diff --git a/src/wireviz/wireviz.py b/src/wireviz/wireviz.py
index 9ecef5a..692eef8 100755
--- a/src/wireviz/wireviz.py
+++ b/src/wireviz/wireviz.py
@@ -64,12 +64,6 @@ def parse(yaml_input: str, file_out: (str, Path) = None, return_types: (None, st
 
     # add connections
 
-    def check_designators(what, where): # helper function
-        for i, x in enumerate(what):
-            if x not in yaml_data[where[i]]:
-                return False
-        return True
-
     autogenerated_ids = {}
     for connection in yaml_data['connections']:
         # find first component (potentially nested inside list or dict)