Connections #1248 Hints & Answers Today, November 10, 2026

The Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, Connections from The New York Times is puzzle #1248, edited by Wyna Liu. Every tile is a single word of at least eight letters, and our Connections guide covers how the four colors rank by difficulty. Below, each group has a soft hint and a firmer one, with the full solution held for the end.

Today’s 16 words

Abracadabra, Onomatopoeia, Apothecary, Foofaraw, Oxymoron, Protozoology, Hullabaloo, Haberdasher, Beekeeper, Scrivener, Hyperbole, Brouhaha, Wainwright, Kerfuffle, Invisibility, Metonymy

Hints for each group

Yellow

• Hint 1

  Each one means a noisy fuss, the kind a small problem can stir up.
• Hint 2

  One ends with a laugh written twice; one has a double F in the middle.
• Reveal the yellow group

  Hubbub: Brouhaha, Foofaraw, Hullabaloo, Kerfuffle

Green

• Hint 1

  Each is a job title you would have found on a town’s main street a few centuries ago.
• Hint 2

  One built and repaired wagons; one mixed and sold medicines.
• Reveal the green group

  Old-Timey Occupations: Apothecary, Haberdasher, Scrivener, Wainwright

Blue

• Hint 1

  Each names a tool a writer uses to shape a sentence for effect.
• Hint 2

  One is a wild exaggeration; one is a word that imitates a sound, like buzz.
• Reveal the blue group

  Literary Devices: Hyperbole, Metonymy, Onomatopoeia, Oxymoron

Purple

• Hint 1

  Look only at the vowels in each word: there is one vowel, used exactly five times.
• Hint 2

  One is a magic word said before a trick; one is the study of single-celled organisms.
• Reveal the purple group

  Words with the Same 5 Vowels as Only Vowels: Abracadabra, Beekeeper, Invisibility, Protozoology

Solving tips

Show the solving tips

If the board feels heavy, count letters before you think about meanings. Several tiles are built on one repeated vowel, and one of them uses it too few times to count.

Five tiles name jobs, and only four of them share a group. Hold the most modern-sounding trade back until the older ones are placed.

Print the November 2026 printable calendar to tick off each solve, or the printable weekly calendar for a closer look at one week.

Tuesday also has Wordle hints, Strands hints and Pips hints.

Today’s Connections answers (spoilers)

The groups below settle the whole grid.

• Yellow, Hubbub

  Brouhaha, Foofaraw, Hullabaloo, Kerfuffle
• Green, Old-Timey Occupations

  Apothecary, Haberdasher, Scrivener, Wainwright
• Blue, Literary Devices

  Hyperbole, Metonymy, Onomatopoeia, Oxymoron
• Purple, Words With the Same 5 Vowels as Only Vowels

  Abracadabra, Beekeeper, Invisibility, Protozoology

1. HubbubBrouhaha, Foofaraw, Hullabaloo, Kerfuffle
2. Old-Timey OccupationsApothecary, Haberdasher, Scrivener, Wainwright
3. Literary DevicesHyperbole, Metonymy, Onomatopoeia, Oxymoron
4. Words With the Same 5 Vowels as Only VowelsAbracadabra, Beekeeper, Invisibility, Protozoology

Why the traps worked

Beekeeper is a trade, and an old enough one to sit with Apothecary and Wainwright. Its letters decide where it goes: B, K, P and R, plus E five times and no other vowel.

Oxymoron is the near miss for purple. It also has one vowel, O, but only three of them, so it stays with the writing terms. Hullabaloo has exactly five vowels too, a mix of U, A and O, which is why a quick count can mislead you.

Decoy map

Entry	Real group	Look-alike group	Why it tempts
Beekeeper	Words With the Same 5 Vowels as Only Vowels	Old-Timey Occupations	It is a job title, like Scrivener.
Oxymoron	Literary Devices	Words With the Same 5 Vowels as Only Vowels	O is its only vowel, but it appears three times, not five.
Hullabaloo	Hubbub	Words With the Same 5 Vowels as Only Vowels	It has five vowels, though three different ones.
Onomatopoeia	Literary Devices	Hubbub	It names sound words, and a fuss is loud.

We checked every group against the saved official data before posting. Wednesday’s Connections is #1249.

Yesterday's Connections answer

The four groups in Connections on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, easiest to hardest:

• Yellow, Deceitful Scheme: Con Job, Flimflam, Rip-Off, Shell Game
• Green, Jeans Descriptors: Boot-Cut, Distressed, Low-Rise, Skinny
• Blue, Things with Serrated Edges: Grapefruit Spoon, Mint Leaf, Steak Knife, Tape Dispenser
• Purple, Ending in Sea Creatures: Card Shark, Fun Sponge, Gamma Ray, Navy Seal

Yesterday's hints and full solution.