Let me analyze these 16 words to find groups of 4 related words. Available words: NATURAL, STEAM, QUARTER, SPEAK, VOICE, PUMP, SAY, SHAKE, VOTE, HEEL, WHOLE, TIRE, DOWN, FLAT, WAFFLE, CHOICE Let me look for potential categories: 1. **Words that can follow "GUTTER"**: - GUTTER BALL? No, that's two words - Wait, let me think about compound words or phrases 2. **Words related to communication/expression**: - SPEAK, SAY, VOICE, CHOICE? (expressing yourself) - But CHOICE doesn't fit as well 3. **Words that can precede a common word**: - QUARTER + ? (quarter pound, quarter back, quarter note) - WHOLE + ? (whole wheat, whole milk, whole note) - FLAT + ? (flat tire, flat rate) - DOWN + ? (down payment, downtime) 4. **Words that can follow "FRENCH"**: - FRENCH FRY? (FRIES - not available) - FRENCH TOAST? (TOAST - not available) - FRENCH PRESS? (PRESS - not available) 5. **Words that can precede "IRON"**: - FLAT IRON ✓ - WAFFLE IRON ✓ - STEAM IRON ✓ - PUMPING IRON? (PUMP?) - Hmm, what about others? Let me reconsider: FLAT, WAFFLE, STEAM, PUMP - FLAT IRON - kitchen/laundry appliance - WAFFLE IRON - kitchen appliance - STEAM IRON - laundry appliance - PUMP? PUMP IRON is a phrase but not really an iron... Wait, could it be "______ IRON"? - FLAT IRON ✓ - WAFFLE IRON ✓ - STEAM IRON ✓ - PUMPING IRON (but it says PUMP, not PUMPING) Let me think about other groupings: 6. **Words that can follow "DOWN"**: - DOWN VOTE? (DOWNVOTE - one word) - DOWNHILL? DOWNSTAIRS? 7. **Words meaning to express/communicate**: - SPEAK, SAY, VOICE, ? (all mean similar things) 8. **Words that precede "YOURSELF"**: - SPEAK YOUR MIND? - VOICE YOUR OPINION? - PUMPED? PUMPED UP YOURSELF? Wait, what about "PUMP", "SHAKE", "WAFFLE", "TIRE"? - PUMP IT UP - SHAKE IT UP - TIRE/TIRED? - WAFFLE = to be indecisive? Actually: Words meaning to speak or express uncertainty/indecision: - WAFFLE (to be indecisive) - SPEAK (to talk) - SAY (to talk) - VOICE (to express) Or words that can follow "PUMPED UP" or precede "UP": - PUMPED UP - SHOOK UP? (SHAKE) - TIRED UP? (TIRE) - WAFFLED UP? (WAFFLE) Let me try: **Words that can be preceded by "ALL"**: - ALL NATURAL ✓ - ALL QUARTER? No - ALL VOTE? No - ALL SPOKE? No Actually: **"_____ THUMBS UP"** or things you do to express opinion/vote: - VOTE ✓ - THUMB UP? - Down/DOWNVOTE? Let me focus on: FLAT, WAFFLE, STEAM, PUMP - things that can precede "IRON" This seems like a strong category.

