Yellow group
Most direct
First nudge
Think about how you would describe having plenty of something.
Stronger nudge
Each word is a casual way to say a large quantity, as in a whole pile of work.
Group name
Considerable amount
Connections hint #1211: October 4, 2026
Step-by-step hints and answers for Connections #1211, from Sunday, October 4, 2026.
Sunday's grid is friendlier than it first appears. Most of the words are everyday objects, and two of the sets come together quickly once you start looking. The difficulty comes from a handful of words that seem to belong in more than one place, so more than one set looks as if it has five members. Settle the most concrete sets first, and the hardest one will be whatever is left at the end, so give those last four words some time.
- WIG
- FILM
- AUCTION
- TABLE
- PADDLE
- COLLAR
- GAVEL
- LOT
- BUNCH
- BALL
- PARTNER
- NET
- ROBE
- HEAP
- TREATMENT
- STACK
Hints for Connections #1211
Open one step at a time. Step three names the group, so stop earlier if you want more of a challenge. New to the game? Read how to play Connections first, or see what the four colors mean.
Green group
Fairly direct
First nudge
Picture a fast indoor game played in a basement or a rec room.
Stronger nudge
These are the four things you must have before a match of ping-pong can start.
Group name
Table tennis needs
Blue group
Takes some thought
First nudge
Imagine dressing up as a courtroom figure for a party.
Stronger nudge
Each item is something you would wear or carry to look like the person who presides over a trial.
Group name
Parts of a judge costume
Purple group
Trickiest
First nudge
One short word can go in front of all four.
Stronger nudge
Think of bidding on paper, early cinema, an investor who stays out of daily business and refusing to speak to someone, then find the word they share.
Group name
Silent ___
Show the trap
AUCTION sits on the board beside GAVEL, LOT and PADDLE, which are all things you would find in a sale room, so a bidding group looks certain. There is no such group: each of those four words belongs to a different color. Place the words that have only one possible home first, and the decoys lose their pull.
More ways to dodge red herrings: our Connections tips.
Word meanings
Some meanings point toward a group, so they stay hidden until you open them.
Show meanings for 6 tricky words
- GAVEL
- A small wooden hammer that a judge or an auctioneer strikes to call for order or to mark a decision.
- LOT
- A large amount of something. It also means an item or group of items offered for sale, which is why it can mislead today.
- PADDLE
- The bat used to hit the ball in table tennis. It is also the numbered card a bidder raises in a sale room.
- PARTNER
- A person who shares in a business or an activity with someone else.
- TREATMENT
- The way someone behaves toward another person, or the medical care given for an illness or injury.
- STACK
- A neat pile of things placed one on top of another, and informally a large quantity.
Answers for Connections #1211
This section shows all four groups. Only open it if you're finished or ready to give up.
Show all four groups
-
Considerable amount
BUNCH, HEAP, LOT, STACK
A bunch, a heap, a lot and a stack are all informal ways of saying a large quantity of something.
-
Table tennis needs
BALL, NET, PADDLE, TABLE
You need a ball, a net, a paddle for each player and a table to play table tennis.
-
Parts of a judge costume
COLLAR, GAVEL, ROBE, WIG
A collar, a gavel, a robe and a wig together make up a traditional judge costume.
-
Silent ___
AUCTION, FILM, PARTNER, TREATMENT
Each word follows SILENT to make a familiar phrase: silent auction, silent film, silent partner and silent treatment.
The solve at a glance
Dress the judge first. WIG and ROBE have nowhere else to go, and COLLAR and GAVEL complete the costume. BALL, NET and TABLE then claim PADDLE for table tennis, and BUNCH, HEAP and STACK take LOT as a fourth way of saying plenty. That leaves AUCTION with FILM, PARTNER and TREATMENT, and each of them follows the word SILENT.
Want to get better at spotting groups? Start with our Connections tips.
Answers checked against the official answers by Alan. This puzzle appeared on Sunday, October 4, 2026.
More Connections puzzles
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Looking for a different day? Use the links below, or head to today's Connections hint. Every puzzle from October 2026 is listed on the October 2026 archive page.