Notes on the Chainle puzzle 12 November 2026
Daily No. 3, 12 November 2026 (2026-11-12), was written for this site and checked by hand before it was scheduled. These answers are public because this UTC date has already passed. A date that is still today leaves them unwritten, and a date that has not arrived is not on this site.
The connections here are tools, royalty, and command. Hair and paint share a tool, a wrist and an hour share a timepiece, and chess shares its highest piece with a kingdom. The three-word round names the person who leads a ship, a team, and an army. The synonym round stays simple on purpose so the harder bridges can carry the day.
Read the five rounds in order. Rounds 1 to 3 are two-word bridges, round 4 is a three-word bridge, and round 5 is a closest connection. Round 5 has that name because one clue asks for a near synonym, not a word that stands between two others. Each note below uses this day's clues. The board above plays the same puzzle again.
| Round | Clues | Strongest listed word | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | hair, paint | brush | two word bridge |
| 2 | wrist, hour | watch | two word bridge |
| 3 | chess, kingdom | king | two word bridge |
| 4 | army, ship, team | captain | three word bridge |
| 5 | happy | glad | closest connection |
Score bands on this date: 900–1,000 strong, 600–899 good, 300–599 partial, and below 300 pale. A listed alternative keeps a floor from 200 to 980. An unlisted recognized word scores from 10 to 900.
Round 1 — hair + paint → brush
Round 1 uses hair, paint. Hair is arranged with a brush, and paint is spread with a brush. Comb is a hair tool that does not paint, and a broom is a brush for floors rather than for art. Hint for hair and paint: keep a partner only when both phrases were already ordinary English.
Round 2 — wrist + hour → watch
Round 2 uses wrist, hour. A watch sits on a wrist and is how many people read the hour. Timer is a cousin that counts down, and band is only the strap. Hint for wrist and hour: set aside the previous pair and give this pair its own reason.
Round 3 — chess + kingdom → king
Round 3 uses chess, kingdom. Chess has a king as its chief piece, and a kingdom is ruled by a king. Monarch is a formal twin, while crown is the symbol rather than the person. Hint for chess and kingdom: the two clues should accept the word for different ordinary reasons.
Round 4 — army + ship + team → captain
Round 4 uses army, ship, team. An army company, a ship, and a sports team can each be led by a captain. Chief, leader, and skipper all name command, but skipper is mostly the ship and leader is the broadest of the three. Hint for army, ship, and team: the third clue can veto a word that only fits the first pair.
Round 5 — happy → glad
Round 5 is a closest connection on happy. Glad is the direct everyday synonym of happy. Joyful is stronger in feeling, and cheerful describes manner as much as mood. Hint for happy: one clue means a closest connection, a near synonym, not a word standing between two others.
Taken together, the five strongest connections are brush, watch, king, captain, glad. Each one had to meet every clue in its own round. A clever word that only hugs the easiest clue is the case the scoring page describes as a low score.
This puzzle stays on this page. A blank guess, a string that is not a recognized word, and a repeat of a clue do not spend the round. Recognized words come from the Google 10,000 English words list, no-swears edition, plus a short extra list of classroom words. Future dates stay off this site until their own publication time.
Chainle answers explained
Chainle answers for 12 November 2026 are written out above because that UTC date has passed. The table names the strongest listed word in each round, and the notes say why that word meets the clues.
An archive page is the record of one UTC date. It keeps the five rounds playable after the clock moves on. A replay is stored on this device and does not move the daily streak. The streak grows only when the set dated today is finished on the home board, for the first time.
The first three rounds ask for one word that meets two clues in ordinary speech. The fourth round adds a third clue, so a pretty pair is not enough: the extra clue can veto it. The fifth round asks for a near synonym of a single clue, which is why it is called a closest connection. The shapes repeat every day. The clues do not.
The strongest listed word is worth 1,000. A listed alternative keeps the preset written beside it, from 200 to 980, and the meaning score can raise that preset up to 980. An unlisted recognized word scores from 10 to 900. 40 is the fallback when a recognized word is missing from the vector table, not the floor of the scale. Those four ranges are read from the points: 900 to 1,000, 600 to 899, 300 to 599, and below 300.
A blank entry, a string that is not a recognized word, and a repeat of a clue do not spend the round. A recognized word does. The same guess on the same round returns the same points on a replay as it did on the day it was published. There is no countdown and no speed bonus.
Future dates stay off this site until their own publication time. This page explains the set written for Chainle.me. It does not borrow another game's clues, and it does not publish a date that has not arrived. When a listed score looks generous or strict, the note for that round is the place the reason is given, in sentences about those clues rather than a slogan pasted onto every date.
Read what a word bridge puzzle is and the changelog. Meaning scores use ConceptNet Numberbatch 19.08 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
More dates
Previous puzzle, 11 November 2026 · Play today's Chainle
More about Chainle
- The archive index
- How the five rounds work
- How points are awarded
- A word bridge, defined
- What changed on the site
Chainle replay questions
Can I replay this puzzle?
Yes. The result stays on this date and does not change the daily streak.
What do the five rounds ask you to connect?
Three two-word bridges, one three-word bridge, and a closest connection. The notes under the board explain each listed connection.
Where is the answer table?
The table on this page lists each round, its clues, the strongest listed word, and the round type. It is published because this UTC date is already past.
What do the score bands mean?
900 to 1,000 is strong, 600 to 899 is good, and 300 to 599 is partial. Below 300 the share card is pale. The strongest listed word is 1,000. A listed alternative keeps a floor from 200 to 980. An unlisted recognized word scores from 10 to 900. 40 is the fallback when that word is missing from the vector table, not the floor.