NYT Connections #1054
Hints, category titles, and full answers for Thursday, April 30, 2026
Connections Hint #1054 — April 30, 2026
Connections Walkthrough — April 30, 2026
A breakdown of every category from the April 30, 2026 puzzle, the trap words designed to fool players, and what made it tricky.
Group-by-group breakdown (easiest to hardest)
- UNNERVE
You can group ALARM, DISTURB, SHAKE, and SHOCK by their shared effect on someone's nerves.
- REMOVE, AS AN ITEM FROM A LIST, WITH "OFF"
You can spot CHECK, CROSS, MARK, and TICK by testing each before “off.”
- WHAT "T" MIGHT STAND FOR
You can collect TESLA, TIME, TRUE, and TYRANNOSAURUS as things abbreviated by the same letter.
- HOMOPHONES OF POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
You need to say HOUR, HUR, THERE, and YORE aloud to hear the hidden possessives.
The trap words that fool most players
Words placed in this puzzle to make one category look like another.
- HOURlooks like · WHAT "T" MIGHT STAND FORactually · HOMOPHONES OF POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
You may connect HOUR to TIME, but its sound points to a different group.
- SHOCKlooks like · WHAT "T" MIGHT STAND FORactually · UNNERVE
You may think of Tesla and electricity, but SHOCK belongs with reactions that rattle someone.
- TICKlooks like · WHAT "T" MIGHT STAND FORactually · REMOVE, AS AN ITEM FROM A LIST, WITH "OFF"
It starts with T and can mean a mark, but it works best before “off.”
What makes this puzzle clever
Several entries tempt you through first letters or meanings, but two categories depend on adding a word or hearing a sound.
About this puzzle
This is the complete solution to NYT Connections puzzle #1054, originally published on Thursday, April 30, 2026. The four categories ranged from UNNERVE (the easiest, yellow group) through HOMOPHONES OF POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES (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.