Let me analyze these 16 words and look for potential connections. First, let me list them out: FICTION, BROWN, HEAD, FIELD, DIRECTOR, PEA, GROUNDS, COCO, CHAIR, GREEN, CHEST, LAWN, HAZEL, DOGS, UNCHAINED, CHIEF Let me look for patterns: 1. Colors or things that can be colors: BROWN, GREEN, HAZEL (eye colors?) 2. Quentin Tarantino movies: - PULP FICTION - RESERVOIR DOGS - DJANGO UNCHAINED - Could BROWN fit? (Mr. Brown from Reservoir Dogs? But that's not a movie title) - Actually, let me think... JACKIE BROWN is a Tarantino movie! So: FICTION (Pulp Fiction), DOGS (Reservoir Dogs), UNCHAINED (Django Unchained), BROWN (Jackie Brown) 3. Things that can follow "COAT": CHEST (coat chest?), no... 4. Things that go with "COAT" or precede a common word: - PEA coat, GREEN coat? - FIELD, LAWN, GROUNDS - outdoor areas? 5. Eye colors: BROWN, GREEN, HAZEL... need a fourth. 6. Positions/Leadership: DIRECTOR, CHAIR, CHIEF, HEAD - these could all be leadership positions or titles! 7. Charlie Brown characters: Let me think... PEANUTS characters 8. "___ coat": PEA coat, what else? Let me focus on the Tarantino movies connection - this seems strong: - PULP FICTION - RESERVOIR DOGS - DJANGO UNCHAINED - JACKIE BROWN All are Tarantino films where we just use the second word! Let me also verify the leadership positions: - DIRECTOR (head of organization) - CHAIR (chairman) - CHIEF (leader) - HEAD (leader) These four all can mean "leader" or top position. Outdoor areas/grounds: - FIELD - LAWN - GROUNDS - GREEN (like a village green or golf green) These could all be grassy outdoor areas! Eye colors: - BROWN - GREEN - HAZEL - What's the fourth? Not seeing an obvious one here. Let me reconsider. COCO is interesting - could be: - Coco Chanel - The movie Coco - Coconut CHEST could be: - Treasure chest - Body part - Chest of drawers I'm most confident about the Tarantino movies: FICTION, BROWN, DOGS, UNCHAINED Let me go with that guess first as it seems like a very specific and clever connection.

I got the Tarantino movies correct. Now let me look at the remaining 12 words: HEAD, FIELD, DIRECTOR, PEA, GROUNDS, COCO, CHAIR, GREEN, CHEST, LAWN, HAZEL, CHIEF Let me reconsider my earlier theories: 1. Leadership positions/titles meaning "leader": - DIRECTOR - CHAIR (chairman) - CHIEF - HEAD These all can mean a leader or top person in an organization. This seems strong! 2. Outdoor grassy areas: - FIELD - LAWN - GROUNDS - GREEN (village green, golf green) These are all outdoor areas with grass. 3. Eye colors: - GREEN - HAZEL - BROWN (already used) Need to find others... not seeing enough here now. 4. Things that can precede "COAT": - PEA (pea coat) - What else? Not seeing a strong pattern. 5. COCO - thinking about this: - Coco Chanel - Could there be a "Chanel" connection? COCO, what else? 6. "___ NUT" words: - PEA (peanut) - HAZEL (hazelnut) - CHEST (chestnut) - COCO (coconut) This is a strong pattern! All can precede "NUT"! Let me verify: - PEANUT ✓ - HAZELNUT ✓ - CHESTNUT ✓ - COCONUT ✓ This seems very strong! Let me go with this one.

Excellent! Two down, two to go. Let me look at the remaining 8 words: HEAD, FIELD, DIRECTOR, GROUNDS, CHAIR, GREEN, LAWN, CHIEF Let me revisit my earlier theories: 1. Leadership positions/titles meaning "leader": - DIRECTOR - CHAIR (chairman) - CHIEF - HEAD These all can mean a leader or top person in an organization. 2. Outdoor grassy areas: - FIELD - LAWN - GROUNDS - GREEN (village green, golf green) These are all outdoor areas, often with grass. Both of these seem very strong! Let me pick one. I'll go with the leadership positions first since it's a clear semantic connection - all four words can mean "the person in charge": - HEAD of department - DIRECTOR of a company - CHAIR of a committee - CHIEF executive Actually wait, let me double-check the grassy areas: - FIELD - outdoor grassy area ✓ - LAWN - grass area ✓ - GROUNDS - property/land area ✓ - GREEN - village green, golf green ✓ Both seem equally strong. Let me go with the leadership/boss connection first.

Three down, one to go. The remaining 4 words must be the final category: FIELD, GROUNDS, GREEN, LAWN These should all connect somehow. My earlier theory was that they're all outdoor grassy areas: - FIELD - outdoor grassy area - LAWN - grass area around a house - GROUNDS - property/land with grass - GREEN - village green, golf green But let me think if there's another connection that might be more specific... Could they all precede or follow a common word? - FIELD day, field goal, field trip - LAWN mower, lawn chair - GREEN house, green thumb - GROUNDS keeper, coffee grounds Hmm, what about following a word? - Playing FIELD - Front LAWN - Village GREEN - Coffee GROUNDS? No... - Burial GROUNDS Or maybe they all can come before a specific word? - Actually, these could all be types of outdoor areas associated with estates or large properties. I'm confident these four are the final group regardless of the exact category name. Let me guess them.

Let me analyze these 16 words to find groups of 4 related words. First, let me list them: PORTAL, BEST, BETTER, BEAT, KEY, GATE, WALL, INSET, DOOR, TOP, HATCH, SCALE, MAIN, COMPASS, DOWNING, FLEET Let me look for patterns: 1. Famous streets in London: - DOWNING (Downing Street - where the Prime Minister lives) - FLEET (Fleet Street - famous for newspapers) - WALL (Wall Street? - that's New York though) - MAIN (Main Street) Wait, let me think about "___ Street": - DOWNING Street - FLEET Street - WALL Street - MAIN Street These could all precede "Street"! 2. Words that can follow "MAP": - SCALE (map scale) - KEY (map key) - COMPASS (on a map) - INSET (map inset) This seems like a strong category - all are components/features of a map! 3. Ways to enter/exits or openings: - PORTAL - GATE - DOOR - HATCH These are all types of entrances/exits or openings! 4. What's left would be: BEST, BETTER, BEAT, TOP - These could all relate to "surpass" or "outdo" - BEAT (to beat someone) - BEST (to best someone) - BETTER (to better something) - TOP (to top something) All of these can be verbs meaning to surpass or exceed! Let me verify my categories: 1. ___ Street: DOWNING, FLEET, WALL, MAIN 2. Map components: SCALE, KEY, COMPASS, INSET 3. Entrances/openings: PORTAL, GATE, DOOR, HATCH 4. Verbs meaning to surpass: BEST, BETTER, BEAT, TOP I'm most confident about the map components because they're very specific features found on maps. Let me start with that. Actually, wait - KEY could also be Florida Keys, or a key to a door. COMPASS could be a navigation instrument. Let me reconsider. The "surpass" verbs seem quite strong: BEAT, BEST, BETTER, TOP - all can mean to exceed or outdo someone. The entrances also seem strong: PORTAL, GATE, DOOR, HATCH - all are ways to enter/exit. I'll go with the map components first as it seems like a clever category that the NYT might use.

I got the map components correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words: PORTAL, BEST, BETTER, BEAT, GATE, WALL, DOOR, TOP, HATCH, MAIN, DOWNING, FLEET Let me revisit my earlier categories: 1. ___ Street: DOWNING, FLEET, WALL, MAIN - DOWNING Street (London, PM's residence) - FLEET Street (London, newspaper district) - WALL Street (New York, financial district) - MAIN Street (generic American main street) 2. Entrances/openings: PORTAL, GATE, DOOR, HATCH - All are ways to enter or exit somewhere 3. Verbs meaning to surpass: BEST, BETTER, BEAT, TOP - All can be verbs meaning to exceed or outdo Let me verify these remaining groups work: - After removing KEY, SCALE, COMPASS, INSET - Remaining: PORTAL, BEST, BETTER, BEAT, GATE, WALL, DOOR, TOP, HATCH, MAIN, DOWNING, FLEET That's 12 words, which divides perfectly into 3 groups of 4. I'm very confident about the "surpass" verbs: BEAT, BEST, BETTER, TOP - "I can beat you" = surpass - "I can best you" = surpass - "I can better your score" = surpass - "I can top that" = surpass Let me go with this one next.

Excellent! Two down, two to go. Let me look at the remaining 8 words: PORTAL, GATE, WALL, DOOR, HATCH, MAIN, DOWNING, FLEET My remaining predicted categories: 1. ___ Street: DOWNING, FLEET, WALL, MAIN - DOWNING Street (London) - FLEET Street (London) - WALL Street (New York) - MAIN Street (common American street name) 2. Entrances/openings: PORTAL, GATE, DOOR, HATCH - All are types of entrances or ways to pass through Both of these seem very solid. Let me go with the "___ Street" category since it's a specific wordplay pattern that NYT Connections often uses.

Now I have the final 4 words left: PORTAL, GATE, DOOR, HATCH These should all be entrances/openings or ways to pass through something. - PORTAL: an entrance or doorway - GATE: an entrance, typically in a fence or wall - DOOR: an entrance to a room or building - HATCH: an opening, typically in a floor, ceiling, or ship All four are types of openings or entrances. This should be the final category!

Let me analyze these 16 words and look for potential categories of 4 related words. Available words: WING, BULB, ENGINE, EAR, CABIN, HONEYCOMB, STIFF, HEAD, ROB, CANDLE, CRAYON, STALK, SEAL, NOSE, HOSE, FLEECE Let me think about possible connections: 1. Body parts: EAR, HEAD, NOSE - that's only 3... STALK could be "eye stalk"? Not quite. 2. Things made of wax: CANDLE, CRAYON, HONEYCOMB (beeswax), SEAL (wax seal) - this looks promising! All four can be made from or associated with wax. 3. Parts of an airplane: WING, ENGINE, CABIN, NOSE (nose of a plane), TAIL... Let me check - WING, ENGINE, CABIN, NOSE - these could all be parts of an airplane! 4. Things that can follow "corn": STALK (corn stalk), EAR (ear of corn), BULB (no), HOSE (no)... 5. Looking at "___ of corn": EAR of corn, STALK of corn... 6. Let me think about compound words or phrases: - WING: chicken wing, wing nut - BULB: light bulb, flower bulb - ENGINE: search engine, fire engine - EAR: ear of corn - CABIN: log cabin, cabin crew - HONEYCOMB: just honeycomb - ROB: rob someone - HEAD: head of lettuce - STIFF: stiff person (slang for corpse or boring person) - CANDLE: candle wax - CRAYON: wax crayon - STALK: corn stalk, celery stalk - SEAL: wax seal, Navy SEAL - NOSE: airplane nose - HOSE: garden hose, pantyhose - FLEECE: Golden Fleece, fleece jacket 7. Navy SEAL... could there be military connections? ROB could be a name... 8. Wait - STIFF, ROB, FLEECE - these are all slang for stealing/cheating someone! STIFF (to not pay), ROB (to steal), FLEECE (to swindle)... what else? HOSE could mean to cheat someone too! "To hose someone" means to cheat them. Let me verify: STIFF, ROB, FLEECE, HOSE - all can mean to cheat or swindle someone. This seems like a strong category! 9. WAX items: CANDLE, CRAYON, HONEYCOMB, SEAL - all involve wax. This also seems strong. 10. Airplane parts: WING, ENGINE, CABIN, NOSE - all parts of an airplane. 11. What about the remaining words if I take out two categories? If I remove STIFF, ROB, FLEECE, HOSE and CANDLE, CRAYON, HONEYCOMB, SEAL: Remaining: WING, BULB, ENGINE, EAR, CABIN, HEAD, STALK, NOSE Airplane parts from these: WING, ENGINE, CABIN, NOSE That leaves: BULB, EAR, HEAD, STALK BULB, EAR, HEAD, STALK - these could all be parts of plants! Bulb (flower bulb), ear (of corn), head (of lettuce/cabbage), stalk (of celery)! So my four categories might be: 1. Ways to cheat/swindle: STIFF, ROB, FLEECE, HOSE 2. Wax items: CANDLE, CRAYON, HONEYCOMB, SEAL 3. Airplane parts: WING, ENGINE, CABIN, NOSE 4. Plant parts: BULB, EAR, HEAD, STALK I'm most confident about the "ways to cheat" category. Let me go with that first.

I got the "ways to cheat/swindle" category correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words: Available words: WING, BULB, ENGINE, EAR, CABIN, HONEYCOMB, HEAD, CANDLE, CRAYON, STALK, SEAL, NOSE Based on my previous analysis, I had identified three more potential categories: 1. Wax items: CANDLE, CRAYON, HONEYCOMB, SEAL - all involve wax (candle wax, wax crayon, beeswax honeycomb, wax seal) 2. Airplane parts: WING, ENGINE, CABIN, NOSE - all parts of an airplane 3. Plant parts: BULB, EAR, HEAD, STALK - bulb (flower bulb), ear (of corn), head (of lettuce/cabbage), stalk (of celery) Let me verify these make sense with the remaining words: - WING, BULB, ENGINE, EAR, CABIN, HONEYCOMB, HEAD, CANDLE, CRAYON, STALK, SEAL, NOSE If I take out WAX items (CANDLE, CRAYON, HONEYCOMB, SEAL): Remaining: WING, BULB, ENGINE, EAR, CABIN, HEAD, STALK, NOSE From these, airplane parts: WING, ENGINE, CABIN, NOSE Remaining after that: BULB, EAR, HEAD, STALK - plant parts This all fits perfectly! I'll go with the wax items next since I'm very confident about that category.

Excellent! Two categories down. Now I have 8 words remaining: Available words: WING, BULB, ENGINE, EAR, CABIN, HEAD, STALK, NOSE Based on my earlier analysis, I believe the remaining two categories are: 1. Airplane parts: WING, ENGINE, CABIN, NOSE - all parts of an airplane (wing, engine, cabin, nose cone) 2. Plant parts: BULB, EAR, HEAD, STALK - bulb (flower bulb), ear (of corn), head (of lettuce/cabbage), stalk (of celery) Both categories seem very solid. Let me go with the airplane parts next. Actually, let me double-check the plant parts: - BULB: tulip bulb, onion bulb - yes, plant part - EAR: ear of corn - yes, plant part - HEAD: head of lettuce, head of cabbage - yes, plant part - STALK: celery stalk, corn stalk - yes, plant part And airplane parts: - WING: airplane wing - yes - ENGINE: airplane engine - yes - CABIN: airplane cabin - yes - NOSE: nose of the plane - yes Both work perfectly. I'll go with airplane parts.

Three categories down, one to go. The remaining 4 words are: Available words: BULB, EAR, HEAD, STALK As I analyzed earlier, these should all be plant parts: - BULB: tulip bulb, onion bulb - a plant part that grows underground - EAR: ear of corn - the part of corn that contains the kernels - HEAD: head of lettuce, head of cabbage - the main edible part of these vegetables - STALK: celery stalk, corn stalk - the stem/main body of a plant This is the last category and it fits perfectly - all four words can describe parts of plants/vegetables.

