NYT Connections Hints and Answers for Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026 (#1242): Two Hints per Group, Then the Answers

Today’s Connections from The New York Times (NYT) is puzzle #1242, for Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, edited by Wyna Liu. The board mixes thirteen single words with three longer entries, and the groups run from yellow, the easiest, to purple, the trickiest. Iron and Flatiron Building share a word, which makes the board harder than it looks. Below are two levels of hints for each color, then the full solution and an explanation of the overlaps in a marked spoiler section.

Today’s 16 words

Fly, Poke, Iron, Works, Wood, Wring, Wedge, Bleach, Putter, Cracker, Doorstop, Loll, Flatiron Building, Shuffle, Tumble Dry, Pie Slice

How the game works

Sort the 16 entries into four groups of four. You can make four mistakes. The groups run from yellow to green, blue and purple, with purple the group that depends most on wordplay.

Hints for each group

Yellow

• Hint 1

  Each one is a shape that is thick at one end and tapers to a thin edge.
• Hint 2

  One keeps a door from swinging shut, one is a triangular piece of a round dessert, one is a skyscraper in New York City, and one is the plain name of the shape.
• Reveal the yellow group

  Triangular Prisms with a Sharp Edge: Doorstop, Flatiron Building, Pie Slice, Wedge

Green

• Hint 1

  Think of a tag sewn into a shirt. Each word tells you what to avoid.
• Hint 2

  One is a chemical that removes color, one is a hot tool for smoothing cloth, one is a machine cycle that uses heat, and one is twisting water out by hand.
• Reveal the green group

  Words After "Do Not" on a Care Label: Bleach, Iron, Tumble Dry, Wring

Blue

• Hint 1

  Each one is a way to move without hurry or purpose, and each can be followed by “around.”
• Hint 2

  One is to lie back and lounge, one is to prod, one is a golf word that also means to potter about, and one is to slide your feet along.
• Reveal the blue group

  Move Idly, with "Around": Loll, Poke, Putter, Shuffle

Purple

• Hint 1

  Add the same word in front of each entry. It is something that burns.
• Hint 2

  One is a small, noisy firework, one is an insect that glows at night, one is fuel for a campfire, and one is a show in the night sky.
• Reveal the purple group

  Fire___: Cracker, Fly, Wood, Works

Solving tips

Show the solving tips

Start with purple, because the fill-in-the-blank is easy to test. Next, take the care label group, and keep Iron there. Flatiron Building is a trap of its own, since the word iron sits inside it. Putter is another decoy, as it can pass for a golf word. Leave yellow for last: once the other three groups are placed, the four entries left over are easy to check against the idea of a wedge shape.

Keep a streak log on our printable weekly calendar or the November 2026 printable calendar.

More of today’s puzzles: Wordle hints, Strands hints and Pips hints.

Today’s Connections answers (spoilers)

Stop here if you still want to solve it yourself.

• Yellow, Triangular Prisms with a Sharp Edge

  Doorstop, Flatiron Building, Pie Slice, Wedge
• Green, Words After “Do Not” on a Care Label

  Bleach, Iron, Tumble Dry, Wring
• Blue, Move Idly, with “Around”

  Loll, Poke, Putter, Shuffle
• Purple, Fire___

  Cracker, Fly, Wood, Works

1. Triangular Prisms with a Sharp EdgeDoorstop, Flatiron Building, Pie Slice, Wedge
2. Words After “Do Not” on a Care LabelBleach, Iron, Tumble Dry, Wring
3. Move Idly, with “Around”Loll, Poke, Putter, Shuffle
4. Fire___Cracker, Fly, Wood, Works

Why the traps worked

Iron and Flatiron Building. Both contain the word iron. Iron goes with Bleach, Tumble Dry and Wring on a care label. Flatiron Building goes with Doorstop, Pie Slice and Wedge, all wedge shapes.

Putter. It sounds like a golf word. Here it sits with Loll, Poke and Shuffle, as in putter around.

The fire words. Cracker, Fly, Wood and Works each follow fire: firecracker, firefly, firewood and fireworks.

We checked the solution against the puzzle’s official data before posting. Puzzle #1243 arrives at midnight.

Yesterday's Connections answer

The four groups in Connections on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, easiest to hardest:

• Yellow, Keep Going: Carry on, Continue, Proceed, Resume
• Green, Things with Wheels: Office Chair, Roller Bag, Shopping Cart, Stroller
• Blue, Things a Server Brings at a Restaurant: Check, Food, Menu, Tap Water
• Purple, Ending in Menu Bar Headings: Credit, Interview, Profile, Whelp

Yesterday's hints and full solution.