My guess of FLAT, WAFFLE, STEAM, PUMP was incorrect. Let me reconsider. I was confident about FLAT IRON, WAFFLE IRON, and STEAM IRON, but apparently PUMP IRON doesn't belong in that group, or the category is different entirely. Let me think about other patterns: 1. **Words that can follow specific words**: - NATURAL CHOICE, NATURAL SELECTION, NATURAL RESOURCES - QUARTER BACK, QUARTER POUND, QUARTER NOTE - WHOLE WHEAT, WHOLE MILK, WHOLE NOTE - FLAT RATE, FLAT TIRE, FLAT BREAD - DOWN PAYMENT, DOWN TIME, DOWN HILL - TIRE PRESSURE, TIRE SWING, TIRE IRON - HEEL TURN, HEEL TAP 2. **Verbs meaning to hesitate/not commit**: - WAFFLE (to waffle = be indecisive) - HEDGE? (not available) - FLIP-FLOP? (not available) 3. **Words that can precede "VOTE"**: - DOWN VOTE (downvote) - CAST VOTE? - POPULAR VOTE? 4. **Words related to expressing opinion/choice**: - VOICE (voice your opinion) - CHOICE (make a choice) - VOTE (cast a vote) - SAY (have your say) - SPEAK (speak up) 5. **Words that can follow "SWEET"**: - SWEET TALK (SPEAK? or SAY?) - SWEET NOTHING 6. **Words that can precede a common noun**: - PUMP + SHOE = PUMPS (type of shoe) - HEEL + SHOE = HEELS (type of shoe) - FLAT + SHOE = FLATS (type of shoe) - PUMP, HEEL, FLAT are all types of shoes! - What's the 4th? WEDGE? No... QUARTER? DOWN? Actually - Types of women's shoes: - PUMP ✓ - HEEL ✓ - FLAT ✓ - What could be the 4th? Looking at remaining words... - WEDGE? (not available) - Hmm, QUARTER? DOWN? Wait - could DOWN be related? DOWNTRODDEN? No... Let me try: PUMP, HEEL, FLAT, and maybe QUARTER (as in quarter-inch heel)? Actually, I think the shoe category is strong: PUMP, HEEL, FLAT + one more. Looking at remaining: NATURAL, STEAM, QUARTER, SPEAK, VOICE, SAY, SHAKE, VOTE, WHOLE, TIRE, DOWN, WAFFLE, CHOICE Could WEDGE be implied? No, it's not there. What about NATURAL as in NATURAL shoe fit? Not really... Let me try a different approach - words that can precede or follow "BACK": - QUARTERBACK (QUARTER) - TALK BACK (SPEAK or SAY) - GIVE BACK (VOICE or CHOICE) - PAYBACK? Or words meaning "express/communicate": - SPEAK - SAY - VOICE - ? (CHOICE doesn't quite fit) Let me try: SPEAK, SAY, VOICE, PUMP - SPEAK = communicate - SAY = communicate - VOICE = communicate - PUMP = pump someone up = encourage/talk to? Not strong. Let me go with the shoe hypothesis: PUMP, HEEL, FLAT, and I'll guess WEDGE alternatives or think... could DOWN work? DOWN shoe? No... Actually - QUARTER could work if it's about shoe measurements or quarter sizes? Unlikely. I'll try: PUMP, HEEL, FLAT, TIRE - These could all be types of shoes or foot-related items? Actually no - TIRE is not a shoe. Let me try shoes more carefully: PUMP, HEEL, FLAT, and something else... Actually, what if the answer is: PUMP, HEEL, FLAT, DOWN DOWN = down booties? Or DOWN as in down-filled shoes? Let me try the shoes: PUMP, HEEL, FLAT, WEDGE... but WEDGE isn't available. I'll try: PUMP, HEEL, FLAT, QUARTER (as in quarter-inch measurements for heels)

Right, WEDGE is not available. Let me look at the available words again: CHOICE, DOWN, FLAT, HEEL, NATURAL, PUMP, QUARTER, SAY, SHAKE, SPEAK, STEAM, TIRE, VOICE, VOTE, WAFFLE, WHOLE I was on the right track with shoe types: PUMP, HEEL, FLAT are definitely types of shoes. For the 4th shoe type from available words, let me think: - DOWN (down booties/boots?) - QUARTER (quarter-inch measurement?) - WHOLE (whole shoe?) - None of these are great shoe types... Wait, let me reconsider. Maybe it's not about shoes as the category. Let me think about other patterns: 1. **Words that can follow "VOTING"**: - VOTING CHOICE - VOTING BOOTH - VOTING RIGHTS 2. **Words meaning to express/communicate**: - SPEAK, SAY, VOICE, ? - Could VOTE work? (expressing your choice) - Or CHOICE? (expressing your preference) 3. **Words that can precede "YOUR"**: - SPEAK YOUR MIND - SAY YOUR PIECE - VOICE YOUR OPINION - These all mean to express yourself! Let me try: SPEAK, SAY, VOICE, CHOICE (all ways to express yourself/your opinion) Actually, that's close but CHOICE is more of a noun than a verb... What about: SPEAK, SAY, VOTE, VOICE (all verbs meaning to express) - SPEAK = communicate - SAY = communicate - VOTE = express your preference - VOICE = express your opinion This seems strong!