Let me analyze these 16 words and find potential categories. First, let me list them out: DISCARD, BLANKET, PASS, STATE, UPHOLD, KEEP, HONOR, THROW, ENERGY, SHEET, FULFILL, JUSTICE, PLAY, LABOR, SHAM, DRAW Let me look for connections: 1. Card game actions: DISCARD, PASS, DRAW, PLAY - these are all things you can do in card games like Uno or other card games. This seems like a strong connection. 2. Things that can follow "PILLOW": PILLOW CASE? No... Let me think about bedding: BLANKET, SHEET, SHAM (pillow sham) - these are bedding items. What else? THROW (throw blanket/throw pillow)? 3. U.S. Cabinet Departments: STATE (Department of State), ENERGY (Department of Energy), JUSTICE (Department of Justice), LABOR (Department of Labor) - these are all U.S. government departments! 4. Words that go with a promise/commitment: UPHOLD, KEEP, HONOR, FULFILL - these all relate to keeping a promise or commitment. You can UPHOLD a promise, KEEP a promise, HONOR a promise, FULFILL a promise. Let me verify: - Card game actions: DISCARD, PASS, DRAW, PLAY ✓ - Bedding items: BLANKET, SHEET, SHAM, THROW ✓ - Cabinet departments: STATE, ENERGY, JUSTICE, LABOR ✓ - ___ a promise: UPHOLD, KEEP, HONOR, FULFILL ✓ This accounts for all 16 words perfectly! Let me start with the one I'm most confident about. The Cabinet departments seem very clear: STATE, ENERGY, JUSTICE, LABOR are all U.S. Cabinet departments. Actually, let me also consider "KEEP a promise" vs other meanings. KEEP could also be part of bedding? No, that doesn't work. I'm most confident about the Cabinet departments: STATE, ENERGY, JUSTICE, LABOR.

I got the Cabinet departments correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words: DISCARD, BLANKET, PASS, UPHOLD, KEEP, HONOR, THROW, SHEET, FULFILL, PLAY, SHAM, DRAW Let me verify my earlier categories: 1. Card game actions: DISCARD, PASS, DRAW, PLAY - these are all things you can do in card games. You DISCARD a card, PASS your turn, DRAW a card, PLAY a card. 2. Bedding items: BLANKET, SHEET, SHAM (pillow sham), THROW (throw blanket/throw pillow) - all items found on a bed. 3. ___ a promise: UPHOLD, KEEP, HONOR, FULFILL - all verbs that go with "promise" - you can UPHOLD a promise, KEEP a promise, HONOR a promise, FULFILL a promise. All three categories still work with the remaining 12 words (3 categories × 4 words = 12 words). I'll go with the bedding items next as that seems very solid: BLANKET, SHEET, SHAM, THROW

Excellent! Two down, two to go. The remaining 8 words are: DISCARD, PASS, UPHOLD, KEEP, HONOR, THROW, FULFILL, PLAY, DRAW Wait, THROW was already used in the bedding category. Let me recount the remaining words: DISCARD, PASS, UPHOLD, KEEP, HONOR, FULFILL, PLAY, DRAW That's 8 words for 2 categories. 1. Card game actions: DISCARD, PASS, DRAW, PLAY - these are all things you can do in card games. 2. ___ a promise: UPHOLD, KEEP, HONOR, FULFILL - all verbs that go with "promise" Both categories have exactly 4 words each and all 8 remaining words are accounted for. I'll go with the card game actions: DISCARD, PASS, DRAW, PLAY

The remaining 4 words must be: UPHOLD, KEEP, HONOR, FULFILL These are all verbs that can go with "a promise" - you can UPHOLD a promise, KEEP a promise, HONOR a promise, FULFILL a promise. This is the last category and there are exactly 4 words left, so this must be correct.

Let me analyze these 16 words and look for potential categories of 4 related words. First, let me list all the words: COMPOUND, CRUISE, HYBRID, QUALITY, REMOTE, PLANT, LODGE, CROSS, HOTEL, HOUSE, STICK, WEDGE, BLEND, BIRTH, TOKEN, DEED Let me think about potential groupings: 1. **Types of controls/buttons on a TV remote or similar device**: REMOTE could relate to this, but that seems too narrow. 2. **Things that can follow "CONTROL"**: - REMOTE CONTROL - yes - QUALITY CONTROL - yes - BIRTH CONTROL - yes - CRUISE CONTROL - yes This seems like a strong category! 3. **Types of cars or vehicle-related**: - HYBRID (car type) - CRUISE (cruise control) - STICK (stick shift) - Hmm, need a fourth... 4. **Words that can precede "INTEREST"**: - COMPOUND INTEREST - yes - Could there be others? 5. **Types of accommodations**: - HOTEL - LODGE - HOUSE (like a guest house) - Hmm, need to think more... 6. **Golf-related terms**: - WEDGE (golf club) - CROSS? No... - STICK? Not really golf... 7. **Words that can follow a color or go with "RED"**: - CROSS (Red Cross) - WEDGE (red wedge?) - Hmm... 8. **Salad types** - could "WEDGE" relate to wedge salad? 9. **Words that can precede "WORD"**: - CROSS (crossword) - Could there be others? Let me reconsider the "___ CONTROL" pattern: - REMOTE CONTROL ✓ - QUALITY CONTROL ✓ - BIRTH CONTROL ✓ - CRUISE CONTROL ✓ This seems like a very strong category! All four words can precede "CONTROL" to make common phrases. Let me verify there aren't other words that fit: - COMPOUND CONTROL? Not common - HYBRID CONTROL? Not a standard phrase - PLANT CONTROL? Not really - LODGE CONTROL? No - CROSS CONTROL? No - HOTEL CONTROL? No - HOUSE CONTROL? No - STICK CONTROL? No - WEDGE CONTROL? No - BLEND CONTROL? No - TOKEN CONTROL? No - DEED CONTROL? No I'm confident in this guess: REMOTE, QUALITY, BIRTH, CRUISE all precede CONTROL.

I got the first category correct: REMOTE, QUALITY, BIRTH, CRUISE (all can precede "CONTROL"). Now let me analyze the remaining 12 words: COMPOUND, HYBRID, PLANT, LODGE, CROSS, HOTEL, HOUSE, STICK, WEDGE, BLEND, TOKEN, DEED Let me look for patterns: 1. **Words that can follow "GREEN"**: - GREENHOUSE ✓ - GREEN CROSS? Not common - Could there be others? 2. **Types of accommodations**: - HOTEL - LODGE - HOUSE - Hmm, need a fourth... 3. **Words related to mixing/combining**: - COMPOUND - HYBRID - BLEND - CROSS (crossbreed?) This could be a category about mixing or combining things! 4. **Words that can precede "WORD"**: - CROSS (crossword) ✓ - Could there be others? 5. **Gestures or actions**: - STICK - WEDGE - CROSS - Hmm... 6. **Golf clubs**: - WEDGE ✓ - Could STICK be one? Not really for golf... 7. **Words that can follow "STICK"**: - No, let me think about what can precede or follow these words 8. **Door-related or key-related**: - DEED (property deed) - Hmm... 9. **Token gestures**: - TOKEN - Could relate to symbolism? Let me reconsider: **Synonyms for "mix" or types of mixing**: - COMPOUND (to mix together) - HYBRID (a mix of two things) - BLEND (to mix) - CROSS (crossbreed - a mix) This seems strong! All four words relate to combining or mixing things together. Actually, let me also consider if these could all precede or follow a specific word... Could they all follow "CROSS"? - CROSSBREED, CROSS-COMPOUND? No... Could they relate to coffee drinks? - BLEND (coffee blend) ✓ - HOUSE (house blend) ✓ - Hmm... Wait, let me think about words that can precede "BREED": - CROSSBREED ✓ - Could there be others? I think the mixing/combining category is strong: COMPOUND, HYBRID, BLEND, CROSS All can mean to mix or combine things, or refer to something that is a mixture.

Two categories down! Now I have 8 words remaining: PLANT, LODGE, HOTEL, HOUSE, STICK, WEDGE, TOKEN, DEED Let me analyze these: 1. **Types of accommodations**: - HOTEL ✓ - LODGE ✓ - HOUSE ✓ - Hmm, need a fourth... PLANT? No. 2. **Words that can follow "IN"**: - IN-HOUSE ✓ - Could there be others? 3. **Words that can precede "PARTY"**: - HOUSE PARTY ✓ - Could there be others? 4. **Words that can follow "POWER"**: - POWER PLANT ✓ - POWER HOUSE ✓ - POWER STICK? No... 5. **Golf-related**: - WEDGE (golf club) ✓ - Hmm... 6. **Words that can follow "STICK"**: - No, that doesn't work... 7. **Symbolic or representational things**: - TOKEN (symbolic gesture) - DEED (action) - Hmm... 8. **Words that can precede "SHIFT"**: - STICK SHIFT? Not "STICK SHIFT" but "STICK" as in manual transmission 9. **Words related to property/real estate**: - DEED ✓ - HOUSE ✓ - PLANT (manufacturing plant)? - Hmm... 10. **Words that can follow "DOOR"**: - DOOR WEDGE ✓ - Hmm... 11. **Things that might go with a fireplace or door**: - WEDGE (door wedge) - LODGE (has a fireplace) - Hmm... Let me think about this differently. What if they all can precede or follow a common word? **___ ARREST**: - HOUSE ARREST ✓ - Could there be others? **By ___ (legal/affirmation phrase)**: - BY TOKEN? No... Wait! **Good faith gestures or symbolic actions**: - TOKEN (token gesture) - DEED (good deed) - Hmm... Let me try **___ MUSIC** or **___ BAND**: - HOUSE MUSIC ✓ - Hmm... What about **DOOR ___**: - DOOR WEDGE? Actually it's "WEDGE" used to prop a door - Hmm... Let me try **___ INN** or types of places to stay... No, that's only a few. What about **STICK, WEDGE, LODGE** - things that can be stuck or inserted? - STICK (insert) - WEDGE (insert to hold) - LODGE (something can lodge somewhere) - PLANT (plant something in the ground) Hmm, that could work! All could mean to firmly place or insert something: - STICK - to adhere or insert - WEDGE - to force into a space - LODGE - to become stuck - PLANT - to place firmly This seems like a potential category about "getting stuck" or "firmly placing."

Excellent! Three categories down. Now I have 4 words remaining: HOTEL, HOUSE, TOKEN, DEED These must form the final category. Let me think about what connects them: 1. **Monopoly game pieces/elements**: - HOTEL (you buy hotels in Monopoly) ✓ - HOUSE (you buy houses in Monopoly) ✓ - TOKEN (the game pieces you move around the board) ✓ - DEED (property deeds/title deeds in Monopoly) ✓ Yes! This is definitely it - all four are things found in the board game Monopoly! - HOTEL - you place these on properties - HOUSE - you place these on properties before hotels - TOKEN - the playing pieces (car, thimble, dog, etc.) - DEED - the property cards/title deeds you collect This is the final category and I'm very confident about it.

Let me analyze these 16 words and look for potential categories of 4 related words. First, let me list them out: FREEZE, VAPORIZE, MELT, ALTERNATE, HACK, SHRINK, SOMEDAY, FANTASY, BACKUP, HERO, SUB, SUIT, COPPER, CONDENSE, COVER, HONEY Let me think about possible categories: 1. **Phase changes/States of matter**: FREEZE, VAPORIZE, MELT, CONDENSE - these are all phase transitions! Freeze (liquid to solid), Vaporize (liquid to gas), Melt (solid to liquid), Condense (gas to liquid). This seems like a strong category. 2. **Terms of endearment**: HONEY, SUGAR... hmm, I don't see SUGAR. What about HONEY, DEAR... Let me think. HONEY could be a term of endearment. 3. **_____ SANDWICH or SUB types**: HERO, SUB are both types of sandwiches. CLUB? Not here. 4. **Words that can follow a common word**: - BACKUP, COVER, ALTERNATE, SUB - these could all mean "substitute" or replacement - Actually, BACKUP, ALTERNATE, SUB could all relate to substitutes 5. **Words that can precede a common word**: - FANTASY, HERO, SUIT - could these go before something? - HERO WORSHIP, FANTASY FOOTBALL, SUIT... 6. **Types of sandwiches**: HERO, SUB, CLUB... MELT could be a sandwich (tuna melt)! - Actually: HERO, SUB, MELT... what else? Could CLUB be hidden? No. What about WRAP? No. 7. **HONEY ___**: HONEY TRAP, HONEYMOON... 8. **___ ISLAND**: FANTASY ISLAND, COPPER... hmm 9. **Words that can come before "COP"**: COPPER is a slang for cop... 10. **SUPER___**: SUPERHERO, SUIT... no that doesn't work. 11. **Words with WRITER prefix**: HACK writer? No... 12. **Life HACK, FREEZE, etc.**: These could be things you do on a computer? FREEZE (computer freezes), HACK (hack a computer)... 13. **___BEES**: HONEYBEES, SPELLING BEES... no 14. **ISLAND types**: FANTASY ISLAND, SOMEDAY ISLE? No... Let me reconsider. The phase changes seem very solid: FREEZE, VAPORIZE, MELT, CONDENSE. Wait, let me think about **sandwich types**: HERO sandwich, SUB sandwich, MELT (like a tuna melt)... what's the fourth? CLUB isn't there. Could WRAP be there? No. What about COVER? No... **Words meaning substitute/replacement**: ALTERNATE, BACKUP, SUB, COVER (as in "cover for someone") - this seems strong! **Terms of endearment**: HONEY, SUGAR (not here), DEAR (not here)... Let me think differently. **SHRINK** could mean psychiatrist (slang), or to get smaller. **COPPER** is slang for police officer. **HACK** can mean a bad writer, or a taxi driver, or to cut. Wait - **slang terms for professions**: - COPPER = police officer - SHRINK = psychiatrist - HACK = taxi driver or writer - SUIT = business person/executive Yes! COPPER, SHRINK, HACK, SUIT could all be slang for professions! Let me verify my top candidates: 1. Phase changes: FREEZE, VAPORIZE, MELT, CONDENSE - very confident 2. Slang for professions: COPPER, SHRINK, HACK, SUIT - fairly confident 3. Substitute words: ALTERNATE, BACKUP, SUB, COVER - fairly confident I'll start with phase changes as it seems most concrete.

I got the phase changes correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words: ALTERNATE, HACK, SHRINK, SOMEDAY, FANTASY, BACKUP, HERO, SUB, SUIT, COPPER, COVER, HONEY Let me revisit my earlier hypotheses: 1. **Slang for professions**: COPPER (police officer), SHRINK (psychiatrist), HACK (taxi driver or bad writer), SUIT (business executive) - this still looks strong! 2. **Substitute/replacement words**: ALTERNATE, BACKUP, SUB, COVER (as in "cover for someone") - this also looks strong! 3. **Terms of endearment**: HONEY... what else? SUGAR isn't here. DEAR isn't here. Maybe not this category. 4. **Sandwich types**: HERO, SUB... MELT is gone now. What could complete this? 5. **_____ ISLAND**: FANTASY ISLAND (TV show), SOMEDAY... no 6. **SUPER___ words**: SUPERHERO, SUPERMAN... no SUPER here 7. **Words that can follow GUITAR**: GUITAR HERO... hmm Let me think about what else these could be: SOMEDAY - an adverb, a song title? FANTASY - could be part of "Fantasy Island", "Final Fantasy" HERO - sandwich, superhero, Guitar Hero HONEY - term of endearment, bee product Wait - could these be **Mariah Carey songs**? - HERO - Yes, Mariah Carey song! - FANTASY - Yes, Mariah Carey song! - SOMEDAY - Yes, Mariah Carey song! - HONEY - Yes, Mariah Carey song! That's a strong connection! Let me verify: "Hero" (1993), "Fantasy" (1995), "Someday" (1990), "Honey" (1997) - all Mariah Carey #1 hits! Actually, I'm very confident about both: - Mariah Carey songs: HERO, FANTASY, SOMEDAY, HONEY - Slang for professions: COPPER, SHRINK, HACK, SUIT - Substitute words: ALTERNATE, BACKUP, SUB, COVER Let me go with the Mariah Carey songs since that's a specific connection.

Excellent! Two down, two to go. Let me look at the remaining 8 words: ALTERNATE, HACK, SHRINK, BACKUP, SUB, SUIT, COPPER, COVER My two remaining hypotheses were: 1. **Slang for professions**: COPPER (police officer), SHRINK (psychiatrist), HACK (taxi driver or bad writer), SUIT (business executive) 2. **Substitute/replacement words**: ALTERNATE, BACKUP, SUB, COVER (as in "cover for someone" or "cover band") Both of these seem very strong. Let me verify: Slang for professions: - COPPER = slang for police officer (from copper buttons on uniforms) - SHRINK = slang for psychiatrist/psychologist - HACK = slang for taxi driver (hackney carriage) or a mediocre writer - SUIT = slang for business executive/corporate person Substitute/replacement meanings: - ALTERNATE = a substitute or backup person - BACKUP = a substitute or reserve - SUB = substitute (like a substitute teacher) - COVER = someone who covers for another person Both categories look solid. I'll go with the slang for professions since it's a more specific/clever connection that the NYT Connections typically features.

