NYT Connections Hints, Answers & Clues -
NYT Connections #1094 Tip
Four instruments are hiding in plain sight behind completely unrelated meanings.
What Makes NYT Connections #1094 Tricky?
Words like AXE, DOVE, KEYS, and BONE sit alongside TRADEMARK, SPOILER, and LAMB — a collision of legal symbols, gentle imagery, kitchen tools, and things you'd find in a thriller novel.
The editor's main trick is loading the grid with words that have strong, obvious meanings designed to pull you away from a much less common slang reading that one entire category depends on.
Two groups here are fairly clean once you spot their logic, but the instrument slang group and the superscript group both require you to mentally step outside the word's most obvious identity — expect at least one wrong guess.
Connections Hints for Every Word in the June 9, 2026 Puzzle
ASTERISK
Connections hint for ASTERISK
The * symbol — in this puzzle, what matters is where it sits relative to the text around it, not what it marks.
AXE
Connections hint for AXE
Commonly a chopping tool, but in musician slang an axe is a guitar — that slang reading is what the puzzle uses.
ANGEL
Connections hint for ANGEL
A heavenly being associated with purity and innocence — one of the most universal symbols of goodness.
SURPRISE
Connections hint for SURPRISE
Something kept hidden until the reveal — you're not supposed to know about it in advance, which is exactly the point here.
SECRET
Connections hint for SECRET
Information deliberately kept from others — the keeping-it-hidden sense is what connects it to its group.
TRADEMARK
Connections hint for TRADEMARK
The ™ symbol placed after a brand name — notice where on the line that symbol sits when you type it.
BONE
Connections hint for BONE
Commonly the hard tissue inside a body, but in musician slang a bone is a trombone — that's the reading the puzzle uses.
DOVE
Connections hint for DOVE
The white bird that has symbolised peace and innocence for centuries — a classic emblem of purity.
DEGREE
Connections hint for DEGREE
The ° symbol used after a temperature or angle measurement — pay attention to where it sits relative to the number.
PASSWORD
Connections hint for PASSWORD
A code kept private to protect access — you're explicitly not supposed to share it, which is the connection.
LAMB
Connections hint for LAMB
A young sheep — gentle, helpless, and one of the oldest symbols of innocence in literature and religion.
KEYS
Connections hint for KEYS
Commonly what unlocks a door, but in musician slang keys refers to a keyboard instrument like a piano or synthesiser.
BABE
Connections hint for BABE
An innocent, newborn child — the word captures helplessness and purity in a single syllable.
SKINS
Connections hint for SKINS
Commonly just the outer layer of something, but in musician slang skins means drums — the drumheads are the skins.
EXPONENT
Connections hint for EXPONENT
In mathematics, the small raised number that tells you how many times to multiply — its position above the baseline is the key detail.
SPOILER
Connections hint for SPOILER
Information that ruins a surprise or plot twist before you experience it — something you're not supposed to reveal.
Traps & Misdirects Hints for NYT Connections Puzzle (#1094)
AXE is what you use to chop wood, BONE is what's left after dinner, and KEYS are what you use to open a door — three completely ordinary concrete nouns that feel like they could anchor a category about tools or household objects. That reading is a dead end. All three are slang terms musicians use for specific instruments, and the puzzle is using that sense entirely.
ANGEL, DOVE, and LAMB are three of the most classic symbols of purity and gentleness in the English language — grouping them together feels almost automatic. That instinct is dangerous here because it tempts you to lock in three words and then hunt for a fourth, which can burn a guess. Make sure you've confirmed the fourth member before committing.
SPOILER ruins a plot twist, SECRET is something you keep hidden, and SURPRISE is something you don't see coming — all three orbit the idea of information you're not supposed to know yet. The connection is real but incomplete. There is a fourth word in the grid that belongs with these three, and it's easy to overlook because its surface meaning points strongly elsewhere.
DEGREE makes you think of temperature or a university qualification, ASTERISK makes you think of a footnote marker on a page, and TRADEMARK makes you think of brand law — three words from completely different domains. What links them has nothing to do with those meanings. Think about where you physically place each of these symbols when you type them.
