Look, we’ve all been there. You open the NYT app, coffee in hand, thinking you’re going to breeze through the grid in under a minute. Then you see the connections 11 1 24 board and realize Wyna Liu woke up and chose chaos. November 1, 2024, wasn't just another Friday puzzle; it was a masterclass in linguistic misdirection that left a lot of daily players staring at their screens in genuine frustration.
It happens.
The beauty—and the absolute agony—of the Connections game lies in the overlap. You see four words that seemingly belong together, you click them, and the board shakes its head at you. "One away," it says, mocking your confidence. For the connections 11 1 24 puzzle, the difficulty spiked because the "red herrings" weren't just subtle; they were aggressive.
What Actually Happened with Connections 11 1 24?
If you were playing on that specific Friday, you probably noticed a lot of words that felt like they belonged in a kitchen or perhaps a woodshop. We had things like CHIP, FLAKE, SHAVER, and SLIVER. Naturally, your brain goes: "Okay, small pieces of stuff."
But the game is never that kind.
The actual categories for the connections 11 1 24 grid were a mix of physical descriptions and some pretty clever wordplay regarding household items and synonyms for "cut." Let's break down the actual groups that formed the puzzle:
The first group, which most people found to be the "Yellow" or straightforward category, involved KINDS OF CHIPS. We’re talking about CORN, KALE, POTATO, and TORTILLA. Pretty simple, right? Honestly, if you didn't get this one first, the rest of the board was going to be a nightmare. It’s the anchor. Without it, you’re drifting.
The Overlap Problem
Where people got stuck was the "Blue" and "Purple" categories. You had words like PADDLE, RAZOR, SHAVER, and WIPER.
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Think about those for a second.
They all relate to things that move back and forth or involve blades. But specifically, they were THINGS WITH BLADES. A razor has a blade. A windshield wiper has a blade. A paddle (like for a boat or a mixer) is often referred to as having a blade. Even a shaver. If you tried to put "SHAVER" in a group with "FLAKE" or "CHIP" because of "shavings," you were doomed.
Then came the synonyms for "a small amount." This was the "Green" group: FLAKE, SCRAP, SHRED, and SLIVER.
Why This Specific Puzzle Felt Harder
Expert players—the ones who track their stats religiously—noted that connections 11 1 24 relied heavily on "functional nouns." This is a fancy way of saying words that describe what an object does rather than what it is.
Take the word SCRAP.
Is it a noun meaning a small piece of paper? Or is it a verb meaning to fight? In this grid, it was strictly the noun. But when you see it next to PADDLE, your brain might jump to "sports" or "physical activities." That's the trap. Wyna Liu (the editor) loves to use words that can function as multiple parts of speech.
The "Purple" category is always the wildcard. For November 1st, it was ___ FLIPS.
- BACK flip
- COIN flip
- FINGER flip (think skateboarding or just a rude gesture)
- HOUSE flip
If you’re not thinking about the word that follows or precedes the prompt, you’ll never see Purple coming. You'll just be left with four random words at the end, clicking them and hoping for the best. That "aha!" moment when you realize "House" and "Finger" share a connection is what keeps people coming back, even when the game feels rigged.
Strategies for Beating the NYT Grid
Most people play Connections by looking for groups of four immediately. That is a mistake.
The pro move? Find groups of five.
If you see five words that seem to fit a category, you know that at least one of them is a red herring designed to waste your turns. In connections 11 1 24, the word CHIP was the ultimate distractor. It could have been a "Kind of Chip" (Yellow), or it could have been a "Small Piece" (Green), or it could even have been part of "Poker ___" (if that had been a category).
By identifying the fifth word, you force yourself to look for the other connection that word might have.
Don't Click Until You See Two Groups
Seriously. Try to solve at least half the board in your head before you ever touch the screen. If you can identify two distinct groups of four, the remaining eight words become much easier to manage. If you just start clicking the first four "easy" words you see, you often lose the "pivot" word—the one word that is essential for a harder category but happens to fit perfectly into an easy one.
The Linguistic Nuance of Friday Puzzles
Friday and Saturday puzzles are notoriously more difficult than the early-week ones. The NYT team uses a "difficulty curve" similar to the Crossword.
For connections 11 1 24, they leaned into "Physicality."
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- Yellow: Food (Corn, Kale, Potato, Tortilla)
- Green: Fragments (Flake, Scrap, Shred, Sliver)
- Blue: Tools with Blades (Paddle, Razor, Shaver, Wiper)
- Purple: Words that precede "Flip" (Back, Coin, Finger, House)
Notice the subtle link between SHAVER and SHRED. Or FLAKE and POTATO (potato flakes). These aren't accidents. They are deliberate lures.
Actionable Tips for Your Next Game
To stop losing your streak on tricky grids like this one, change your perspective.
First, read the words out loud. Sometimes hearing the word helps you break the visual association. "House" looks one way on paper, but when you say it, you might think "House music," "House party," or "House flip."
Second, check for common prefixes and suffixes. If you see "Back" and "Coin," immediately start testing words to see if they fit a "____ [Word]" or "[Word] ____" pattern. This is almost always the key to the Purple category.
Third, use the Shuffle button. It’s there for a reason. Our brains get locked into spatial patterns. If "CHIP" and "POTATO" are next to each other, you’ll stay stuck on that connection. Shuffle the board to break those visual chains and see the words in a new context.
Finally, remember that the "Green" category is often the most deceptive. It usually consists of synonyms that are almost perfect but just slightly off. In the case of connections 11 1 24, "Scrap" and "Shred" are very close, but they only work if you ignore their potential as verbs.
Stop rushing. The puzzle isn't a race; it's a trap waiting to be disarmed.
Next Steps for Mastery:
- Analyze your misses: Go back to the November 1st grid and look at which word specifically tripped you up. Was it "Paddle"?
- Practice word association: Before clicking, spend thirty seconds finding three different meanings for the most ambiguous word on the board.
- Study the "Purple" history: Look at previous Friday puzzles to see how many times the connection was a "Fill-in-the-blank" style. It’s a very common trope for high-difficulty days.