Now I have the final 4 words left: ALTERNATE, BACKUP, SUB, COVER These should all be words meaning substitute/replacement: - ALTERNATE = a substitute person (like an alternate juror) - BACKUP = a reserve or substitute - SUB = short for substitute (like a substitute teacher) - COVER = someone who covers for another (like a cover band plays someone else's songs, or someone covers a shift) This is the only remaining category, and it fits perfectly with my earlier hypothesis about words that can mean "substitute" or "replacement."

Let me analyze these words and look for potential categories. First, let me list all the words: VANE, ABOUT-FACE, RAINBOW, NEIGHBORHOOD, STUFF, JAM, STREET, BACKPEDAL, WIND CHIME, PINWHEEL, WEDGE, FLIP-FLOP, FLAG, SHOEHORN, RENEGE, KANGAROO Let me look for connections: 1. Things that can go with "WIND": - VANE (wind vane) - WIND CHIME (already has wind) - PINWHEEL (spins in wind) - FLAG (blows in wind) Wait, but WIND CHIME already has "wind" in it. Let me reconsider. 2. Words meaning to change one's position/go back on something: - ABOUT-FACE (reverse direction/opinion) - BACKPEDAL (reverse position) - FLIP-FLOP (change position) - RENEGE (go back on a promise) This seems like a strong category! All four of these mean to reverse or change one's stance/position. 3. Types of kicks in sports/martial arts: - RAINBOW (rainbow kick in soccer) - PINWHEEL (pinwheel kick) - WEDGE (wedge kick?) - Not sure about this... 4. Things you might "SHOEHORN" into something? - SHOEHORN, STUFF, JAM, WEDGE could all relate to forcing something into a tight space! Let me reconsider: - STUFF (to force into) - JAM (to force into) - WEDGE (to force into) - SHOEHORN (to force into) These all mean to force something into a tight space! 5. "Sesame ___" phrases: - STREET (Sesame Street) - NEIGHBORHOOD? No, that's Mr. Rogers - RAINBOW? No... 6. ___ COURT: - KANGAROO (kangaroo court) - NEIGHBORHOOD? No... Let me think about RAINBOW, NEIGHBORHOOD, KANGAROO, STREET... - Could these go with something? 7. Things that spin in the wind: - VANE - PINWHEEL - WIND CHIME - FLAG Actually, let me reconsider. The strongest categories I see are: Category A: Words meaning to reverse/change position ABOUT-FACE, BACKPEDAL, FLIP-FLOP, RENEGE Category B: Words meaning to force into a tight space STUFF, JAM, WEDGE, SHOEHORN I'm most confident about Category A - these are all verbs meaning to change one's stance or go back on something.

I got the first category correct. Now let me look at the remaining words: VANE, RAINBOW, NEIGHBORHOOD, STUFF, JAM, STREET, WIND CHIME, PINWHEEL, WEDGE, FLAG, SHOEHORN, KANGAROO Let me reconsider my earlier analysis: Category B: Words meaning to force into a tight space STUFF, JAM, WEDGE, SHOEHORN - These all mean to force something into a tight space. This still looks strong. Let me verify: - STUFF: to force into a space - JAM: to force/squeeze into - WEDGE: to force into a tight space - SHOEHORN: to squeeze/force into This seems like a very strong category! Other remaining words: VANE, RAINBOW, NEIGHBORHOOD, STREET, WIND CHIME, PINWHEEL, FLAG, KANGAROO Let me think about what these could connect to: Things that spin/move in wind: - VANE (weather vane spins) - WIND CHIME (moves in wind) - PINWHEEL (spins in wind) - FLAG (waves in wind) This could be a category about things affected by wind! That leaves: RAINBOW, NEIGHBORHOOD, STREET, KANGAROO Hmm, what could connect these? - RAINBOW (connection?) - NEIGHBORHOOD (Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) - STREET (Sesame Street) - KANGAROO (Captain Kangaroo) Wait! These could all be classic children's TV shows: - Sesame STREET - Mr. Rogers' NEIGHBORHOOD - Captain KANGAROO - Reading RAINBOW! That's it! These are all children's educational TV shows! Let me go with my high-confidence guess first - forcing something into a space: STUFF, JAM, WEDGE, SHOEHORN

Excellent! Two down, two to go. Remaining words: VANE, RAINBOW, NEIGHBORHOOD, STREET, WIND CHIME, PINWHEEL, FLAG, KANGAROO I identified two potential categories earlier: Category 1: Things that move/spin in the wind - VANE (weather vane) - WIND CHIME (chimes in wind) - PINWHEEL (spins in wind) - FLAG (waves in wind) Category 2: Classic children's educational TV shows (with a word missing) - RAINBOW (Reading Rainbow) - NEIGHBORHOOD (Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) - STREET (Sesame Street) - KANGAROO (Captain Kangaroo) Both categories seem very strong! Let me think about which is more likely... The children's TV show category is clever: - Reading RAINBOW - PBS show about reading - Mr. Rogers' NEIGHBORHOOD - classic PBS show - Sesame STREET - iconic children's show - Captain KANGAROO - classic CBS children's show The wind category is more straightforward: - Weather VANE - spins to show wind direction - WIND CHIME - makes sounds in wind - PINWHEEL - spins in wind - FLAG - flaps in wind Both seem equally valid. I'll go with the children's TV show category since it's a more clever connection that fits the NYT Connections style of having one tricky category.

Three down, one to go! Remaining words: VANE, WIND CHIME, PINWHEEL, FLAG This was my other predicted category - things that move or are affected by wind: - VANE (weather vane spins to show wind direction) - WIND CHIME (makes sounds when wind blows through it) - PINWHEEL (spins when wind hits it) - FLAG (waves/flaps in the wind) These are all objects that respond to or are activated by wind. This should be the final category!

Let me analyze these 16 words and look for potential categories of 4 related words. First, let me list them out: TENDER, FIDDLE, WING, SWEET, KETTLE, FLIPPER, FRITTER, ARM, WARM, STOVETOP, MICROWAVE, FIN, POPPER, TRIFLE, KIND, THROW Let me think about potential categories: 1. **Body parts / appendages**: ARM, WING, FIN, FLIPPER - these are all limbs or appendages used for movement (human arm, bird wing, fish fin, dolphin/seal flipper). This seems like a strong connection! 2. **Cooking methods/appliances**: KETTLE, STOVETOP, MICROWAVE, POPPER - these could all be ways to make popcorn! Kettle corn, stovetop popcorn, microwave popcorn, popper (popcorn popper). Wait, let me reconsider - POPPER could be part of "popcorn popper" but also could be something else. 3. **Words that can follow "CORN"**: KETTLE (kettle corn), POPPER (corn popper), FRITTER (corn fritter)... hmm, not quite 4. 4. **Types of corn products**: KETTLE corn, POPPER (popcorn), FRITTER (corn fritter)... 5. **Sweet/Kind/Tender/Warm** - these could all be adjectives describing personality or demeanor. They're all positive descriptors of a person's character. SWEET, KIND, TENDER, WARM - yes, these all describe someone who is nice/caring! 6. **Words that can precede something**: - FIDDLE could be part of "fiddle around" - TRIFLE could be "trifle with" - FRITTER could be "fritter away" 7. **"Don't ___ with"**: FIDDLE, TRIFLE... hmm 8. **Waste time/effort phrases**: FIDDLE (fiddle around), TRIFLE (trifle with), FRITTER (fritter away)... need a 4th 9. **Body parts for movement**: ARM, WING, FIN, FLIPPER - this still seems very strong 10. **Words that can follow "SWEET"**: SWEET POTATO, but that doesn't work with the format... 11. **___ POTATO**: SWEET potato, COUCH potato... hmm Let me reconsider the strongest categories: **Category 1: Limbs/appendages for locomotion**: ARM, WING, FIN, FLIPPER This is very strong - all are appendages used for movement in different species. **Category 2: Positive personality traits**: SWEET, KIND, TENDER, WARM All describe a gentle, caring person. **Category 3: Ways to make/types of popcorn**: KETTLE, STOVETOP, MICROWAVE, POPPER Kettle corn, stovetop popcorn, microwave popcorn, and popcorn popper. **Category 4: What's left**: FIDDLE, FRITTER, TRIFLE, THROW These could all go with "away" - fiddle away, fritter away, trifle away?, throw away. Or they could be verbs meaning to waste: fiddle, fritter, trifle... and throw? Actually, wait - THROW might not fit "away" in the same sense of wasting. Let me reconsider. FIDDLE, FRITTER, TRIFLE - these all mean to waste or not take seriously FIDDLE away, FRITTER away, TRIFLE with... Hmm, let me start with my most confident guess: the personality traits or the body parts. I'll go with SWEET, KIND, TENDER, WARM as they all describe a gentle, caring personality.

I got the first one correct! SWEET, KIND, TENDER, WARM were all positive personality traits describing a gentle, caring person. Now let me look at the remaining 12 words: TENDER (wait, this was used), FIDDLE, WING, KETTLE, FLIPPER, FRITTER, ARM, STOVETOP, MICROWAVE, FIN, POPPER, TRIFLE, THROW Actually, let me re-list the remaining words after removing SWEET, KIND, TENDER, WARM: FIDDLE, WING, KETTLE, FLIPPER, FRITTER, ARM, STOVETOP, MICROWAVE, FIN, POPPER, TRIFLE, THROW Now let me reconsider my earlier categories: **Category: Limbs/appendages for locomotion**: ARM, WING, FIN, FLIPPER This still seems very strong - all are appendages used for movement in different species (human arm, bird wing, fish fin, seal/dolphin flipper). **Category: Ways to make/types of popcorn**: KETTLE, STOVETOP, MICROWAVE, POPPER Kettle corn, stovetop popcorn, microwave popcorn, and popcorn popper. These are all methods or devices for making popcorn. **Category: What's left would be**: FIDDLE, FRITTER, TRIFLE, THROW These could all go with "away" - fiddle away (waste time), fritter away (waste), throw away. TRIFLE away? Or maybe these all mean to waste or squander something? Actually, let me think more carefully: - FIDDLE away = waste time - FRITTER away = waste (money, time) - THROW away = discard/waste - TRIFLE... trifle away? Or trifle with? Hmm, "trifle away" doesn't sound as natural. But "fritter away" definitely works, and so does "throw away." Let me go with my most confident remaining guess: ARM, WING, FIN, FLIPPER as body parts/appendages for movement.

Excellent! Two down, two to go. Remaining 8 words: FIDDLE, KETTLE, FRITTER, STOVETOP, MICROWAVE, POPPER, TRIFLE, THROW Let me analyze my remaining categories: **Category: Ways to make/types of popcorn**: KETTLE, STOVETOP, MICROWAVE, POPPER - Kettle corn (popcorn made in a kettle with sugar) - Stovetop popcorn (made on the stovetop) - Microwave popcorn (made in the microwave) - Popper (popcorn popper - a device for making popcorn) This seems very strong! **Category: What's left would be**: FIDDLE, FRITTER, TRIFLE, THROW These need to share something in common. Let me think: - FIDDLE away = waste time - FRITTER away = waste/squander - THROW away = discard - TRIFLE... trifle away? Or could these all precede something else? Wait, could these all be "___ away" words meaning to waste or squander? - Fiddle away (your time) - Fritter away (your money) - Throw away (waste, discard) - Trifle away? This doesn't sound right... Or maybe they can all follow a word? - Party POPPER? No, POPPER is in the other group. Hmm, let me think differently. What if these go with something else: - FIDDLE - second fiddle? Fiddle with? - FRITTER - apple fritter? Corn fritter? - TRIFLE - the dessert? Trifle with? - THROW - throw pillow? Throw rug? Wait! Could these all be things you can "not ___" or things that precede a common word? Actually, TRIFLE, FIDDLE, FRITTER... these could all be British desserts or sweet dishes? TRIFLE is definitely a dessert. FRITTER is a fried pastry. But FIDDLE isn't a dessert, and THROW isn't either. Let me go with the popcorn category since I'm very confident about that one: KETTLE, STOVETOP, MICROWAVE, POPPER

Three down, one to go! Remaining 4 words: FIDDLE, FRITTER, TRIFLE, THROW These must form the final category. Let me figure out what connects them: - FIDDLE - to play with aimlessly, waste time - FRITTER - to waste (fritter away) - TRIFLE - to treat without seriousness (trifle with) - THROW - to discard (throw away) Could they all go with "away"? - Fiddle away ✓ (waste time) - Fritter away ✓ (waste money/time) - Trifle away? (less common but possible) - Throw away ✓ (discard/waste) Or could they all mean "to waste" or "to not take seriously"? Or maybe they can all follow "DON'T"? - Don't fiddle (with that) - Don't fritter (away your money) - Don't trifle (with me) - Don't throw (that away) Hmm, or maybe they all can precede "WITH"? - Fiddle with ✓ - Fritter with? (not really) - Trifle with ✓ - Throw with? (not really) Let me think of another angle... Could they all follow a common word? - Something FIDDLE - Something FRITTER - Something TRIFLE - Something THROW FREE throw? That works for THROW. But FREE FIDDLE, FREE FRITTER, FREE TRIFLE don't work. Actually, wait - could they all be things you "shouldn't do" or ways to waste/squander? - Fiddle around = waste time - Fritter away = squander - Trifle with = not take seriously - Throw away = waste/discard The connection might be "ways to waste or squander something" or "_____ away" phrases. Since these are the last 4 words, they must be the answer!

Let me analyze these 16 words and look for potential categories of 4 related words. First, let me list them out: CHOICE, TIRE, DOWN, FLAT, SPEAK, NATURAL, STEAM, QUARTER, VOICE, WAFFLE, SAY, VOTE, PUMP, SHAKE, HEEL, WHOLE Let me think about possible connections: 1. Words that can follow "MILK": SHAKE (milkshake), WHOLE (whole milk)... hmm, not enough 2. Words related to shoes/feet: HEEL, FLAT (flat shoes), PUMP (pump shoes)... these are all types of women's shoes! Let me think of a fourth - WAFFLE? No... QUARTER? No... 3. Types of bread: FLAT (flatbread), WHOLE (whole wheat), WAFFLE (waffle), PUMP... wait, PUMPERNICKEL? That could work! 4. Words that can precede or follow a common word: - "___ bread": FLAT, WHOLE, WAFFLE... - "___WHEAT": WHOLE, NATURAL? 5. Let me think about "___IRON": FLAT (flatiron), WAFFLE (waffle iron), STEAM (steam iron), TIRE (tire iron)! This could be it! 6. Words related to elections: VOTE, CHOICE, VOICE? 7. Words that can follow "HAVE A": SAY, VOICE, CHOICE, VOTE? "Have a say", "have a voice", "have a choice", "have a vote" - these all work! Let me verify #7: - HAVE A SAY - yes, common phrase - HAVE A VOICE - yes, common phrase - HAVE A CHOICE - yes, common phrase - HAVE A VOTE - yes, common phrase Let me verify #5 (___IRON): - FLAT IRON - yes (hair straightener or historical iron) - WAFFLE IRON - yes - STEAM IRON - yes - TIRE IRON - yes Both seem very strong! Let me think about which is more likely... The "HAVE A ___" category with SAY, VOICE, CHOICE, VOTE seems very solid - all about having input or agency. The "___ IRON" category with FLAT, WAFFLE, STEAM, TIRE also seems very solid. Let me look for other patterns: - PUMP could be: pump iron, pump shoes - HEEL: heel (shoe), down at heel - DOWN: down (feathers), let down - NATURAL: natural (music), natural selection - QUARTER: quarter (coin), quarterback - SPEAK: speak up I'm quite confident about the "___ IRON" category. Let me go with that first since it's a clear compound word pattern. FLAT IRON, WAFFLE IRON, STEAM IRON, TIRE IRON