Hmm, SPEAK, SAY, VOTE, VOICE was incorrect. Let me reconsider the puzzle. Available words: CHOICE, DOWN, FLAT, HEEL, NATURAL, PUMP, QUARTER, SAY, SHAKE, SPEAK, STEAM, TIRE, VOICE, VOTE, WAFFLE, WHOLE Let me think about different categories: 1. **Types of shoes** - PUMP, HEEL, FLAT are definitely types. Fourth could be... hmm, none of the remaining words work well. 2. **Words that can precede "IRON"**: - FLAT IRON ✓ - WAFFLE IRON ✓ - STEAM IRON ✓ - PUMP? (PUMP IRON is a phrase meaning to lift weights, not an iron appliance) - Maybe PUMP doesn't belong here, but something else does? - PUMPING IRON... but we have PUMP not PUMPING - What about QUARTER? DOWN? TIRE? - TIRE IRON! ✓ - So: FLAT IRON, WAFFLE IRON, STEAM IRON, TIRE IRON This seems very strong! All are real "_____ IRON" objects/appliances. 3. **Other patterns**: - Words that can follow "FIST"? PUMP? - Words that rhyme? - Words with double letters? Let me go with the IRON category: FLAT, WAFFLE, STEAM, TIRE All can precede IRON: - FLAT IRON (laundry appliance or a hairstyle tool) - WAFFLE IRON (kitchen appliance) - STEAM IRON (laundry appliance) - TIRE IRON (tool for removing tires)

Wow, FLAT, WAFFLE, STEAM, TIRE was also incorrect. Let me reconsider completely. Available words: CHOICE, DOWN, FLAT, HEEL, NATURAL, PUMP, QUARTER, SAY, SHAKE, SPEAK, STEAM, TIRE, VOICE, VOTE, WAFFLE, WHOLE I'm confident about some of these connections, but I've been wrong. Let me think differently: 1. **Words that can follow "CAST"**: - CAST VOTE ✓ - CAST IRON? (but IRON isn't available) - CAST DOWN ✓ - CAST CHOICE? No - CAST SPELL? (SPEAK?) 2. **Words that can precede "OFF"**: - SHAKE OFF ✓ - CAST OFF? (not available) - TIRE OFF? No 3. **Words that can follow "PUMPED UP"**: - PUMPED UP (PUMPED) - Related to excitement/motivation? 4. **Words meaning "whole/complete"**: - WHOLE ✓ - QUARTER? (1/4, opposite of whole) - DOWN? (downsize, reduce) - NATURAL? (in its whole form) 5. **Words that can precede "NOTE"**: - QUARTER NOTE ✓ (music) - WHOLE NOTE ✓ (music) - HALF NOTE? (not available) - What else? NATURAL NOTE? Actually, musical notes: - QUARTER NOTE ✓ - WHOLE NOTE ✓ - HALF NOTE (not available) - FLAT (in music, a flat note!) ✓ - SHARP (not available) - NATURAL (in music, a natural note!) ✓ So: QUARTER, WHOLE, FLAT, NATURAL could all be types of NOTES in music! - QUARTER NOTE - WHOLE NOTE - FLAT (as a musical symbol/note) - NATURAL (as a musical symbol/note) This is strong!

