NYT Connections Hints and Answers for Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026 (#1245): Two Hints per Group, Then the Answers

Connections #1245 from The New York Times is the puzzle for Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, edited by Wyna Liu. At first glance one tile is a spring holiday, and if the color order is new to you, our Connections explainer lays it out. Each group gets two hints below before the answers appear.

Today’s 16 words

Polo, Easter, New, Clone, Rhode, Ringer, Soon, Treasure, Henley, Bounty, North, Cane, Spoils, South, Raglan, Booty

Hints for each group

Yellow

• Hint 1

  Think of what a ship’s crew hauls home after a raid on the high seas.
• Hint 2

  One is also a reward posted for catching an outlaw; another is what milk does when it sits out too long.
• Reveal the yellow group

  Pirate's Plunder: Booty, Bounty, Spoils, Treasure

Green

• Hint 1

  All four are tops you could buy in a casual clothing store.
• Hint 2

  One shares a name with a sport played on horseback; one has sleeves joined by a seam that slants up to the collar.
• Reveal the green group

  Kinds of Shirts: Henley, Polo, Raglan, Ringer

Blue

• Hint 1

  Each is the opening word of a state name that has two words.
• Hint 2

  One leads the name of the smallest state by area; another leads four state names by itself.
• Reveal the blue group

  First Words of U.S. State Names: New, North, Rhode, South

Purple

• Hint 1

  Each one closes out the name of a kind of rough weather.
• Hint 2

  One finishes the seasonal rains of South Asia; one finishes the name used for a twisting storm over the Indian Ocean.
• Reveal the purple group

  Ends of Storm Types: Cane, Clone, Easter, Soon

Solving tips

Show the solving tips

Start with the clothing, since those tiles share a shop and little else. The state words come next; count how many states each could open before you commit.

Two compass points sit on the board, and a third tile looks like one if you read only its first four letters, so check what the rest of it spells.

Keep a tally of solved Saturdays on the November 2026 printable calendar; the printable weekly calendar works if you track every game each day.

Weekend companions: Wordle hints, Strands hints and Pips hints.

Today’s Connections answers (spoilers)

Everything below gives the game away.

• Yellow, Pirate’s Plunder

  Booty, Bounty, Spoils, Treasure
• Green, Kinds of Shirts

  Henley, Polo, Raglan, Ringer
• Blue, First Words of U.S. State Names

  New, North, Rhode, South
• Purple, Ends of Storm Types

  Cane, Clone, Easter, Soon

1. Pirate’s PlunderBooty, Bounty, Spoils, Treasure
2. Kinds of ShirtsHenley, Polo, Raglan, Ringer
3. First Words of U.S. State NamesNew, North, Rhode, South
4. Ends of Storm TypesCane, Clone, Easter, Soon

Why the traps worked

Easter carries East at its front, which makes it look like a partner for North and South. It sits in purple as the tail of nor’easter, and North gets a second pull from that same storm, whose name opens with a short form of north.

Treasure could have joined Rhode as the first half of an island, since Treasure Island is a famous novel. Ringer and Polo both sound like sports words: a ringer is a skilled player slipped onto a team, and polo is played on horseback. Both are shirts today.

Decoy map

Entry	Real group	Look-alike group	Why it tempts
Easter	Ends of Storm Types	First Words of U.S. State Names	Its first four letters spell East, next to North and South.
North	First Words of U.S. State Names	Ends of Storm Types	Nor’easter starts with a short form of north.
Treasure	Pirate’s Plunder	First Words of U.S. State Names	Treasure Island and Rhode Island share a second word.

The answers were compared with the puzzle’s official data before posting. Sunday’s Connections is #1246.

Yesterday's Connections answer

The four groups in Connections on Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, easiest to hardest:

• Yellow, Composition: Constitution, Fabric, Makeup, Structure
• Green, Copy: Backup, Extra, Replacement, Spare
• Blue, Kinds of Trucks: Flatbed, Pickup, Semi, Tanker
• Purple, Ending in Parts of the Eye: Hot Rod, Osiris, Traffic Cone, Woolens

Yesterday's hints and full solution.