My guess of FLAT, WAFFLE, STEAM, TIRE for "___ IRON" was incorrect. That means at least one of those words doesn't belong in that category, or the category itself isn't quite right. Let me reconsider. Maybe the category is different. Available words: CHOICE, TIRE, DOWN, FLAT, SPEAK, NATURAL, STEAM, QUARTER, VOICE, WAFFLE, SAY, VOTE, PUMP, SHAKE, HEEL, WHOLE Let me think about "HAVE A ___" again: - HAVE A SAY - yes - HAVE A VOICE - yes - HAVE A CHOICE - yes - HAVE A VOTE - yes This still seems very strong. Let me try this one. Other patterns I should consider: - Types of shoes: FLAT, PUMP, HEEL, WEDGE? (no WEDGE available)... wait, QUARTER could be... no. - Words that can follow "RUN OUT OF": STEAM (run out of steam), CHOICE? - Words related to speaking: SPEAK, SAY, VOICE, VOTE? - "NO ___" phrases: NO CHOICE, NO VOTE, NO SAY, NO VOICE? - Words that can precede "NOTE": QUARTER (quarter note), WHOLE (whole note), NATURAL (natural note in music), FLAT (flat note in music)! These are all musical terms! Let me verify: - QUARTER NOTE - yes, musical notation - WHOLE NOTE - yes, musical notation - NATURAL - yes, a musical symbol - FLAT - yes, a musical symbol/note modification Wait, but NATURAL and FLAT are note modifiers (accidentals), while QUARTER and WHOLE are note durations. They might still be grouped as music-related terms though. Actually, thinking more carefully: - WHOLE NOTE - duration - QUARTER NOTE - duration - FLAT - accidental (lowers pitch) - NATURAL - accidental (cancels sharp/flat) - SHARP would also fit here... Hmm, but they could all precede "NOTE" in some way. Let me try the "HAVE A ___" category first as it seems very consistent. SAY, VOICE, CHOICE, VOTE - all things you can "have a" meaning having input/agency

I got SAY, VOICE, CHOICE, VOTE correct - these were all "HAVE A ___" words. Now let me look at the remaining 12 words: TIRE, DOWN, FLAT, SPEAK, NATURAL, STEAM, QUARTER, WAFFLE, PUMP, SHAKE, HEEL, WHOLE Let me reconsider categories: 1. Musical terms (preceding "NOTE"): - QUARTER (quarter note) - WHOLE (whole note) - NATURAL (natural - cancels accidentals) - FLAT (flat - lowers pitch) This seems like a strong category! 2. "___ IRON" - my previous failed guess had FLAT, WAFFLE, STEAM, TIRE Since it was wrong, maybe one of those doesn't fit. Let me think: - FLAT IRON - yes - WAFFLE IRON - yes - STEAM IRON - yes - TIRE IRON - yes - PUMP IRON? No, you "pump iron" but it's not a "pump iron" Maybe the category was actually "___ IRON" but with different words? Or maybe it's not the right category at all. 3. Types of shoes: - FLAT (flats) - PUMP (pumps) - HEEL (heels) - WEDGE? Not available... WAFFLE? No... 4. Words that can follow "LET OFF": - STEAM (let off steam) - What else? 5. Words that can precede "DOWN": - SHAKE DOWN - HEEL? (heel down?) 6. Things at a diner/breakfast: - WAFFLE - SHAKE - What else? 7. "RUN ___" phrases: - RUN DOWN - RUN FLAT (run-flat tires) Let me go with the musical notation category - QUARTER, WHOLE, NATURAL, FLAT - these all relate to musical notes.

Excellent! QUARTER, WHOLE, NATURAL, FLAT were all musical notation terms. Now I have 8 words remaining: TIRE, DOWN, SPEAK, STEAM, WAFFLE, PUMP, SHAKE, HEEL Let me look for categories: 1. "___ IRON": - TIRE IRON - no wait, that didn't work before - STEAM IRON - yes - PUMP IRON - no, you "pump iron" as a verb phrase - WAFFLE IRON - yes 2. Words that can follow "PUMP": - PUMP UP - PUMP IRON (phrase) 3. Words that can precede "UP": - SHAKE UP - STEAM UP - PUMP UP - SPEAK UP Wait! These could all precede "UP": - SHAKE UP - yes - STEAM UP - yes (get steamed up) - PUMP UP - yes - SPEAK UP - yes But what about the others? DOWN, TIRE, WAFFLE, HEEL? 4. "___ DOWN": - SHAKE DOWN - yes - TIRE DOWN? - not really - WAFFLE? No - HEEL DOWN? Not really 5. Words meaning to hesitate/equivocate: - WAFFLE - yes, to waffle means to be indecisive - HEDGE? Not available - HESITATE? Not available 6. Thinking about "DOWN AT ___": - DOWN AT HEEL - yes, meaning shabby 7. Words that can follow "RUN": - RUN DOWN - yes - RUN OUT OF STEAM - yes (but that's "out of steam") 8. Let me think about compound words or phrases with these: - SHAKE: milkshake, shake up, shake down - STEAM: steam iron, steam up, let off steam, run out of steam - PUMP: pump up, pump iron, pump (shoe) - HEEL: heel (shoe), Achilles heel, down at heel - DOWN: shake down, run down, down (feathers) - TIRE: tire iron, tire out, flat tire - WAFFLE: waffle iron, waffle (hesitate) - SPEAK: speak up, speak out "___ UP" seems promising: SHAKE UP, STEAM UP, PUMP UP, SPEAK UP Let me try this!

That didn't work. Let me reconsider the remaining 8 words: TIRE, DOWN, SPEAK, STEAM, WAFFLE, PUMP, SHAKE, HEEL I need to find two groups of 4. Let me think about other patterns: 1. Types of shoes: - PUMP (pumps) - HEEL (heels) - What else? FLAT was already used... 2. Words that can follow "OUT": - TIRE OUT - SPEAK OUT - SHAKE OUT - PUMP OUT? (not common) 3. Words that can precede a common word: - WAFFLE HOUSE - PUMP HOUSE - DOWN (downpour?) 4. Let me think about "____ OUT": - TIRE OUT - yes - SPEAK OUT - yes - SHAKE OUT - yes - STEAM OUT? - not really 5. Things you can "RUN OUT OF": - RUN OUT OF STEAM - yes - RUN OUT OF... 6. "BLOW ___": - BLOW OFF STEAM? No... 7. Think about "LET OFF/OUT": - LET OFF STEAM - LET DOWN 8. Words associated with exhaustion/energy: - TIRE (get tired) - STEAM (run out of steam) - DOWN (feeling down) - PUMP (pumped up) 9. "___-AND-___" phrases or compound ideas? 10. BELGIAN ___: - BELGIAN WAFFLE - yes! - What else could be Belgian? 11. Think about "EGO": - WAFFLE - no - Could these relate to breakfast foods? WAFFLE, SHAKE (milkshake?) 12. Words that can come before "HOUSE": - WAFFLE HOUSE - PUMP HOUSE? (not really a thing) - DOWN (house down?) 13. Let me think about verbs meaning to weaken/exhaust/deflate: - TIRE (to tire someone) - SHAKE (shake someone's confidence) - DOWN? 14. What about words that can follow "WEAR": - WEAR DOWN - yes - WEAR OUT - hmm 15. Words that go with "DOWN": - SHAKE DOWN - WEAR DOWN - TIRE DOWN? No - HEEL DOWN? No 16. Actually, let me think about "___ AND ___ " phrases: - SHAKE and... - PUMP and... 17. What if these are all things that precede a body part or relate to dogs? - HEEL (dog command) - DOWN (dog command) - SPEAK (dog command) - SHAKE (dog command)! Dog commands: SIT, STAY, HEEL, DOWN, SPEAK, SHAKE, ROLL OVER, FETCH... HEEL, DOWN, SPEAK, SHAKE - all dog commands!

Excellent! HEEL, DOWN, SPEAK, SHAKE were all dog commands! Now I have the final 4 words remaining: TIRE, STEAM, WAFFLE, PUMP These must form the last category. Let me think about what connects them: 1. "___ IRON": - TIRE IRON - yes - STEAM IRON - yes - WAFFLE IRON - yes - PUMP IRON - no, you "pump iron" but there's no "pump iron" tool 2. But wait, these are the only 4 words left, so they MUST be the answer. Let me think of what connects them... 3. Words that can precede "IRON": - TIRE IRON - yes (tool for changing tires) - STEAM IRON - yes (iron for clothes) - WAFFLE IRON - yes (cooking appliance) - PUMP... pump iron is a phrase meaning to lift weights! Actually, "PUMP IRON" is definitely a phrase! To pump iron means to lift weights. So maybe the category is "___ IRON" as either a compound noun OR a verb phrase. Or maybe the connection is different: - Things at a gym? PUMP (iron), TIRE (get tired)... - Things that can be "OUT OF": out of steam, out of... Since these are the last 4 words, they must be the answer regardless of what I think the connection is!

Let me analyze these 16 words to find groups of 4 related words. First, let me list them out: PARAMOUNT, WILLING, NOAA, CANE, READY, OUTFIT, ABLE, NASA, SUBARU, EQUIP, EAGER, EAVE, N.F.L., PREPARE, GAME, DOWN Let me look for potential categories: 1. Words meaning "prepared" or "willing to do something": - WILLING, READY, ABLE, EAGER, GAME, DOWN These all can mean "willing" or "ready to do something" - "ready and willing", "able and willing", "eager to", "game for it", "down for it" That's 6 words, so I need to narrow it down. 2. Acronyms/Organizations: - NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) - NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) - N.F.L. (National Football League) That's only 3... 3. Words that can follow "SUGAR": - CANE (sugar cane) - DOWN? No... 4. Words related to preparing/equipping: - OUTFIT, EQUIP, PREPARE These are verbs meaning to prepare or supply 5. Let me think about PARAMOUNT, SUBARU, EAVE... - PARAMOUNT is a movie studio - SUBARU is a car brand - Could these be related to something else? 6. Looking at potential patterns: - SUBARU has the letters A, B, U (vowels?) - actually SUBARU contains vowels A, U - Wait, let me check if any words contain hidden words or patterns 7. Things that can come before or after a common word: - CANE: candy cane, sugar cane, cane sugar - DOWN: ? 8. Let me reconsider the "willing/ready" group: READY, WILLING, ABLE - these three go together in the phrase "ready, willing, and able" EAGER, GAME, DOWN - also mean willing to do something 9. Looking at PARAMOUNT, EAVE, SUBARU again: - Could these relate to logos or shapes? - SUBARU has a star logo - Wait, SUBARU means "Pleiades" (star cluster) in Japanese 10. Let me think about words that can follow a specific word: - PARAMOUNT: paramount importance, Paramount Pictures - Could these all be _____ PICTURES? PARAMOUNT PICTURES... no 11. Actually, let me reconsider: - READY, WILLING, ABLE, GAME - all mean "prepared to do something" - Or READY, WILLING, ABLE, DOWN - Or READY, WILLING, ABLE, EAGER Actually, "GAME" and "DOWN" both mean "willing to participate" in slang ("I'm game" / "I'm down for that") Let me focus on the clearest connection: READY, WILLING, ABLE, and one more that means the same... EAGER fits well - "eager and willing" GAME means willing to try DOWN means willing to do something I think READY, WILLING, ABLE, EAGER might be the group - they're all adjectives meaning prepared/willing. Or wait - OUTFIT, EQUIP, PREPARE - these are verbs meaning to make ready... Could ARM be hidden? No, ARM isn't there. Let me try: READY, WILLING, ABLE, GAME - these all mean "prepared/willing to do something"

My previous guess of READY, WILLING, ABLE, GAME was incorrect. Let me reconsider. Available words: PARAMOUNT, WILLING, NOAA, CANE, READY, OUTFIT, ABLE, NASA, SUBARU, EQUIP, EAGER, EAVE, N.F.L., PREPARE, GAME, DOWN Let me think differently: 1. Maybe the "willing" group is: WILLING, EAGER, GAME, DOWN (all informal ways to say you're willing to do something - "I'm willing", "I'm eager", "I'm game", "I'm down") 2. Let me look at other patterns: - NOAA, NASA, N.F.L. - these are acronyms. What's a 4th? - Could SUBARU be considered an acronym? Actually, there's a myth that SUBARU is an acronym but it's not - it means Pleiades in Japanese. 3. Looking at PARAMOUNT, CANE, EAVE, DOWN: - Could these follow a common word? - SUGAR CANE - What about PARAMOUNT? It's a studio... 4. Words that can come after a letter: - ABLE - could be like "CABLE" without the C - EAVE - like "WEAVE" or "LEAVE" without first letter - DOWN - like... no 5. Let me think about hidden patterns: - CANE, EAVE... what if these relate to parts of a house? EAVE is part of a roof. CANE could be furniture... 6. OUTFIT, EQUIP, PREPARE - these are all verbs meaning to supply/prepare - What's a 4th? READY can be a verb too (ready the troops) - ARM would fit but it's not here - GEAR isn't here 7. Wait - looking at OUTFIT, EQUIP, PREPARE, READY: - OUTFIT (verb): to provide with equipment - EQUIP: to provide with necessary items - PREPARE: to make ready - READY: to make ready These could all be synonyms meaning "to make ready/supply" 8. Let me reconsider the acronym angle: - NOAA, NASA, N.F.L. - three letter organizations - What if there's a hidden acronym? - ABLE - could that stand for something? 9. Actually, thinking about SUBARU again - Subaru is a constellation (Pleiades). Could there be other constellation/star references? 10. Let me try: WILLING, EAGER, GAME, DOWN - these all mean "ready/willing to do something" in a casual sense "Are you game?" "I'm down" "I'm willing" "I'm eager" Let me try this group instead of including READY and ABLE.

I got WILLING, EAGER, GAME, DOWN correct - these all mean "willing to do something." Now let me look at the remaining 12 words: PARAMOUNT, NOAA, CANE, READY, OUTFIT, ABLE, NASA, SUBARU, EQUIP, EAVE, N.F.L., PREPARE Let me find the next group: 1. Acronyms: NOAA, NASA, N.F.L. - these are three-letter organization acronyms - Need a 4th... Could any other word be an acronym or relate to acronyms? - ABLE could be an acronym (Activity-Based Learning Environment?) - But that seems weak 2. Verbs meaning "to supply/make ready": OUTFIT, EQUIP, PREPARE, READY - OUTFIT (verb): to provide equipment - EQUIP: to furnish with necessities - PREPARE: to make ready - READY (verb): to make ready This seems like a strong group! 3. Let me consider what's left if I remove those 4: PARAMOUNT, NOAA, CANE, ABLE, NASA, SUBARU, EAVE, N.F.L. 4. PARAMOUNT, SUBARU - these are brands/companies - PARAMOUNT Pictures - SUBARU cars - Could there be other brands? - CANE could relate to a brand? 5. Looking at NOAA, NASA, N.F.L., and possibly something else: - These all have repeated letters: NOAA (two A's), NASA (two A's), N.F.L. (no repeated letters actually) - Wait, they all start with N! - NOAA, NASA, N.F.L. all start with N... but what's the 4th? 6. Actually, let me think about CANE, EAVE, ABLE, and something else: - Could these be words that can have a letter added at the beginning? - CANE → ACANE? No... - EAVE → LEAVE, WEAVE, HEAVE - ABLE → CABLE, TABLE, FABLE, SABLE - CANE → CRANE? No, that adds a letter in the middle 7. Wait - what if these can all follow "CANDY"? - CANDY CANE - yes! - CANDY... what else? 8. Let me try the verb group: OUTFIT, EQUIP, PREPARE, READY These all mean "to supply or make ready"