Great! QUARTER, WHOLE, FLAT, NATURAL were all musical note-related terms. Remaining words: CHOICE, DOWN, HEEL, PUMP, SAY, SHAKE, SPEAK, STEAM, TIRE, VOICE, VOTE, WAFFLE Now let me find 4 more groups from these 12 words. 1. **Types of shoes**: - PUMP (pump shoe) - HEEL (heeled shoe) - These are types of shoes, but I need 2 more... - DOWN? (down-filled boots?) - FLIP-FLOP? (not available) - Hmm, tough 2. **Words meaning to hesitate/be indecisive**: - WAFFLE (to waffle = be indecisive) - SHAKE (to shake = uncertain? or shaking with doubt?) - DOWN? (downcast, depressed?) - Hmm, not strong 3. **Words that can precede "UP"**: - SHAKE UP ✓ - PUMP UP ✓ - DOWN? (no, DOWN doesn't precede UP naturally... or does it? DOWNUP? No) - TIRE? (TIRE UP? No) - What about SPOKE UP? (SPEAK UP?) But it says SPEAK... - VOICE UP? (VOICE can precede UP? Not really...) - STEAM UP ✓ - WAFFLE UP? (No, not common) 4. **Words that can follow "PUMPED"**: - PUMPED UP ✓ - What else can be pumped? 5. **Words meaning to express/communicate**: - SAY, SPEAK, VOICE (already used in one group that was wrong) - CHOICE? (express a choice) - VOTE? (express via voting) 6. **Words that can precede "FIST"**: - PUMP FIST? (FIST PUMP is the term, not PUMP FIST) 7. **Words that rhyme or have similar sounds**: - SHAKE, WAFFLE... no 8. **Verbs related to speaking/expressing**: - SAY ✓ - SPEAK ✓ - VOICE ✓ - CHOICE is a noun, not a verb... 9. **Words that can follow "CAST"**: - CAST VOTE ✓ - CAST DOWN ✓ (archaic: to make someone sad) - CAST IRON? (IRON not available) - CAST CHOICE? No - CAST ASIDE? (not available) - Hmm 10. **Things you can do with your body/voice**: - SHAKE (shake your body) - PUMP (pump your fist) - VOICE (use your voice) - SAY (use your mouth) - SPEAK (use your voice) 11. **Words that can precede "HANDS"**: - SHAKE HANDS ✓ - THROW HANDS? (HANDS not available) - PUMP HANDS? (Not a phrase) 12. **Words that can precede "OFF"**: - SHAKE OFF ✓ - STEAM OFF? (Not really) - VOTE OFF? (Hmm, from reality TV: "vote someone off") - TIRE OFF? No - DOWN? (CAST DOWN, but CAST not available) - WAFFLE OFF? No - PUMP OFF? (PUMP OFF is a phrase? Not common) 13. **Words that can be preceded by "TIRE"**: - TIRE PUMP ✓ (a pump for tires!) - TIRE CHOICE? - TIRE DOWN? - Hmm Actually wait - compound words or phrases with TIRE: - TIRE IRON (already guessed) - TIRE PUMP ✓ - What else? Let me think about this differently. What words go together? 14. **Words related to tires/vehicles**: - TIRE ✓ - PUMP (tire pump) - DOWN (downshift? or tire goes down?) - HEEL (heel-toe downshift?) 15. **Types of shoes again**: - PUMP ✓ - HEEL ✓ - DOWN? (down booties?) 16. **Words that can follow "SELF"**: - SELF VOICE? No - SELF HELP? (not available) 17. **Words meaning "to not commit/be wishy-washy"**: - WAFFLE ✓ - SHAKE? (shake in one's boots = be uncertain) - DOWN? (downplay?) - PUMP? (pump fake in sports = fake someone out) 18. **Words associated with voting/choice**: - VOTE ✓ - CHOICE ✓ - VOICE (voice your opinion) - DOWN (downvote?) Actually, let me try: VOTE, CHOICE, VOICE, SAY - All relate to expressing opinion/preference? - VOTE = express preference - CHOICE = select a preference - VOICE = express opinion - SAY = express opinion 19. **Words that can follow "DOUBLE"**: - DOUBLE DOWN ✓ (commit more strongly to a position) - DOUBLE SPEAK ✓ (deceptive language) - DOUBLE SHAKE? No - DOUBLE CHOICE? No - DOUBLE PUMP? (in basketball - double dribble, but not double pump really) - DOUBLE VOICE? No - DOUBLE VOTE? No Hmm, DOUBLE DOWN and DOUBLE SPEAK are both common phrases... 