Connections Hints for June 9, 2026
Yellow Connections Hints
Yellow Category Hint
Gentle, pure figures that represent goodness and naivety
Think: Think: nursery, heaven, flock
Yellow Category Name
SYMBOLS OF INNOCENCE
Yellow Category Words
Reveal word 1
ANGELReveal word 2
BABEReveal word 3
DOVEReveal word 4
LAMBGreen Connections Hints
Green Category Hint
Information you're expected to keep to yourself
Think: Think: shh, don't tell anyone
Green Category Name
THINGS YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO REVEAL
Green Category Words
Reveal word 1
PASSWORDReveal word 2
SECRETReveal word 3
SPOILERReveal word 4
SURPRISEBlue Connections Hints
Blue Category Hint
Symbols that float above the normal text baseline when typed
Think: Think: raised, small, above the line
Blue Category Name
THINGS REPRESENTED IN SUPERSCRIPT
Blue Category Words
Reveal word 1
ASTERISKReveal word 2
DEGREEReveal word 3
EXPONENTReveal word 4
TRADEMARKPurple Connections Hints
Purple Category Hint
Nicknames musicians use for their instruments
Think: Think: band, gig, stage slang
Purple Category Name
SLANG FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Purple Category Words
Reveal word 1
AXEReveal word 2
BONEReveal word 3
KEYSReveal word 4
SKINSNYT Connections Answers for June 9, 2026
NYT Connections Answers Explained: June 9, 2026
SYMBOLS OF INNOCENCE
ANGEL, BABE, DOVE, and LAMB are all classic symbols of innocence — each one evokes purity, helplessness, or goodness in a way that has been embedded in literature, religion, and everyday language for centuries.
- ANGEL
- Heavenly beings are depicted as pure, benevolent, and untouched by sin — angel is shorthand for someone innocent or saintly.
- BABE
- A newborn baby is the ultimate symbol of innocence — completely helpless and uncorrupted by the world.
- DOVE
- The white dove has symbolised peace and purity across cultures for millennia — it appears in religious texts and peace movements alike.
- LAMB
- A young lamb is gentle, defenceless, and mild — the phrase 'innocent as a lamb' captures exactly why it belongs here.
THINGS YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO REVEAL
PASSWORD, SECRET, SPOILER, and SURPRISE are all things you're explicitly expected to keep to yourself — revealing any of them breaks a social or practical rule about withholding information.
- PASSWORD
- A password is private by design — sharing it defeats its entire purpose and is something you're actively told never to do.
- SECRET
- A secret is information entrusted to you on the condition that you don't pass it on — revealing it is a betrayal.
- SPOILER
- A spoiler reveals a plot twist or ending before someone has experienced it — sharing one is considered a social offence among fans.
- SURPRISE
- A surprise only works if the recipient doesn't know about it in advance — telling them ruins the whole thing.
THINGS REPRESENTED IN SUPERSCRIPT
ASTERISK, DEGREE, EXPONENT, and TRADEMARK are all symbols or notations that appear in superscript — raised above the normal text baseline rather than sitting on the line with regular characters.
- ASTERISK
- The * symbol is often placed as a raised superscript after a word to flag a footnote or qualification — it sits above the baseline.
- DEGREE
- The ° symbol for temperature or angles is written in superscript directly after the number — 100° sits the circle above the line.
- EXPONENT
- In maths, an exponent is the small raised number written above and to the right of a base number — 2³ has the 3 in superscript.
- TRADEMARK
- The ™ symbol is written in superscript after a brand name — it floats above the baseline to signal an unregistered trademark claim.
SLANG FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
AXE, BONE, KEYS, and SKINS are all slang terms musicians use for specific instruments — guitar, trombone, keyboard, and drums respectively — each hiding behind a completely unrelated everyday meaning.
- AXE
- In musician slang, an axe is a guitar — the term has been used in jazz and rock circles since at least the mid-20th century.
- BONE
- Bone is slang for trombone — a shortening used by jazz musicians, where the slide trombone is a staple of the brass section.
- KEYS
- Keys is slang for a keyboard instrument — piano, organ, or synthesiser — referring to the physical keys the player presses.
- SKINS
- Skins is slang for drums — the drumheads stretched over the shells are literally skins, and the term is widely used in jazz and popular music.