I got OUTFIT, EQUIP, PREPARE, READY correct - these all mean "to supply/make ready." Now let me look at the remaining 8 words: PARAMOUNT, NOAA, CANE, ABLE, NASA, SUBARU, EAVE, N.F.L. I need to find two groups of 4. 1. Acronyms starting with N: NOAA, NASA, N.F.L. - Need a 4th that starts with N or is an acronym - None of the remaining words obviously fit this pattern 2. Let me think about PARAMOUNT, SUBARU, CANE, ABLE, EAVE: - PARAMOUNT - movie studio, also means "supreme" - SUBARU - car brand, also a constellation (Pleiades) - CANE - walking stick, sugar cane - ABLE - capable - EAVE - part of a roof 3. Words that can have a letter added to the front: - EAVE → LEAVE, HEAVE, WEAVE (add L, H, W) - ABLE → CABLE, TABLE, FABLE, SABLE (add C, T, F, S) - CANE → ? CRANE adds R in middle, not front 4. Wait, what about words where you add a letter to make a new word: - ABLE + C = CABLE - EAVE + L = LEAVE, or W = WEAVE, or H = HEAVE - Could NASA, NOAA, N.F.L. work this way? 5. Let me think about constellations or star-related: - SUBARU = Pleiades constellation - Could others be constellation-related? 6. What if these relate to logos or symbols? - SUBARU has stars in its logo - PARAMOUNT has stars (mountain with stars) - NASA has stars - N.F.L. has stars in logo? 7. Actually, thinking about car brands: - SUBARU is a car - Could others be hidden car brands or relate to cars? 8. Let me think about what can follow or precede these: - SUGAR CANE - Could they all follow a word? 9. Wait - PARAMOUNT, ABLE, NOAA, NASA, SUBARU, N.F.L., EAVE, CANE - What if some of these contain hidden words or patterns? - PARAMOUNT contains PARA and MOUNT - SUBARU contains... 10. Let me reconsider - organizations/acronyms with stars in logos: - NASA - has stars - SUBARU - Pleiades stars - PARAMOUNT - stars around mountain - N.F.L. - has stars? This could be: NASA, SUBARU, PARAMOUNT, and maybe NOAA or N.F.L.? Actually, I recall PARAMOUNT, SUBARU, NASA all have stars in their logos! - PARAMOUNT Pictures: ring of stars around mountain - SUBARU: cluster of stars (Pleiades) - NASA: stars in logo What about N.F.L.? The NFL logo doesn't prominently feature stars... NOAA? Not sure about stars... Let me try: PARAMOUNT, SUBARU, NASA, and maybe one more with stars... Actually, maybe the pattern is different. Let me think about ABLE, EAVE, CANE: - These could all have a letter added: C+ABLE, L+EAVE/W+EAVE, ?+CANE - CANE doesn't fit this pattern well Let me try the stars in logo theory: PARAMOUNT, SUBARU, NASA, and possibly N.F.L. or NOAA

That was incorrect. Let me reconsider the remaining 8 words: PARAMOUNT, NOAA, CANE, ABLE, NASA, SUBARU, EAVE, N.F.L. I need to find two groups of 4 and I have only 2 guesses left. Let me think more carefully: 1. NOAA, NASA, N.F.L. - three acronyms that start with N What else starts with N? None of the remaining words... But wait - could PARAMOUNT, CANE, ABLE, EAVE, SUBARU somehow be acronyms or relate to N? 2. Let me think about adding letters: - ABLE → C+ABLE = CABLE, T+ABLE = TABLE - EAVE → L+EAVE = LEAVE, W+EAVE = WEAVE, H+EAVE = HEAVE - CANE → ? Can't think of adding a letter to the front 3. What about words that sound like letters? - ABLE sounds like... no - CANE sounds like... no 4. Hmm, what if I think about this differently: - PARAMOUNT, SUBARU - both are brands - Could CANE be a brand? CANE's (furniture)? - Could EAVE be a brand? 5. What about things that can come before a common word? - CANE SUGAR - ABLE SEAMAN? ABLE-BODIED? 6. Let me think about word patterns: - PARAMOUNT = PARA + MOUNT - SUBARU = contains vowels A, U 7. Wait - could these words all precede or follow the same word? - _____ SUGAR: CANE SUGAR works - What about PARAMOUNT, ABLE, EAVE, SUBARU? 8. Actually, let me think about movie studios: - PARAMOUNT is a movie studio - Could others relate to movies? 9. Let me think about the N-starting acronyms differently: - NOAA, NASA, N.F.L. all have N as first letter and A somewhere - What if the pattern is about the letters themselves? 10. Wait! What if the pattern is about letters appearing in the words: - NASA, NOAA, N.F.L., SUBARU - no, that doesn't work 11. Let me think about "Able" as part of phrases: - Ready, Willing, Able (but those are gone) - ABLE, BAKER, CHARLIE... NATO phonetic alphabet! - Wait - what words could be NATO alphabet? - ABLE = A (old phonetic alphabet, now ALPHA) - Could others be old NATO alphabet words? 12. Actually, in the old military/radio alphabet: - ABLE = A - Could PARAMOUNT, CANE, EAVE relate? - No, those aren't alphabet words 13. Let me reconsider - companies/brands with stars in logos: - PARAMOUNT - yes, stars - SUBARU - yes, stars (Pleiades) - What else has stars? - N.F.L. doesn't really - NASA - yes, has stars! But NASA, PARAMOUNT, SUBARU didn't work with NOAA... What about NASA, PARAMOUNT, SUBARU + something else? 14. Wait - could the pattern be about car brands? - SUBARU is a car - Could others be hidden car references? - ABLE - no - PARAMOUNT - no 15. Let me try: What if ABLE, EAVE, and two others can have letters added? - ABLE → CABLE (C+ABLE), TABLE (T+ABLE) - EAVE → LEAVE (L+EAVE), WEAVE (W+EAVE) - CANE → CRANE? No, that's insert, not prepend - What about NASA → ? TNASA? No 16. Hmm, what about removing letters? - PARAMOUNT → AMOUNT (remove PAR) - CANE → ANE? No 17. Wait - what if the connection is words that can follow "HURRI-"? - HURRICANE - CANE! - What else? 18. Or precede a weather term? - CANE (hurricane) - Could EAVE relate to weather? 19. Let me try another approach - what words go together by topic: - NOAA deals with weather/ocean - CANE could be hurricane - Hmm... 20. Actually, let me reconsider stars/logos more carefully: - SUBARU - 6 stars (Pleiades) - PARAMOUNT - 22 stars around mountain (now 22, representing original 22 stars) - Could ABLE relate to stars? No... I think I should try: PARAMOUNT, SUBARU, NASA, N.F.L. - all have stars in their logos Or maybe the N-organizations: NOAA, NASA, N.F.L. plus something Actually, wait - let me reconsider what these words might have in common as "hidden" patterns: - EAVE backwards is EVAE - no - CANE backwards is ENAC - no Let me try the stars in logo theory with different combinations: PARAMOUNT, SUBARU, NASA, N.F.L. - all have stars in logos?

I got PARAMOUNT, SUBARU, NASA, N.F.L. correct - these all have stars in their logos. Now I have the remaining 4 words: NOAA, CANE, ABLE, EAVE These must form the final group. Let me figure out what connects them: 1. NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2. CANE - walking stick, sugar cane 3. ABLE - capable 4. EAVE - part of a roof What could connect these four? - They could all have a letter added to the front to make a new word: - ABLE → CABLE, TABLE, FABLE, SABLE - EAVE → LEAVE, WEAVE, HEAVE - CANE → ? CRANE adds R in middle... - NOAA → ? - Wait, what if they can follow a letter to spell something? - K + ABLE = KABLE? No - K + NOAA = ? No - What if they follow "HURRI-"? - HURRICANE = HURRI + CANE ✓ - Could others work this way? - What about they all can follow a common prefix? - HURRICANE (HURRI + CANE) - Hmm... - Actually, what if they can all follow a single letter to make a word? - C + ABLE = CABLE ✓ - L + EAVE = LEAVE ✓ - C + NOAA = ? No... - What if they rhyme or have similar sounds? - NOAA, CANE, ABLE, EAVE - they don't really rhyme - Could they all be parts of compound words with the same first word? - SUGAR CANE - What else? - Wait! What if they're all words that can follow a single letter (phonetic letter names)? - K + ABLE = sounds like "CABLE"? No, K sounds like "KAY" - What about the NATO alphabet or something similar? - ABLE was "A" in old alphabet - Could they all precede the same word? - What if a letter added at the END makes a new word? - CANE + S = CANES - ABLE + R = ABLER? Not really - Hmm, let me think about double letters or hidden patterns: - NOAA has double A - Could others have hidden double letters when combined with something? Actually, since these are the last 4, they must go together. The connection might be something unusual. Let me just guess them.

Let me analyze these 16 words and look for potential categories. First, let me list them out: RAM, ZEST, BILLY, KICK, PUNCH, SOLO, STAG, BUCK, TANG, ZING, SONG, JACK, FREE, MING, SINGLE, HAN Let me look for patterns: 1. Male animals: - RAM (male sheep) - BILLY (male goat) - STAG (male deer) - BUCK (male deer/rabbit) - JACK (male donkey) This is 5 words, so I need to narrow it down. 2. Words meaning "energy" or "liveliness": - ZEST - KICK - PUNCH - TANG - ZING These all can mean a sharp, lively quality or flavor. That's 5 words too. 3. Star Wars characters: - SOLO (Han Solo) - HAN (Han Solo) - Wait, these might go together differently... 4. Chinese dynasties: - MING (Ming Dynasty) - HAN (Han Dynasty) - SONG (Song Dynasty) - TANG (Tang Dynasty) This is exactly 4! This looks like a strong category. 5. Words that can follow "FREE": - FREE KICK - FREE SOLO (the documentary) - FREE RANGE? 6. Words meaning "alone/unmarried": - SOLO - STAG - SINGLE - Could BUCK be part of this? "Buck" as in going solo? Let me reconsider: Looking at dollar-related terms: - BUCK (slang for dollar) - SINGLE (one dollar bill) Wait, let me think about "___ party": - STAG party - HEN party? (HEN isn't here) Let me focus on the Chinese dynasties - this seems very solid: - MING Dynasty - HAN Dynasty - SONG Dynasty - TANG Dynasty All four of these are major Chinese dynasties. This seems like the strongest connection with exactly 4 words. Let me verify the others don't fit: - RAM, ZEST, BILLY, KICK, PUNCH, SOLO, STAG, BUCK, ZING, JACK, FREE, SINGLE - none of these are Chinese dynasties. I'm very confident about the Chinese dynasties guess.

I got the Chinese dynasties correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words: RAM, ZEST, BILLY, KICK, PUNCH, SOLO, STAG, BUCK, ZING, JACK, FREE, SINGLE Let me look for patterns again: 1. Male animals: - RAM (male sheep) - BILLY (male goat) - STAG (male deer) - BUCK (male deer/rabbit) - JACK (male donkey) That's 5 words - too many for one category. 2. Words meaning "energy/zest/sharpness": - ZEST - KICK - PUNCH - ZING All of these can describe a sharp, lively quality (especially in food/drinks). "This salsa has a real kick/punch/zest/zing to it." This is exactly 4 words! 3. Words that can follow a word: - BILLY the Kid? - Stag party? - Buck naked? 4. Words meaning "alone/single": - SOLO - STAG (going stag) - SINGLE - FREE (free agent?) Let me think about the "zesty/energetic flavor" category more: - ZEST - definitely means lively flavor - KICK - "this drink has a kick" - PUNCH - "packs a punch" (flavor-wise) - ZING - sharp, exciting quality - TANG could have fit here but it's already used I'm quite confident about ZEST, KICK, PUNCH, ZING as words meaning "sharp/lively quality or flavor."

Excellent! Now I have 8 words remaining: RAM, BILLY, SOLO, STAG, BUCK, JACK, FREE, SINGLE Let me analyze these: 1. Male animals: - RAM (male sheep) - BILLY (male goat) - STAG (male deer) - BUCK (male deer/rabbit) - JACK (male donkey) That's 5 words - still too many. 2. Words meaning "alone/unmarried/independent": - SOLO (alone) - STAG (going stag = going alone) - SINGLE (unmarried/alone) - FREE (unattached) These could all describe being unattached or alone. This is exactly 4! 3. Let me think about what connects the remaining if #2 is correct: - RAM, BILLY, BUCK, JACK would remain - These are all male animals! RAM (male sheep), BILLY (male goat), BUCK (male deer), JACK (male donkey) - That's exactly 4! So I think the two remaining categories are: - Male animals: RAM, BILLY, BUCK, JACK - Words meaning "unattached/alone": SOLO, STAG, SINGLE, FREE Wait, but STAG is also a male deer... Let me reconsider. Hmm, STAG could fit in either category. Let me think about which makes more sense: - "Going stag" is a common expression meaning going alone to an event - STAG as a male deer is less commonly used than BUCK for male deer If STAG goes with the "alone" category, then the male animals would be: RAM, BILLY, BUCK, JACK - RAM = male sheep ✓ - BILLY = billy goat (male goat) ✓ - BUCK = male deer ✓ - JACK = jackass (male donkey) ✓ This makes sense! Let me go with the "alone/unattached" category first: SOLO, STAG, SINGLE, FREE

Now I have the final 4 words remaining: RAM, BILLY, BUCK, JACK These should all be male animals: - RAM = male sheep - BILLY = billy goat (male goat) - BUCK = male deer - JACK = jackass (male donkey) This is the last category and it fits perfectly - all male animals.

Let me analyze these 16 words to find groups of 4 related words. First, let me list them out: EXTRA, WORM, ORBIT, SHIELD, FLEUR-DE-LIS, TRIDENT, LIGHTNING BOLT, BACKDOOR, BUFFALO, VIRUS, GUARD, AEGIS, ICE BREAKERS, PROTECTION, TROJAN HORSE, HORSESHOE Let me look for potential categories: 1. Computer security/malware terms: - WORM (computer worm) - VIRUS (computer virus) - TROJAN HORSE (trojan malware) - BACKDOOR (security vulnerability) These are all types of computer security threats or vulnerabilities! 2. Protection/Defense words: - SHIELD - GUARD - AEGIS (means protection/shield) - PROTECTION These could all relate to defense/protection concepts. 3. Gum brands: - ORBIT (gum brand) - TRIDENT (gum brand) - ICE BREAKERS (gum/mint brand) - EXTRA (gum brand) Yes! These are all chewing gum brands! 4. Symbols on things: - FLEUR-DE-LIS (symbol, often on flags) - TRIDENT (symbol, like on Maserati) - LIGHTNING BOLT (symbol) - HORSESHOE (symbol of luck) Wait, but TRIDENT could be in gum category. Let me reconsider. Gum brands: ORBIT, TRIDENT, ICE BREAKERS, EXTRA - this seems very solid! But wait, if TRIDENT is a gum brand, what about symbols? - FLEUR-DE-LIS - LIGHTNING BOLT - HORSESHOE - BUFFALO (Buffalo nickel?) Let me think about NFL teams: - BUFFALO (Bills) - No others seem to fit directly... What about symbols that appear on coins or currency? - FLEUR-DE-LIS - LIGHTNING BOLT - Could relate to something else Let me reconsider the protection theme: - SHIELD - GUARD - AEGIS - PROTECTION These could all precede or follow a common word... - Body GUARD - SHIELD (standalone) - AEGIS (protection) - PROTECTION Actually, let me think about what could follow these words: - MOUTH GUARD - SHIELD - AEGIS (insurance company?) I'm most confident about the gum brands: ORBIT, TRIDENT, ICE BREAKERS, EXTRA Let me verify: - ORBIT - yes, Wrigley's Orbit gum - TRIDENT - yes, Trident gum - ICE BREAKERS - yes, Ice Breakers mints/gum - EXTRA - yes, Extra gum This seems like the strongest connection to start with.

I got the gum brands correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words: WORM, SHIELD, FLEUR-DE-LIS, LIGHTNING BOLT, BACKDOOR, BUFFALO, VIRUS, GUARD, AEGIS, PROTECTION, TROJAN HORSE, HORSESHOE Let me revisit my earlier categories: 1. Computer security threats/malware: - WORM (computer worm) - VIRUS (computer virus) - TROJAN HORSE (trojan malware) - BACKDOOR (security vulnerability) This still seems like a very strong category! 2. Protection/Defense words: - SHIELD - GUARD - AEGIS - PROTECTION These all relate to defense/protection. 3. Symbols - what could connect FLEUR-DE-LIS, LIGHTNING BOLT, HORSESHOE, BUFFALO? - Could these be symbols on something specific? - Sports teams? Buffalo Bills... - New Orleans Saints have fleur-de-lis - Lightning Bolt - San Diego/LA Chargers - Horseshoe - Indianapolis Colts Wait! NFL team symbols/logos: - BUFFALO (Bills) - FLEUR-DE-LIS (Saints) - LIGHTNING BOLT (Chargers) - HORSESHOE (Colts) That's a great connection! So my categories seem to be: 1. Computer security threats: WORM, VIRUS, TROJAN HORSE, BACKDOOR 2. Protection words: SHIELD, GUARD, AEGIS, PROTECTION 3. NFL team symbols: BUFFALO, FLEUR-DE-LIS, LIGHTNING BOLT, HORSESHOE Let me go with the computer security threats next as I'm very confident about that.