20. **Words that can precede "SIDED"**: - DOWN SIDED? (No) - TWO SIDED? (not available) 21. **Compound words/phrases with "DOUBLE"**: - DOUBLE DOWN ✓ - DOUBLE SPEAK ✓ - DOUBLE TAKE? (TAKE not available) - DOUBLE CROSS? (not available) - DOUBLE HEEL? (not a phrase) - DOUBLE PUMP? (not really) 22. **Words that can follow "MILK"**: - MILK DOWN? No - MILK SHAKE ✓ (milkshake!) - MILK CHOICE? No Actually SHAKE could relate to MILKSHAKE, but that seems like a loose connection. 23. **Words that can follow "HAND"**: - HAND SHAKE ✓ - HAND PUMP ✓ (a manual pump you operate by hand) - HAND CHOICE? No - HAND DOWN ✓ (pass something down through generations, or hand down a verdict) - HAND VOTE? (voting by hand raise? or hand vote?) Interesting! SHAKE, PUMP, and DOWN can all follow HAND: - HANDSHAKE ✓ - HAND PUMP ✓ - HAND DOWN ✓ - What's the 4th? - HAND STEAM? No - HAND WAFFLE? No - HAND VOICE? No - HAND TIRE? No - HAND HEEL? No - HAND SPEAK? No - HAND SAY? No - HAND VOTE? (hand vote as in voting by show of hands?) - HAND CHOICE? No Hmm, only 3 work well with HAND. 24. **Words that can precede "JOB"**: - PUMP? (no) - SHAKE? (no) - DOWN? (no) 25. **Words that can follow "HAND" or precede it**: - Already explored 26. **Words related to movement/actions**: - SHAKE ✓ - PUMP ✓ - DOWN ✓ (move down, or put down) - HEEL ✓ (heel, as in to heel a boat or turn at the heel) 27. **Words that can follow "TIP"**: - TIP DOWN? No - TIP HEEL? No - TIP VOICE? No - TIP PUMP? No - TIP WAFFLE? No 28. **Words that can precede "BACK"**: - PUMP BACK? (no) - WAFFLE BACK? (no) - DOWN BACK? (no) - SHAKE BACK? (no) - SPEAK BACK? (no, but TALK BACK exists) - VOTE BACK? (no) - HEEL BACK? (no) 29. **Words that can follow "BACK"**: - BACK PUMP? (no) - BACK DOWN ✓ (retreat, back away) - BACK HEEL ✓ (in soccer, hitting with the back of your heel) - BACK HAND ✓ (backhand in tennis - but HAND not available) - BACK SEAT? (not available) - BACK SHAKE? (no) - BACK SPEAK? (no) Interesting! DOWN and HEEL can follow BACK: - BACK DOWN ✓ - BACK HEEL ✓ - What else? - BACK PUMP? No - BACK WAFFLE? No - BACK VOICE? No - BACK TIRE? No - BACK CHOICE? No - BACK SAY? No - BACK SHAKE? No - BACK VOTE? No - BACK STEAM? No Hmm, only 2 work. 30. **Words that can follow "HAND" or relate to hand movements**: - HANDSHAKE ✓ - HAND PUMP ✓ - HAND DOWN ✓ - HAND HEEL? No - HAND VOTE? (vote by hand show? unclear) 31. **Words that can precede or follow a common word to form phrases**: - Let me think about WAFFLE, STEAM... - WAFFLE IRON (already used this) - STEAM IRON (already used) - These were part of the IRON category 32. **Words that can follow "STEAM"**: - STEAM VOICE? No - STEAMROLL? (not available) - STEAM PUMP ✓ (a pump powered by steam!) - STEAM SHOVEL? (not available) - STEAM HEAT? (not available) Interesting! PUMP can follow STEAM: - STEAM PUMP ✓ 33. **Words that can precede or follow "PUMP"**: - TIRE PUMP ✓ - HAND PUMP ✓ - STEAM PUMP ✓ - PUMP SHOE? (PUMP is a shoe type, so not really) Wait! Could there be a category about things that come before PUMP? - TIRE PUMP ✓ - HAND PUMP ✓ - STEAM PUMP ✓ - What's the 4th? - FUEL PUMP? (not available) - WATER PUMP? (not available) - SUMP PUMP? (not available) - DOWN PUMP? (no) - HEEL PUMP? (no) - WAFFLE PUMP? (no) - SHAKE PUMP? (no) Hmm, I only have 3. 