CNET maps Connections Nyt No. 1,058 with tricky purple answers
connections nyt puzzle No. 1,058 on May 4, 2026 came with a tricky purple group and a full set of hints and answers. CNET published the solution set for players who wanted to check their grid after finishing. The hardest part was the letter twist in the purple category.
May 4, 2026 grid
The yellow group was qualities of overcooked meat, and the answers were chewy, dry, stringy and tough. That set is the clearest path for players who got stuck early, because all four words point to texture rather than flavor.
The blue group was play some electric guitar, and the answers were jam, noodle, shred and solo. The green group was ingredients in bubble tea, and the answers were boba, milk, sugar and tea.
Pluto to Venus twist
The purple group asked players to spot planets or a dwarf planet with the first letter changed, and the answers were Bluto, cars, Darth and genus. Bluto mapped to Pluto, cars mapped to Mars, Darth mapped to Earth, and genus mapped to Venus.
That category made the puzzle feel harsher than the usual daily grid, because it required mental twisting of letters instead of simple word grouping. The article also said one of the toughest Connections puzzles so far was #5, which used things you can set: mood, record, table and volleyball.
Times progress tools
The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle, and registered Times Games users can track how they are doing after they play. The available stats include puzzles completed, win rate, perfect scores and win streak, which gives regular players a way to measure whether a hard grid cost them more than one solve.
For players still working through the archive, the open question is whether the next daily puzzle will lean on wordplay as heavily as No. 1,058 did. If it does, the purple group is the one to attack last.