Two down, two to go. Let me look at the remaining 8 words: SHIELD, FLEUR-DE-LIS, LIGHTNING BOLT, BUFFALO, GUARD, AEGIS, PROTECTION, HORSESHOE My two remaining hypothesized categories: 1. Protection/Defense words: - SHIELD - GUARD - AEGIS - PROTECTION These all mean protection or defense in some way. 2. NFL team symbols/logos: - BUFFALO (Bills) - FLEUR-DE-LIS (Saints) - LIGHTNING BOLT (Chargers) - HORSESHOE (Colts) Both of these seem very solid. Let me go with the NFL team symbols since it's a more specific/clever connection. Actually, let me double-check the NFL connection: - BUFFALO - Buffalo Bills (their logo has a buffalo) - FLEUR-DE-LIS - New Orleans Saints (their logo is a fleur-de-lis) - LIGHTNING BOLT - Los Angeles Chargers (their logo is a lightning bolt) - HORSESHOE - Indianapolis Colts (their logo is a horseshoe) Yes, these are all NFL team logos/symbols! Let me go with this one.

Excellent! Three down, one to go. The remaining 4 words must form the final category: SHIELD, GUARD, AEGIS, PROTECTION These all relate to protection/defense: - SHIELD - a protective barrier - GUARD - protection or one who protects - AEGIS - means protection or sponsorship (from Greek mythology, Zeus's shield) - PROTECTION - the act of protecting These could all be synonyms for protection/defense, or they could share a common word that follows or precedes them. Let me think if there's a more specific connection: - Under the AEGIS of - SHIELD (standalone or as part of something) - GUARD (body guard, coast guard, etc.) - PROTECTION (witness protection, etc.) Or maybe they can all precede or follow a specific word? - _____ program? No... - Body ___? No, only GUARD works Actually, these could all relate to "witness protection" type concepts, or they could simply be words meaning protection/defense. Regardless, these are the last 4 words, so they must be the final category!

Let me analyze these 16 words and look for potential categories of 4 related words. First, let me list them out: INNER, CRITICAL, STERLING, KEY, MAJOR, WING, BILL, NICKEL, WON, PRINCIPAL, DOLLAR, POUND, PERSONAL, SOLDIER, SECRET, PRIVATE Let me look for patterns: 1. Currency-related words: - STERLING (British pound sterling) - DOLLAR (US currency) - POUND (British currency) - WON (Korean currency) - NICKEL (5 cent coin) - BILL (paper money) 2. Military ranks: - MAJOR (military rank) - PRIVATE (military rank) - Could SOLDIER fit? Not a rank exactly... 3. Words that can follow "SPACE": - INNER SPACE? Not really common - Let me think differently 4. Words that can precede something: - INNER ___ - SECRET ___ - PRIVATE ___ - PERSONAL ___ 5. Types of "circles" or groups: - INNER circle - Could there be others? 6. Words that can come before "SERVICE": - SECRET SERVICE - Could others work? 7. Looking at currencies more carefully: - DOLLAR, POUND, WON, STERLING - these are all currency units - Actually STERLING is part of "pound sterling" - NICKEL, BILL could be currency-related too 8. Words that can precede "TRAINER": - PERSONAL TRAINER - Hmm... 9. Let me think about "___ EYE": - PRIVATE EYE (detective) - Could there be others? 10. Words meaning "main" or "chief": - PRINCIPAL (main) - KEY (main, essential) - MAJOR (main) - CRITICAL (crucial, main) - PRIME? Not in the list 11. Currencies (national currencies): - DOLLAR (USA, Canada, etc.) - POUND (UK) - WON (Korea) - What else? STERLING is British too - Wait, could NICKEL be a currency? Not really a national currency... 12. Let me reconsider. Words that can follow a letter: - BILL could follow names - 13. "FLY" types or things with wings: - WING - SOLDIER (soldier fly?) 14. Wait - "ANT" types! - SOLDIER ant - FIRE ant? No FIRE - CARPENTER ant? No CARPENTER - ARMY ant? No ARMY 15. Back to currencies - these are definitely national currencies: - DOLLAR - POUND - WON - Need a fourth... NICKEL isn't a national currency 16. Words that can precede "PARTY": - PRIVATE party - Could work with others? 17. Let me think about BILL, NICKEL: - These could be names (Bill, Nick) - STERLING could be a name - PENNY... not here 18. Wait - Buffalo NICKEL, Dollar BILL, Buffalo BILL... - Hmm, coins and bills with specific names? 19. Let me reconsider military ranks: - PRIVATE (lowest enlisted) - MAJOR (officer rank) - What about WING COMMANDER? WING alone isn't a rank 20. Going back to currencies that are national: - DOLLAR, POUND, WON, and... - STERLING is specifically British pound sterling - Let me look for another angle Let me go with currencies as my strongest category: DOLLAR, POUND, WON, and I need a fourth that's a currency... Actually, BILL could be slang for dollar bill but that's not a currency unit. Let me try: DOLLAR, POUND, WON, STERLING - but STERLING is an adjective (pound sterling) Hmm, what about words that mean "essential/main/primary": PRINCIPAL, KEY, MAJOR, CRITICAL - these all mean something important or main! This seems strong. Let me go with this.

I got the first category correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words: INNER, STERLING, WING, BILL, NICKEL, WON, DOLLAR, POUND, PERSONAL, SOLDIER, SECRET, PRIVATE Let me look for patterns again: 1. Currencies: - DOLLAR (US, Canadian, etc.) - POUND (British) - WON (Korean) - STERLING? (British pound sterling - but this is an adjective) 2. Military ranks: - PRIVATE (enlisted rank) - Hmm, SOLDIER isn't a rank 3. Words that can precede "SPACE": - INNER SPACE - PERSONAL SPACE - Hmm... 4. Let me think about names: - BILL (nickname for William) - NICKEL (could be a name?) - STERLING (could be a name) - DOLLAR? Not really 5. Looking at currencies again - actual currency units: - DOLLAR - POUND - WON - What's the fourth? Not NICKEL (that's a coin denomination, not a currency) 6. Wait - these could all be things you can do physically: - POUND (to hit) - BILL (to charge someone) - Hmm, not quite 7. Words that follow "PERSONAL": - Already used that approach 8. Let me think about "_____ PARTY": - PRIVATE party - Could others work? 9. Words that can precede "LIFE": - PRIVATE LIFE - PERSONAL LIFE - INNER LIFE - SECRET LIFE? - Hmm, not exactly SECRET LIFE 10. Words that can precede "CIRCLE": - INNER CIRCLE - Hmm 11. Let me try "___ AGENT" or "___ SERVICE": - SECRET SERVICE - SECRET AGENT - Hmm 12. Wait - types of something specific. Let me think about body parts of animals: - WING - BILL (bird's bill) - Hmm... 13. Words related to weight/force: - POUND (unit of weight/force) - 14. Let me revisit currencies. These are definitely national currencies: - DOLLAR - POUND - WON - Need a fourth... Is there anything else? 15. Actually, what if STERLING, NICKEL relate differently? - NICKEL is a metal - STERLING is sterling silver (an alloy) - Hmm... 16. Words that can follow a specific word: - CHICKEN WING - DOLLAR BILL - Hmm, DOLLAR BILL connects two words! 17. Let me think about compound words or phrases: - PRIVATE (EYE, SCHOOL, PARTY) - INNER (CIRCLE, CITY, CHILD) - PERSONAL (SPACE, TRAINER) - SECRET (SERVICE, AGENT) 18. Wait! Things that can precede "SPACE": - INNER SPACE - PERSONAL SPACE - What else? - Not SECRET SPACE or PRIVATE SPACE typically 19. Going back to currencies - I'm pretty confident: - DOLLAR (currency) - POUND (currency - British, Egyptian, etc.) - WON (currency - Korean) - The fourth could be... hmm Let me try the currencies: DOLLAR, POUND, WON and... I need to find the fourth. Actually, wait - what about things that can follow "SILVER"? - SILVER DOLLAR - SILVER SCREEN? No SCREEN - STERLING SILVER Hmm, let me think about birds or duck parts: - WING - BILL - These are both bird parts! What if the category is parts of a bird or duck? - WING - BILL - Need two more... not seeing them clearly Let me go with currencies: DOLLAR, POUND, WON, and I'll guess STERLING as the fourth since "pound sterling" is the full name of British currency.

Excellent! Two categories down. Now I have 8 words left: INNER, WING, BILL, NICKEL, PERSONAL, SOLDIER, SECRET, PRIVATE Let me look for patterns: 1. Military-related: - PRIVATE (military rank) - SOLDIER (military person) - Hmm, need more 2. Words that can precede "SPACE": - INNER SPACE - PERSONAL SPACE - Hmm, need two more that work with SPACE 3. Words that can precede a common word: - Let me think about what word they could all precede... 4. Parts of a bird: - WING - BILL - Hmm, not enough 5. Types of something: - PRIVATE (private eye, private school) - SECRET (secret agent, secret service) - Hmm 6. Let me think about "_____ EYE": - PRIVATE EYE - What else? 7. Words that can precede "PARTS": - PRIVATE PARTS - Hmm 8. Let me think about names/nicknames: - BILL (William) - NICKEL (Nick?) - Hmm 9. Wait - Buffalo related? - BUFFALO BILL - BUFFALO WING - BUFFALO SOLDIER (the song!) - BUFFALO NICKEL - These all can follow BUFFALO! This seems very strong! BILL, WING, SOLDIER, NICKEL - all can follow BUFFALO! - Buffalo Bill (famous person) - Buffalo wing (food) - Buffalo Soldier (Bob Marley song, also historical term) - Buffalo nickel (US coin) That leaves: INNER, PERSONAL, SECRET, PRIVATE Let me verify these four work together: - INNER... - PERSONAL... - SECRET... - PRIVATE... What could connect them? - ___ LIFE? INNER LIFE, PERSONAL LIFE, SECRET LIFE, PRIVATE LIFE? Hmm, not all work perfectly - ___ SPACE? INNER SPACE, PERSONAL SPACE... not all work - ___ CIRCLE? INNER CIRCLE... not all work Actually, could they all precede something? - ___ SECRETARY? No - ___ SERVICE? SECRET SERVICE, but not the others Hmm, let me think... These could all be types of something or describe something: - INNER CHILD - PERSONAL ASSISTANT - SECRET AGENT - PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR Wait! What about words that can precede "LIFE"? - PRIVATE LIFE ✓ - PERSONAL LIFE ✓ - SECRET LIFE ✓ (like "The Secret Life of Pets") - INNER LIFE ✓ Hmm, that could work! But I'm more confident about the BUFFALO connection. Let me go with that first.

Now I have the final 4 words left: INNER, PERSONAL, SECRET, PRIVATE These must form the last category. Let me verify what connects them: Possible connections: 1. Words that can precede "LIFE": - INNER LIFE ✓ - PERSONAL LIFE ✓ - SECRET LIFE ✓ - PRIVATE LIFE ✓ 2. Words that can precede "SPACE": - INNER SPACE ✓ - PERSONAL SPACE ✓ - SECRET SPACE? Not common - PRIVATE SPACE? Not common 3. Words related to privacy or interiority - they all describe something hidden or individual 4. Could they all precede "CIRCLE"? - INNER CIRCLE ✓ - Not really for the others 5. Could they all precede "SELF"? - INNER SELF ✓ - Not really for the others 6. Words that describe types of something: - PRIVATE (as in private school, private eye) - PERSONAL (as in personal trainer) - SECRET (as in secret agent) - INNER (as in inner circle) The most likely connection seems to be that they can all precede a specific word. Let me think... Actually, looking at these - they could all describe types of detectives or investigators: - PRIVATE investigator/eye - SECRET agent - Hmm, not INNER or PERSONAL What about "___ DANCER"? - Not really These are the last 4 words, so they must be the answer. The connection might be: - All can precede "LIFE" (INNER LIFE, PERSONAL LIFE, SECRET LIFE, PRIVATE LIFE) - Or they could all relate to privacy/interiority concepts Since these are the only 4 remaining, I'll guess them with high confidence.

Let me analyze these 16 words to find groups of 4 related items. Available words: CUP, LIBERAL, MARTIAN, DEPARTED, LEFT, GOOD SHEPHERD, THEATER, RAINMAKER, PROGRESSIVE, GREEK/ROMAN GOD, SPACECRAFT, SPLIT, SHAKE, BLUE, CONE, FICTIONAL BOXER Let me think about potential categories: 1. Political terms: LIBERAL, LEFT, PROGRESSIVE, BLUE - these could all describe political leanings (left-wing politics) 2. Ice cream related: CUP, CONE, SHAKE, SPLIT (banana split) - ways to serve/types of ice cream 3. Movies directed by someone (maybe Ridley Scott or another director)? - MARTIAN (The Martian) - DEPARTED (The Departed) - GOOD SHEPHERD (The Good Shepherd) - RAINMAKER (The Rainmaker) Wait, let me think about this differently. These might be "THE ___" movies: - THE MARTIAN - THE DEPARTED - THE GOOD SHEPHERD - THE RAINMAKER But who directed these? The Martian (Ridley Scott), The Departed (Scorsese), The Good Shepherd (De Niro), The Rainmaker (Coppola) - different directors. Maybe they're all Matt Damon movies? - THE MARTIAN - yes - THE DEPARTED - yes - THE GOOD SHEPHERD - yes - THE RAINMAKER - yes! That could be a strong connection - Matt Damon movies! 4. What about GREEK/ROMAN GOD, SPACECRAFT, THEATER, FICTIONAL BOXER? These seem like they could be "APOLLO" related: - APOLLO (Greek/Roman god) - APOLLO (spacecraft - Apollo missions) - APOLLO (theater - Apollo Theater) - APOLLO (fictional boxer - Apollo Creed from Rocky!) This is a strong connection! Let me verify my categories: 1. Political left: LIBERAL, LEFT, PROGRESSIVE, BLUE 2. Ice cream: CUP, CONE, SHAKE, SPLIT 3. Matt Damon movies: MARTIAN, DEPARTED, GOOD SHEPHERD, RAINMAKER 4. APOLLO: GREEK/ROMAN GOD, SPACECRAFT, THEATER, FICTIONAL BOXER This accounts for all 16 words perfectly! I'm most confident about the APOLLO connection because it's clever and specific. Let me start with that one.

I got the APOLLO category correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words: CUP, LIBERAL, MARTIAN, DEPARTED, LEFT, GOOD SHEPHERD, RAINMAKER, PROGRESSIVE, SPLIT, SHAKE, BLUE, CONE My previous analysis suggested: 1. Political left: LIBERAL, LEFT, PROGRESSIVE, BLUE - all describe left-leaning political positions 2. Ice cream: CUP, CONE, SHAKE, SPLIT - ways to serve ice cream (cup, cone, milkshake, banana split) 3. Matt Damon movies: MARTIAN, DEPARTED, GOOD SHEPHERD, RAINMAKER - all movies starring Matt Damon (The Martian, The Departed, The Good Shepherd, The Rainmaker) Let me verify these groupings account for all remaining words: - LIBERAL, LEFT, PROGRESSIVE, BLUE (4) - CUP, CONE, SHAKE, SPLIT (4) - MARTIAN, DEPARTED, GOOD SHEPHERD, RAINMAKER (4) Yes, that's all 12 words in 3 groups of 4. I'm very confident about the ice cream category - CUP, CONE, SHAKE (milkshake), SPLIT (banana split) are all classic ice cream serving styles/types. Let me go with the ice cream category next.

