NYT Connections #1039
Hints, category titles, and full answers for Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Connections Hint #1039 — April 15, 2026
Connections Walkthrough — April 15, 2026
A breakdown of every category from the April 15, 2026 puzzle, the trap words designed to fool players, and what made it tricky.
Group-by-group breakdown (easiest to hardest)
- GRADUATION GEAR
You can spot the commencement set quickly: CAP, DIPLOMA, GOWN, and TASSEL all cluster around the ceremony.
- TEDIOUS UNDERTAKING
You can group CHORE, GRIND, HASSLE, and TRIAL as unpleasant tasks or experiences that drag on.
- OVERSIMPLISTIC
You can recognize FACILE, FLIP, SHALLOW, and TRITE as criticisms of ideas that lack depth.
- SHAPES OF CHESS PIECES
After removing the adjectives and ceremony words, CASTLE, CROWN, HORSE, and MITER point to chess-piece outlines.
About this puzzle
This is the complete solution to NYT Connections puzzle #1039, originally published on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. The four categories ranged from GRADUATION GEAR (the easiest, yellow group) through SHAPES OF CHESS PIECES (the trickiest, purple group, which usually involves wordplay or hidden patterns).
You can browse our complete Connections archive for every past puzzle since the game launched in June 2023, or jump to today's puzzle for the latest hints.