NYT Connections Hints, Answers & Clues -
Four phrases secretly begin with newspaper names.
Written by Vaibhav RajputConnections Puzzle #1056 — May 2, 2026
GLOBETROTTER, POST-IT, HERALDRY, and TIMES TABLES sit alongside PSYCHIC, TREASURY, BALLET, and MENTAL — a collision of government, performance, the paranormal, and what look like completely unrelated compound words.
The editor's trick is that four of these words or phrases contain a hidden newspaper name at their start — nothing about their everyday meanings points to that connection.
Hard overall — the clairvoyance group and the cabinet departments group are the quickest wins, the staged performances group is a small step harder, and the newspaper-prefix group will stop most players cold.
NYT Connections Words: Hints & Clues for May 2, 2026
Here are the 16 words for the Saturday, May 2, 2026 NYT Connections puzzle (#1056). Each word has a specific hint or clue hiding in its meaning – tap any word before you guess to see its NYT Connections hint and figure out which words belong together.
POST-IT
Connections hint for POST-IT
The sticky note brand — but here the puzzle cares about the word POST at the front, not the adhesive product.
TREASURY
Connections hint for TREASURY
The U.S. Cabinet Department that manages federal finances and currency — straightforward government vocabulary.
HERALDRY
Connections hint for HERALDRY
The study and design of coats of arms and family crests — but notice what three-letter word this compound starts with.
PLAY
Connections hint for PLAY
A theatrical work performed on stage — one of the classic forms of staged performance.
INTERIOR
Connections hint for INTERIOR
The U.S. Cabinet Department overseeing natural resources and public lands — not a description of inner mental life.
MUSICAL
Connections hint for MUSICAL
A stage show combining songs, dialogue, and dance — think Broadway, not a general adjective about music.
MENTAL
Connections hint for MENTAL
Usually means relating to the mind — but here it belongs with words describing a specific paranormal ability, not psychology broadly.
STATE
Connections hint for STATE
The U.S. Cabinet Department handling foreign affairs and diplomacy — not a condition of mind or being.
TIMES TABLES
Connections hint for TIMES TABLES
The multiplication charts children memorise — but the puzzle is interested in the word TIMES at the very beginning.
EDUCATION
Connections hint for EDUCATION
The U.S. Cabinet Department overseeing schools and federal education policy — the most literal of the four department names.
OPERA
Connections hint for OPERA
A dramatic stage performance where the dialogue is sung — one of the oldest forms of staged performance.
PSYCHIC
Connections hint for PSYCHIC
Describing the ability to perceive things beyond normal senses — clairvoyant, not merely psychological.
EXTRASENSORY
Connections hint for EXTRASENSORY
Literally beyond the five senses — as in extrasensory perception, the formal term for clairvoyant ability.
GLOBETROTTER
Connections hint for GLOBETROTTER
A world traveller — but the puzzle is not interested in travel; it is interested in the word GLOBE at the front.
TELEPATHIC
Connections hint for TELEPATHIC
Describing the supposed ability to read or transmit thoughts directly between minds.
BALLET
Connections hint for BALLET
A highly formalised style of dance performed on stage — and the word BALLET begins with a well-known newspaper name.
Traps and misdirects
MENTAL and PSYCHIC both describe mind-related abilities, and PLAY can mean a mental game or strategy — grouping them as mind or psychology words feels natural. That reading is a dead end. Each of these belongs to a completely different group, and their surface meanings are all misleading here.
The inkling to group both EDUCATION and TIMES TABLES under the same umbrella seems to be little more louder than subtle but this assumption is a red herring. Although time tables are taught early in Mathematics, it is when you start looking beyond the surface, you realise that the first halves of many other words in the group is where you actually need to connect the dots.
STATE and INTERIOR both sound like they could describe mental or psychological conditions — a state of mind, an interior life — which makes them feel at home near MENTAL and PSYCHIC. They are not in that group. Both are U.S. Cabinet Departments, and that is the only sense the puzzle uses.
GLOBETROTTER suggests travel and TIMES TABLES suggests mathematics — nothing connects them on the surface, and most players will park them as oddballs. The connection is not about what these phrases mean but about the specific word each one starts with.
Connections Hints for May 2, 2026
Each category is independent. Reveal only what you need.
