The New York Times continues to expand its reach in digital puzzles with NYT Connections, a daily word challenge that blends logic, vocabulary and pattern recognition. The May 4 puzzle (#1058) offers a balanced mix of straightforward groupings and subtle wordplay, making it accessible while still engaging. With themes ranging from personality traits to cleverly constructed word patterns, today’s puzzle rewards both quick recognition and careful thinking. This guide walks you through the day’s puzzle with refined hints, complete answers and useful solving strategies.
What is NYT’s ‘Connections’ game
Connections is a daily word game from The New York Times that challenges players to identify relationships between words. The puzzle features four colour-coded difficulty levels—Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple—each representing increasing complexity.
Players are given 16 words and must sort them into four groups of four, with each group linked by a shared theme. These connections may be based on meaning, usage, patterns or wordplay, making the game both intuitive and deceptively tricky.
NYT Connections hints for today
- Yellow: Terms for a gentle person
- Green: Items filled with small particles
- Blue: Objects with rotating controls
- Purple: Words starting with dog breed names
NYT Connections answers for May 4, 2026
Here are the correct groupings for today’s puzzle:
- Yellow – TENDER-HEARTED PERSON: MARSHMALLOW, SOFTIE, SWEETHEART, TEDDY BEAR
- Green – PELLET-FILLED THINGS: BEANIE BABY, DESICCANT PACKET, EYE PILLOW, HACKY SACK
- Blue – THINGS WITH KNOBS: CONTROL PANEL, ETCH A SKETCH, RADIO, STOVE
- Purple – STARTING WITH DOG BREED NAMES: CHOWDER, DOODLEBUG, LABUBU, PITTER-PATTER
How to play NYT Connections
Understand the objectiveThe game presents a grid of 16 words, and your goal is to organise them into four groups of four. Each group shares a hidden connection, which may involve meaning, structure or wordplay.
Access the puzzleA new puzzle is released daily on The New York Times website and mobile app, encouraging regular engagement.
Begin analysingLook through all the words and identify the most obvious connections first. Rearranging the grid can often help reveal patterns.
Submit your choicesSelect four words that you believe belong together and submit them. The game will confirm whether your grouping is correct.
Evaluate feedbackCorrect groups are colour-coded and locked in, while incorrect attempts reduce your remaining chances.
Track attemptsYou are allowed a limited number of mistakes, so careful reasoning and elimination are essential.
Difficulty levels explained
- Yellow: Straightforward connections
- Green and Blue: Moderate complexity
- Purple: Most challenging, often involving wordplay
Strategies for solving NYT Connections
Start with obvious groupings to simplify the grid
Use elimination to narrow down remaining options
Think beyond definitions and consider patterns in spelling or sound
Watch out for misleading combinations designed to distract
Other NYT games to explore
If you enjoy Connections, The New York Times offers several other popular puzzles:
Wordle: Guess a five-letter word within six attempts
Spelling Bee: Form as many words as possible from a set of letters
Mini Crossword: A quick daily crossword challenge
Strands: A modern twist on word search puzzles