitude or condition to another. Apply those senses to the first word of each tile.
What makes DOC BROWN a cooking reference in the blue group?
The blue group looks at the final word of each phrase. Brown is a cooking verb meaning to cook food until it darkens, matching char, roast, and toast. Doc Brown is a character name, but the surname supplies the cooking verb.
Which purple tiles hide a Best Picture winner?
GLADIATOR SANDALS opens with Gladiator, which won at the 2001 Oscars. MARTY MCFLY opens with Marty, the 1956 winner. MOONLIGHT SONATA opens with Moonlight, the 2017 winner. ROCKY ROAD opens with Rocky, the 1977 winner. These are ceremony years.
How do the Back to the Future references split across the groups?
FLUX CAPACITOR belongs to green through the variation meaning of FLUX. DOC BROWN belongs to blue through the cooking verb BROWN. MARTY MCFLY belongs to purple through the Oscar-winning film title Marty. Their shared story reference creates an overlap across three separate wordplay rules.
Sources & further reading
Sources & further reading
- The New York Times — Connections
- Merriam-Webster — good heavens
- Collins English Dictionary — great Scott
- Merriam-Webster — holy smoke
- Merriam-Webster — jiminy
- Online Etymology Dictionary — Jiminy and Jiminy cricket
- Disney — Pinocchio
- American Heritage Dictionary — flux
- American Heritage Dictionary — shift
- M&S — a long-sleeved shift dress
- American Heritage Dictionary — swing
- American Heritage Dictionary — char
- American Heritage Dictionary — roast
- American Heritage Dictionary — brown
- American Heritage Dictionary — toast
- Back to the Future — official film synopsis
- Simon & Schuster — Back to the Future time-machine manual
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — 2001 Oscars
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — 1956 Oscars
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — 2017 Oscars
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — 1977 Oscars
- Beethoven-Haus — the Op. 27 piano sonatas
- Annabelle Candy Company — Rocky Road
- Häagen-Dazs — Rocky Road ice cream