Yellow — Easiest
See hint
All describe perceiving things beyond the five senses
Think: Think: ESP, mind-reading, sixth sense
See group name
CLAIRVOYANT
See words
Reveal word 1
EXTRASENSORYReveal word 2
MENTALReveal word 3
PSYCHICReveal word 4
TELEPATHICGreen — Moderate
See hint
Four distinct formats for live performance on a stage
Think: Think: curtain up, opening night
See group name
STAGED PERFORMANCES
See words
Reveal word 1
BALLETReveal word 2
MUSICALReveal word 3
OPERAReveal word 4
PLAYBlue — Hard
See hint
Official branches of the U.S. federal executive government
Think: Think: Cabinet secretary, Washington D.C.
See group name
U.S. CABINET DEPARTMENTS
See words
Reveal word 1
EDUCATIONReveal word 2
INTERIORReveal word 3
STATEReveal word 4
TREASURYPurple — Hardest
See hint
Each phrase opens with a famous newspaper's name
Think: Think: masthead, front page title
See group name
STARTING WITH NEWSPAPER NAMES
See words
Reveal word 1
GLOBETROTTERReveal word 2
HERALDRYReveal word 3
POST-ITReveal word 4
TIMES TABLESNYT Connections Answers for May 2, 2026
NYT Connections Answers Explained: May 2, 2026
CLAIRVOYANT
EXTRASENSORY, MENTAL, PSYCHIC, and TELEPATHIC all describe the supposed ability to perceive or communicate beyond normal physical senses — the vocabulary of clairvoyance and ESP.
- EXTRASENSORY
- Literally meaning outside or beyond the five senses — extrasensory perception (ESP) is the formal term for clairvoyant ability.
- MENTAL
- In this context it means relating to the mind in a paranormal sense — mental powers, mental telepathy — not simply psychological.
- PSYCHIC
- Describing someone or something with the ability to perceive things beyond normal sensory experience — the most common everyday word for clairvoyant.
- TELEPATHIC
- Specifically describing the supposed ability to transmit or receive thoughts directly from another mind, without speaking or writing.
STAGED PERFORMANCES
BALLET, MUSICAL, OPERA, and PLAY are four distinct formats for live performance presented on a stage before an audience.
- BALLET
- A highly formalised style of dance performance, originating in the French and Italian courts, performed on stage — Swan Lake is a classic example.
- MUSICAL
- A stage show that combines spoken dialogue, songs, and dance to tell a story — the dominant form on Broadway and the West End.
- OPERA
- A dramatic stage work in which the entire or majority of the dialogue is sung, typically with orchestral accompaniment.
- PLAY
- A spoken dramatic work performed on stage — the broadest and oldest category, from Shakespeare to modern theatre.
U.S. CABINET DEPARTMENTS
EDUCATION, INTERIOR, STATE, and TREASURY are all official U.S. Cabinet-level executive departments — each headed by a Secretary and confirmed by the Senate.
- EDUCATION
- The U.S. Department of Education, established in 1979, oversees federal policy on schools, student loans, and educational research.
- INTERIOR
- The U.S. Department of the Interior manages the nation's natural resources, national parks, and relations with Native American tribes.
- STATE
- The U.S. Department of State handles foreign policy and diplomacy — the Secretary of State is among the most senior Cabinet positions.
- TREASURY
- The U.S. Department of the Treasury manages federal finances, prints currency, and oversees the IRS — one of the original Cabinet departments.
STARTING WITH NEWSPAPER NAMES
GLOBETROTTER, HERALDRY, POST-IT, and TIMES TABLES each begin with the name of a well-known newspaper — the Globe, the Herald, the Post, and the Times.
- GLOBETROTTER
- Starts with GLOBE — as in the Boston Globe, the newspaper. A globetrotter is a world traveller, but the puzzle only cares about those first five letters.
- HERALDRY
- Starts with HERALD — as in newspapers named the Herald (Miami Herald, for example). Heraldry is the study of coats of arms, but HERALD is the newspaper hiding at its front.
- POST-IT
- Starts with POST — as in the New York Post or Washington Post. The sticky note brand happens to open with one of the most common newspaper names.
- TIMES TABLES
- Starts with TIMES — as in the New York Times or The Times of London. The multiplication tables children memorise begin with the most famous newspaper name of all.