Two down, two to go. Remaining 8 words: LIBERAL, MARTIAN, DEPARTED, LEFT, GOOD SHEPHERD, RAINMAKER, PROGRESSIVE, BLUE My previous analysis: 1. Political left: LIBERAL, LEFT, PROGRESSIVE, BLUE - all describe left-leaning political positions (liberal, left-wing, progressive, blue states) 2. Matt Damon movies: MARTIAN, DEPARTED, GOOD SHEPHERD, RAINMAKER - all movies starring Matt Damon: - The Martian (2015) - The Departed (2006) - The Good Shepherd (2006) - The Rainmaker (1997) Both categories seem very solid. Let me go with the Matt Damon movies since I'm very confident about that connection.

Excellent! Three down, one to go. The remaining 4 words are: LIBERAL, LEFT, PROGRESSIVE, BLUE These all describe left-leaning political positions: - LIBERAL - political ideology on the left - LEFT - as in left-wing politics - PROGRESSIVE - another term for left-leaning politics - BLUE - blue states vote Democratic/left This is the final group and it must be correct since these are the only 4 words remaining.

Let me analyze these 16 words and find potential categories. Available words: GRADE, NOSE, SCORE, SWEAT, TIGER, TOWEL, CLIP, BLUSH, TRAIL, PACE, MASCARA, DYE, FIDGET, STOCKINGS, RANK, RATE Let me look for connections: 1. Words that can follow "RUN": - NOSE (runny nose? or nose run?) - Actually, let me think about words that go with "RUN" - RUN + something or something + RUN 2. Makeup items: - BLUSH (yes, makeup) - MASCARA (yes, makeup) - What else could be makeup? - STOCKINGS can have "runs" in them 3. Words meaning to evaluate/assess: - GRADE (to evaluate) - SCORE (to evaluate) - RANK (to evaluate) - RATE (to evaluate) This looks like a strong category! 4. Things that can be "PAPER ___": - TOWEL (paper towel) - CLIP (paper clip) - TRAIL (paper trail) - TIGER (paper tiger) This also looks like a strong category! 5. Words related to "sweat": - SWEAT itself - TOWEL (sweat towel?) 6. Spinner types: - FIDGET (fidget spinner) 7. Things that can "run": - NOSE (runny nose) - MASCARA (mascara can run) - STOCKINGS (stockings can run) - DYE (dye can run) - BLUSH? (less common) Wait, let me reconsider. Things that "run" as in spread/leak: - MASCARA runs when you cry - STOCKINGS get runs - DYE can run (bleed colors) - NOSE runs when you're sick That's a potential category of 4! Let me verify my strongest guesses: Category 1 - Words meaning to evaluate: GRADE, SCORE, RANK, RATE This seems very solid. Category 2 - PAPER ___: TOWEL, CLIP, TRAIL, TIGER This also seems very solid. Category 3 - Things that can "run": MASCARA, STOCKINGS, DYE, NOSE This makes sense too. Category 4 - What's left: SWEAT, BLUSH, PACE, FIDGET What could connect these? Things you do when nervous? - SWEAT (nervous sweating) - BLUSH (nervous blushing) - PACE (nervous pacing) - FIDGET (nervous fidgeting) Yes! These are all things you do when nervous! I'm most confident about the evaluation words: GRADE, SCORE, RANK, RATE. Let me start with that.

I got the evaluation words correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words. Remaining words: NOSE, SWEAT, TIGER, TOWEL, CLIP, BLUSH, TRAIL, PACE, MASCARA, DYE, FIDGET, STOCKINGS Let me revisit my earlier analysis: Category 2 - PAPER ___: TOWEL, CLIP, TRAIL, TIGER - PAPER TOWEL ✓ - PAPER CLIP ✓ - PAPER TRAIL ✓ - PAPER TIGER ✓ This is very solid! Category 3 - Things that can "run": MASCARA, STOCKINGS, DYE, NOSE - MASCARA runs (when crying) - STOCKINGS get runs - DYE runs (colors bleed) - NOSE runs (when sick) This also looks solid! Category 4 - Things you do when nervous: SWEAT, BLUSH, PACE, FIDGET - SWEAT when nervous - BLUSH when nervous/embarrassed - PACE when nervous - FIDGET when nervous This also looks solid! I'll go with the PAPER ___ category next since I'm very confident about it.

Excellent! Two categories down, two to go. Remaining words: NOSE, SWEAT, BLUSH, PACE, MASCARA, DYE, FIDGET, STOCKINGS My two remaining predicted categories: Category 3 - Things that can "run": MASCARA, STOCKINGS, DYE, NOSE - MASCARA runs (when crying) - STOCKINGS get runs - DYE runs (colors bleed) - NOSE runs (when sick) Category 4 - Things you do when nervous: SWEAT, BLUSH, PACE, FIDGET - SWEAT when nervous - BLUSH when nervous/embarrassed - PACE when nervous - FIDGET when nervous Both categories seem very solid and the remaining 8 words split perfectly into these two groups. I'll go with the nervous behaviors next.

Three categories down, one to go. Remaining words: NOSE, MASCARA, DYE, STOCKINGS This is my last predicted category - Things that can "run": - MASCARA runs (when crying) - STOCKINGS get runs - DYE runs (colors bleed) - NOSE runs (when sick) These are all things that can "run" - this should complete the puzzle!

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 groups of 4 related words. First, let me look for obvious categories: 1. **Colors/Shades of Purple**: AMETHYST, EGGPLANT, LAVENDER, GRIMACE (Grimace from McDonald's is purple!) - These are all shades of purple or purple things. 2. **Things that can precede "of wisdom"**: PEARL (pearl of wisdom), NUGGET (nugget of wisdom), KERNEL (kernel of wisdom), TIDBIT (tidbit of wisdom)? Actually, let me think about this differently. 3. **Small amounts/pieces of something**: TIDBIT, NUGGET, KERNEL, MORSEL? Wait, MORSEL isn't here. Let me reconsider. 4. **Things from a fortune cookie**: FORTUNE (the paper), COOKIE ingredients? 5. **Amber-related**: AMBER is a color but also fossilized resin. PALEONTOLOGIST studies fossils, DINOSAUR could be preserved in amber, MOSQUITO (like in Jurassic Park, preserved in amber!) Wait, that's a strong connection! In Jurassic Park, they extracted dinosaur DNA from mosquitoes preserved in AMBER. So: AMBER, MOSQUITO, DINOSAUR, PALEONTOLOGIST - all Jurassic Park related! 6. **Money/wealth terms**: FORTUNE, BUNDLE, PILE, MINT - these can all describe large amounts of money! "A fortune," "a bundle," "a pile of money," "to make a mint" 7. **Purple things**: AMETHYST (purple gemstone), EGGPLANT (purple vegetable), LAVENDER (purple flower/color), GRIMACE (purple McDonald's character) 8. **Small pieces of information/food**: TIDBIT, NUGGET, KERNEL, PEARL - these can all precede "of wisdom" or describe small valuable bits of information. PEARL of wisdom, NUGGET of truth, KERNEL of truth, TIDBIT of information. Let me verify my categories: - Purple things: AMETHYST, EGGPLANT, LAVENDER, GRIMACE ✓ - Large amounts of money: FORTUNE, BUNDLE, PILE, MINT ✓ - Jurassic Park: AMBER, MOSQUITO, DINOSAUR, PALEONTOLOGIST ✓ - Small bits of wisdom/truth: TIDBIT, NUGGET, KERNEL, PEARL ✓ That accounts for all 16 words perfectly! I'll start with the one I'm most confident about. The "purple things" category seems very solid, but let me also consider the "money" category. Actually, I'm very confident about the money terms: FORTUNE, BUNDLE, PILE, MINT - all mean "a lot of money" in slang/common usage. Let me go with the purple category first since GRIMACE being purple is a clever connection that makes me think it's a real category.

I got the purple category correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words: TIDBIT, PILE, PEARL, MOSQUITO, FORTUNE, AMBER, BUNDLE, PALEONTOLOGIST, MINT, KERNEL, DINOSAUR, NUGGET My previous analysis identified three more categories: 1. **Large amounts of money**: FORTUNE, BUNDLE, PILE, MINT - all slang for "a lot of money" - "Made a fortune" - "Made a bundle" - "Made a pile" - "Made a mint" 2. **Jurassic Park related**: AMBER, MOSQUITO, DINOSAUR, PALEONTOLOGIST - In Jurassic Park, dinosaur DNA was extracted from mosquitoes preserved in amber, and paleontologists were key characters 3. **Small bits of wisdom/information**: TIDBIT, NUGGET, KERNEL, PEARL - "Tidbit of information" - "Nugget of wisdom" - "Kernel of truth" - "Pearl of wisdom" I'm very confident about the money category. Let me go with that next.

Excellent! Two down, two to go. Remaining 8 words: TIDBIT, PEARL, MOSQUITO, AMBER, PALEONTOLOGIST, KERNEL, DINOSAUR, NUGGET My previous analysis had: 1. **Jurassic Park related**: AMBER, MOSQUITO, DINOSAUR, PALEONTOLOGIST - In Jurassic Park, dinosaur DNA was extracted from mosquitoes preserved in amber, and paleontologists (like Dr. Alan Grant) were key characters 2. **Small bits of wisdom/information**: TIDBIT, NUGGET, KERNEL, PEARL - "Tidbit of information" - "Nugget of wisdom/truth" - "Kernel of truth" - "Pearl of wisdom" Both categories still fit perfectly with the remaining words. Let me go with the Jurassic Park connection since it's a very specific and clever connection.

Three down, one to go. The remaining 4 words are: TIDBIT, PEARL, KERNEL, NUGGET These should all be words that can precede "of wisdom" or "of truth" - describing small valuable bits of information: - "Pearl of wisdom" - "Kernel of truth" - "Nugget of wisdom" or "nugget of truth" - "Tidbit of information" or "tidbit of wisdom" This is the last category and these four words fit perfectly together.

Let me analyze these words and look for potential connections. First, let me list all the words: ENCORE, ARIA, LUXOR, OREO, EASE, ORCA, ARS, DOMINO, AREA, EXCALIBUR, PERIMETER, VOLUME, CROSSWORD, AYES, OWES, LENGTH Let me look for patterns: 1. Las Vegas casinos/hotels: LUXOR, EXCALIBUR, ARIA, ENCORE - these are all famous Las Vegas hotels/casinos! That's a strong connection. 2. Words that start and end with vowels: ENCORE (E-E), ARIA (A-A), OREO (O-O), EASE (E-E), ORCA (O-A), AREA (A-A), AYES (A-S... no), OWES (O-S... no) Wait, let me check more carefully for words that start and end with the same letter: - ARIA (A-A) ✓ - AREA (A-A) ✓ - OREO (O-O) ✓ - Actually, let me think about this differently... 3. Words containing "OR": ENCORE, OREO, ORCA, CROSSWORD, LUXOR, EXCALIBUR (no) 4. Math/geometry terms: AREA, PERIMETER, VOLUME, LENGTH - these are all measurements/geometric concepts! 5. Puzzle types: CROSSWORD, DOMINO... 6. Words that sound like letters when read: - EASE = E's - AYES = I's - OWES = O's - ARS = R's This could be a category! Words that sound like plural letters. 7. Cookie brands: OREO, DOMINO (Domino's is pizza, not cookies) Let me reconsider: - Las Vegas hotels: LUXOR, EXCALIBUR, ARIA, ENCORE - very confident - Geometric measurements: AREA, PERIMETER, VOLUME, LENGTH - very confident - Homophones of plural letters: EASE (E's), AYES (I's), OWES (O's), ARS (R's) - confident That leaves: OREO, ORCA, DOMINO, CROSSWORD Could these have a connection? - OREO, ORCA, DOMINO are black and white things - CROSSWORD... could also be black and white (the puzzle grid) Black and white things: OREO (cookie), ORCA (killer whale), DOMINO, CROSSWORD (puzzle) - yes! So my four categories seem to be: 1. Las Vegas hotels: LUXOR, EXCALIBUR, ARIA, ENCORE 2. Geometric measurements: AREA, PERIMETER, VOLUME, LENGTH 3. Homophones of plural letters: EASE, AYES, OWES, ARS 4. Black and white things: OREO, ORCA, DOMINO, CROSSWORD I'm most confident about the Las Vegas hotels category. Let me start with that.

I got the Las Vegas hotels correct. Now let me work with the remaining words: OREO, EASE, ORCA, ARS, DOMINO, AREA, PERIMETER, VOLUME, CROSSWORD, AYES, OWES, LENGTH My remaining hypothesized categories: 1. Geometric measurements: AREA, PERIMETER, VOLUME, LENGTH - these are all measurements/geometric concepts 2. Homophones of plural letters: EASE (E's), AYES (I's), OWES (O's), ARS (R's) 3. Black and white things: OREO, ORCA, DOMINO, CROSSWORD All three of these seem very solid. Let me go with the geometric measurements next as it's very straightforward - these are all things you can measure/calculate in geometry or physics. AREA - 2D measurement PERIMETER - distance around a shape VOLUME - 3D measurement LENGTH - 1D measurement This is a very clean category.

Excellent! Two down, two to go. Remaining words: OREO, EASE, ORCA, ARS, DOMINO, CROSSWORD, AYES, OWES My remaining hypothesized categories: 1. Homophones of plural letters: EASE (E's), AYES (I's), OWES (O's), ARS (R's) 2. Black and white things: OREO, ORCA, DOMINO, CROSSWORD Let me verify the homophones: - EASE sounds like "E's" (plural of the letter E) ✓ - AYES sounds like "I's" (plural of the letter I) ✓ - OWES sounds like "O's" (plural of the letter O) ✓ - ARS sounds like "R's" (plural of the letter R) ✓ And the black and white things: - OREO - black and white cookie ✓ - ORCA - black and white killer whale ✓ - DOMINO - black and white game piece ✓ - CROSSWORD - black and white puzzle grid ✓ Both categories seem very solid. I'll go with the homophones of plural letters next.

Three down, one to go. The remaining words are: OREO, ORCA, DOMINO, CROSSWORD This should be the black and white things category: - OREO - black and white cookie ✓ - ORCA - black and white killer whale ✓ - DOMINO - black and white game piece ✓ - CROSSWORD - black and white puzzle grid ✓ This is the only remaining group, so it must be correct.

Let me analyze these 16 words and find potential categories. First, let me list them out: RAM, DUCK, DIVE, CHIP, LARK, SCRAPER, STAR, WING, DODGE, SENATOR, LINCOLN, ROCKET, FLYER, FORD, FRY, DIP Let me look for patterns: 1. **NHL Hockey Teams**: - DUCK (Anaheim Ducks) - STAR (Dallas Stars) - SENATOR (Ottawa Senators) - FLYER (Philadelphia Flyers) - This seems like a strong connection! 2. **NFL Football Teams**: - RAM (Los Angeles Rams) - DODGE (not a team...) - SENATOR (not NFL) - Wait, let me reconsider... 3. **Car brands**: - DODGE (car brand) - FORD (car brand) - LINCOLN (car brand) - RAM (Dodge Ram - now its own brand) - This is also a strong connection! 4. **Actions/Verbs related to avoiding**: - DUCK (to duck down) - DIVE (to dive) - DODGE (to dodge) - DIP (to dip down) - These could all be ways to avoid something! 5. **Sky__ or __sky words**: - SCRAPER (skyscraper) - DIVE (skydive) - LARK (skylark) - ROCKET (sky rocket) - WING (skywing? - not common) 6. **French fry related**: - FRY - CHIP (British for fry) - DIP (dipping sauce) 7. **Philip ___ or Stephen ___**: - FRY (Stephen Fry) 8. **SKY + word compounds**: - SCRAPER (skyscraper) - DIVE (skydive) - LARK (skylark) - ROCKET (skyrocket) - This looks very strong! Let me verify my top candidates: **NHL Teams**: DUCK, STAR, SENATOR, FLYER - all singular forms of NHL team names **Car Brands**: DODGE, FORD, LINCOLN, RAM - all American car brands **SKY + word**: SCRAPER, DIVE, LARK, ROCKET - all form words with SKY prefix The SKY + word connection seems very clean: - Skyscraper ✓ - Skydive ✓ - Skylark ✓ - Skyrocket ✓ I'm very confident about this one. Let me go with the SKY words first.

Excellent! The SKY + word category was correct (SCRAPER, DIVE, LARK, ROCKET → skyscraper, skydive, skylark, skyrocket). Now let me look at the remaining 12 words: RAM, DUCK, CHIP, STAR, WING, DODGE, SENATOR, LINCOLN, FLYER, FORD, FRY, DIP Let me revisit my earlier analysis: 1. **NHL Hockey Teams** (singular form): - DUCK (Anaheim Ducks) - STAR (Dallas Stars) - SENATOR (Ottawa Senators) - FLYER (Philadelphia Flyers) - This is a very strong connection! 2. **American Car Brands**: - DODGE (car brand) - FORD (car brand) - LINCOLN (car brand) - RAM (Dodge Ram / Ram Trucks) - This is also very strong! 3. **Actions to avoid something**: - DUCK (to duck) - DODGE (to dodge) - DIP (to dip down) - Hmm, need a fourth... 4. **Buffalo ___ (things from Buffalo)**: - WING (Buffalo wing) - CHIP (Buffalo chip?) - Wait, let me think differently... 5. **___ CHIP compounds**: - CHIP could go with various things 6. **BUFFALO ___**: - WING (Buffalo wing) - CHIP (Buffalo chip - actually a thing, dried buffalo dung used as fuel) - SOLDIER? No... Let me focus on my two strongest categories: **NHL Teams**: DUCK, STAR, SENATOR, FLYER **Car Brands**: DODGE, FORD, LINCOLN, RAM I'm very confident about both. Let me go with the car brands since they're all distinctly American automotive brands.

Two down, two to go. Remaining 8 words: DUCK, CHIP, STAR, WING, SENATOR, FLYER, FRY, DIP Let me analyze: 1. **NHL Hockey Teams** (singular form): - DUCK (Anaheim Ducks) - STAR (Dallas Stars) - SENATOR (Ottawa Senators) - FLYER (Philadelphia Flyers) - This is definitely one of the remaining categories! 2. **Remaining words after NHL teams would be**: - CHIP, WING, FRY, DIP 3. **What could CHIP, WING, FRY, DIP have in common?** - These could all relate to food/appetizers - CHIP (potato chip, tortilla chip) - WING (chicken wing) - FRY (french fry) - DIP (dipping sauce, or chip dip) Or they could all go with a common word... - BUFFALO: Buffalo chip, Buffalo wing... Buffalo fry? Buffalo dip? - Actually: Buffalo wing ✓, Buffalo chip ✓ (dried dung or a casino chip) Wait, let me think about "___ AND ___" pairs or other patterns: - CHIP and DIP (common phrase!) - FISH and CHIPS (FRY could be related - fish fry) Or words that follow MICRO: - MICROCHIP ✓ - But not the others... Let me think about WING, FRY, CHIP, DIP as bar food/appetizers or things you'd order at a casual restaurant/bar. Actually, I'm very confident about the NHL teams. Let me go with that. DUCK (Anaheim Ducks) STAR (Dallas Stars) SENATOR (Ottawa Senators) FLYER (Philadelphia Flyers)

Three down, one to go. Remaining 4 words: CHIP, WING, FRY, DIP These must form the final category. Let me think about what connects them: 1. **Bar food/appetizers**: Chips, wings, fries, dip - all common bar/casual restaurant items 2. **Things that go together**: Chip and dip, wing... 3. **___ AND ___ phrases**: - CHIP and DIP (common phrase) - FISH and CHIPS (but FRY isn't in this phrase directly) 4. **Words that can follow a common word**: - BUFFALO: Buffalo chip, Buffalo wing... not really Buffalo fry or Buffalo dip - SKINNY: Skinny dip ✓, but not the others 5. **Words that can precede a common word**: - CHIP shot, WING shot? DIP shot? FRY... 6. **Could they all be verbs related to cooking?** - FRY (to fry) - DIP (to dip) - CHIP (to chip?) - WING (to wing it?) 7. **SKINNY ___**: - SKINNY DIP ✓ (swimming naked) - Hmm, not the others 8. **Could they be paired phrases? Like "X and Y"**: - CHIP and DIP - WING and... ? - FRY and... ? 9. **Maybe they all can follow SMALL**: - SMALL FRY ✓ (common phrase for kids or unimportant people) - SMALL CHIP? Not really... 10. **BUFFALO connection again**: - BUFFALO WING ✓ - BUFFALO CHIP ✓ (it's a real thing - dried dung, also a casino/festival) - Hmm... Since these are the last four, they must be the answer. Let me just submit them.

Let me analyze these 16 words and find potential categories. First, let me list them: CHILL, ALE, LOAF, BOOTH, SCROLL, QUASH, LOUNGE, TABLE, VEG, EEK, TAP, SWIPE, HIVE, BAR, PINCH, COUNTER Let me look for potential groupings: 1. **Smartphone/touchscreen gestures**: TAP, SWIPE, PINCH, SCROLL - these are all gestures you use on a touchscreen device! 2. **Places to relax/sit**: BOOTH, LOUNGE, BAR, TABLE - these could be places in a restaurant or bar 3. **Words meaning to relax**: CHILL, LOAF, VEG, LOUNGE - these all can mean to relax or do nothing 4. **Things with "BEE" prefix?**: HIVE (beehive)... let me think about this differently 5. **Bar-related things**: BAR, TAP, COUNTER, BOOTH - things you might find at a bar 6. **Words that can follow a letter**: - EEK could be related to something - Let me think about what these might have in common 7. **Squash-related?**: QUASH means to suppress... 8. **Things that can precede or follow a common word**: - BAR: bar tab, bar counter - COUNTER: counter argument - TABLE: table top Let me reconsider: **Smartphone gestures** seems very strong: TAP, SWIPE, PINCH, SCROLL - all are touchscreen gestures **Relax/do nothing**: CHILL, LOAF, VEG, LOUNGE - all informal words meaning to relax **Bar/pub features**: BAR, TAP, BOOTH, COUNTER - things found at a bar or pub **Remaining**: ALE, QUASH, EEK, HIVE, TABLE - Wait, ALE is a drink - HIVE... beehive - EEK... exclamation - QUASH... to suppress - TABLE... furniture or to postpone Let me think about letter sounds or homophones: - ALE sounds like "L" - EEK sounds like "E" or "EEK" - Could there be single letters hidden? Actually, let me reconsider: - B + EEK = BEEK? No - What about "___ out"? CHILL out, VEG out, LOUNGE... no I'm most confident about smartphone gestures: TAP, SWIPE, PINCH, SCROLL Let me verify: - TAP - yes, tap on screen - SWIPE - yes, swipe left/right - PINCH - yes, pinch to zoom - SCROLL - yes, scroll up/down This seems like a very strong category.

I got the smartphone gestures correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words: CHILL, ALE, LOAF, BOOTH, QUASH, LOUNGE, TABLE, VEG, EEK, HIVE, BAR, COUNTER Let me reconsider my earlier groupings: 1. **Relax/do nothing**: CHILL, LOAF, VEG, LOUNGE - all informal words meaning to relax or be lazy - CHILL - to relax - LOAF - to loaf around, be lazy - VEG - to veg out, relax - LOUNGE - to lounge around 2. **Bar/pub features**: BAR, BOOTH, COUNTER, TABLE - things found at a bar or restaurant - But TABLE is more generic... 3. **Remaining words to consider**: ALE, QUASH, EEK, HIVE Let me think about other patterns: Could there be words that go with "BEE"? - HIVE - beehive ✓ - What else could work with BEE? Wait, what about single letters as sounds? - ALE sounds like letter "L" - Could EEK be something? Let me think about "___ mind" or other phrases: - HIVE mind ✓ - What about things that can be preceded by a letter? - B + ALE = BALE - B + EEK = no - B + AR = BAR (already is bar) Hmm, let me think about QUASH - to suppress or squash Actually, what about words that can follow "COUNTER"? - COUNTER + ? Or precede something: - BAR + ? - TABLE + ? Let me focus on my strongest remaining guess - words meaning to relax: CHILL, LOAF, VEG, LOUNGE All can mean to be lazy or relax in informal speech.

Excellent! Two down, two to go. Let me work with the remaining 8 words: ALE, BOOTH, QUASH, TABLE, EEK, HIVE, BAR, COUNTER I need to find two groups of 4 from these. Let me think about possible connections: 1. **Bar/restaurant features**: BAR, BOOTH, TABLE, COUNTER - all things you'd find at a bar or restaurant 2. **Remaining would be**: ALE, QUASH, EEK, HIVE Let me think about what ALE, QUASH, EEK, HIVE could have in common: - ALE - a type of beer - QUASH - to suppress - EEK - an exclamation of surprise/fear - HIVE - where bees live These seem unrelated at first... Let me think harder. Could they all have a letter added to make new words? - S + ALE = SALE - S + QUASH = SQUASH - S + EEK = SEEK? No, that's not how it works - S + HIVE = no What about sounds like letters? - ALE sounds like "L" - EEK could sound like... not really What if they can all follow something? - BEE + HIVE = BEEHIVE - What about the others? Let me think about "John" or a name: - JOHN BOOTH (John Wilkes Booth) - Hmm... What about types of something or phrases? - SQUASH (the sport/vegetable) - QUASH is close - Could they go before or after a common word? - TABLE + ? = tablespoon, tablet - BAR + ? = barbell, bartender - COUNTER + ? = counteract, counterfeit - BOOTH + ? = What about "___ code"? - BAR code ✓ - Let me try: things at a bar/restaurant: BAR, BOOTH, TABLE, COUNTER This seems solid. Let me go with this.

Now I have the final 4 words left: ALE, QUASH, EEK, HIVE These must form the last category. Let me figure out what they have in common: - ALE - a type of beer - QUASH - to suppress or squash - EEK - an exclamation of surprise/fear - HIVE - where bees live What could connect these four seemingly unrelated words? Let me think about adding letters: - S + ALE = SALE - S + QUASH = SQUASH - S + EEK = SEEK - S + HIVE = SHIVE? No... What about SH-? - SH + ALE = SHALE (a type of rock!) - SH + QUASH = no - SH + EEK = SHEEK? SHEIKH? Wait, what about adding letters to the beginning to make new words? - W + ALE = WALE/WHALE - S + QUASH = SQUASH - S + EEK = SEEK (no, that changes the sound) - B + HIVE = no Hmm, what if they all can have a letter added to make something? - SCALE (S + CALE? no, ALE) - Actually: SHALE, WHALE, BALE, SALE, TALE, PALE, MALE, DALE, GALE, VALE... What about words that sound like they have a silent letter or can be part of a longer word? Let me think differently - maybe they all go after something: - BEE + HIVE = BEEHIVE - GIN + ALE = GINGER ALE? No... - Or they could all precede something? What about rhymes or sounds? - ALE rhymes with whale, shale, tale - EEK sounds like... shriek? - QUASH sounds like squash - HIVE sounds like... OH WAIT! What if you add a sound/letters to the beginning? - SH + ALE = SHALE - SQU + EEK = SQUEAK (no, that's SQU + EAK) - S + QUASH = SQUASH (adding S) Let me try: adding letters to make words starting with SQU- or S-: - S + ALE = SALE - S + QUASH = SQUASH - Actually no... What about words where you can add letters to get a longer word? - ALE → SHALE, WHALE, STALE - QUASH → SQUASH - EEK → SLEEK, GREEK, CHEEK? - HIVE → CHIVE CHIVE! ALE → SHALE, QUASH → SQUASH, EEK → CHEEK or SLEEK, HIVE → CHIVE Adding a consonant blend to the start: - (SH) + ALE = SHALE - (SQU) + ASH = SQUASH (wait, QUASH already) - (SL/GR/CH) + EEK = SLEEK, GREEK, CHEEK - (CH) + IVE = CHIVE Hmm, these are the last 4 so they must go together!

Let me analyze these 16 words to find groups of 4 related words. First, let me list them out: HONEYCOMB, PHOTOSHOP, PAMPLEMOUSSE, CORNICHON, PAIN, SPREADSHEET, TINSEL, TOUCH UP, SOLAR PANEL, VINAIGRETTE, AIRBRUSH, FIX, ORGANISM, STRING LIGHTS, ANGEL, CANDY CANE Let me look for patterns: 1. French words: PAMPLEMOUSSE (grapefruit), CORNICHON (pickle), PAIN (bread), VINAIGRETTE (salad dressing) - these are all French words for food items! 2. Christmas tree decorations: TINSEL, STRING LIGHTS, ANGEL (tree topper), CANDY CANE - these all go on a Christmas tree! 3. Photo editing/retouching terms: PHOTOSHOP, TOUCH UP, AIRBRUSH, FIX - these are all ways to edit/improve photos 4. Things with cells: HONEYCOMB (hexagonal cells), SPREADSHEET (has cells), SOLAR PANEL (solar cells), ORGANISM (made of cells) - these all contain "cells"! Let me verify: - French food words: PAMPLEMOUSSE, CORNICHON, PAIN, VINAIGRETTE ✓ - Christmas tree items: TINSEL, STRING LIGHTS, ANGEL, CANDY CANE ✓ - Photo editing: PHOTOSHOP, TOUCH UP, AIRBRUSH, FIX ✓ - Things with cells: HONEYCOMB, SPREADSHEET, SOLAR PANEL, ORGANISM ✓ All 16 words are accounted for in 4 groups of 4! I'm most confident about the French words category since PAMPLEMOUSSE, CORNICHON, PAIN, and VINAIGRETTE are all distinctly French terms for common food items (grapefruit, pickle, bread, and the dressing). Let me start with the French food words as that seems like a very specific and clear category.

I got the French food words correct. Now let me work with the remaining 12 words: HONEYCOMB, PHOTOSHOP, SPREADSHEET, TINSEL, TOUCH UP, SOLAR PANEL, AIRBRUSH, FIX, ORGANISM, STRING LIGHTS, ANGEL, CANDY CANE Based on my earlier analysis, I had identified three more groups: 1. Christmas tree decorations: TINSEL, STRING LIGHTS, ANGEL, CANDY CANE - these all go on a Christmas tree 2. Photo editing/retouching terms: PHOTOSHOP, TOUCH UP, AIRBRUSH, FIX - these are all ways to edit/improve photos 3. Things with cells: HONEYCOMB (hexagonal cells), SPREADSHEET (has cells), SOLAR PANEL (solar cells), ORGANISM (made of cells) I'm very confident about the Christmas tree decorations - TINSEL, STRING LIGHTS, ANGEL (tree topper), and CANDY CANE are all classic Christmas tree ornaments/decorations. Let me go with the Christmas tree decorations next.

Excellent! Two down, two to go. Let me work with the remaining 8 words: HONEYCOMB, PHOTOSHOP, SPREADSHEET, TOUCH UP, SOLAR PANEL, AIRBRUSH, FIX, ORGANISM Based on my earlier analysis, I have two remaining groups: 1. Photo editing/retouching terms: PHOTOSHOP, TOUCH UP, AIRBRUSH, FIX - these are all ways to edit/improve photos or images 2. Things with cells: HONEYCOMB (hexagonal cells), SPREADSHEET (has cells), SOLAR PANEL (solar cells), ORGANISM (made of cells) Both of these seem very solid. Let me go with the "things with cells" category since it's a clever wordplay connection that the NYT Connections puzzle often uses. HONEYCOMB - made of hexagonal cells SPREADSHEET - organized into cells SOLAR PANEL - contains solar cells ORGANISM - composed of biological cells This seems like a strong category based on the word "cell/cells" being associated with each item.

Three down, one to go. The remaining 4 words are: PHOTOSHOP, TOUCH UP, AIRBRUSH, FIX These are all related to photo editing/retouching - ways to improve or alter images: - PHOTOSHOP: Software for editing photos, also used as a verb meaning to digitally alter an image - TOUCH UP: To make minor improvements or corrections to a photo - AIRBRUSH: A technique/tool used to smooth or perfect images - FIX: To correct or improve something, including photos All of these can be used as verbs meaning to edit or improve a photograph.