34. **Words that can be types of/preceded by specific words**: - Let me reconsider VOTE, CHOICE, VOICE, SAY - These all relate to expressing/communication - VOTE: express a choice via voting - CHOICE: select among options - VOICE: express an opinion - SAY: state something - This seems decent, but I tried it before and it was wrong 35. **Words that can precede "PERSON"**: - VOICE PERSON? (no, spokeswoman yes, but not voice person) - CHOICE PERSON? (no) - VOTE PERSON? (no) - SAY PERSON? (no) - PUMPED PERSON? (pumped up person - stretched meaning) 36. **Words that can follow "CAST"**: - CAST VOTE ✓ - CAST DOWN ✓ (to sadden) - CAST IRON (IRON not available) - CAST ASIDE (ASIDE not available) - CAST SPELL (SPELL not available) - CAST CHOICE? No - CAST VOICE? No - CAST SHAKE? No Two words work with CAST. 37. **Let me try a different angle - words that can follow specific verbs**: - Words that follow PUT/DOWN/BACK/etc. 38. **Words related to shoes**: - PUMP ✓ (pump shoe) - HEEL ✓ (heeled shoe) - FLAT (already used) - DOWN ✓ (down jacket? or down-filled slippers?) Actually, could DOWN be a type of shoe? DOWN BOOTIES or something? Unlikely. 39. **Words that can precede "VOTE"**: - CAST VOTE (CAST not available) - POPULAR VOTE (POPULAR not available) - DOWN VOTE? (downvote - internet term!) - Actually: DOWNVOTE is written as one word or two? Let me think about words that can precede VOTE: - DOWN VOTE (downvote) ✓ - What else? - HAND VOTE? (voting by hand show - yes, this is used!) - VOICE VOTE? (voting by voice - yes, this is used in parliamentary procedure!) - SHAKE? (shake vote? no) Interesting! - DOWN VOTE ✓ - HAND VOTE? (But HAND isn't available) - VOICE VOTE ✓ (a type of parliamentary voting) - What would be the 4th? - POP VOTE? (popular vote, but POP not available) - SPLIT VOTE? (not available) Hmm, this doesn't quite work. 40. **Words that can follow "VOICE"**: - VOICE VOTE ✓ (parliamentary voting method) - VOICE OVER? (not available) - VOICE MAIL? (not available) - VOICE CHOICE? (no) - VOICE DOWN? (no) 41. **Types of votes/voting methods**: - VOICE VOTE ✓ - DOWN VOTE? (downvote, but is this a formal voting method?) - HAND VOTE (by hand raising, but HAND not available) - SECRET VOTE (not available) 42. **Words that can precede "HAND"** (revisiting): - SHAKE HAND ✓ (but usually HANDSHAKE) - Actually, it's HANDSHAKE or SHAKE HANDS (plural) - PUMP HAND? (no, HAND PUMP not PUMP HAND) - DOWN HAND? (no) - HEAVY HAND? (not available) 43. **Words that follow "POKER"**: - POKER FACE? (not available) - POKER HAND? (not available) 44. **Words related to "expressing doubt/weakness"**: - WAFFLE ✓ (waffle = be indecisive) - SHAKE ✓ (shake in your boots, or voice shakes) - DOWN ✓ (downcast, gloomy) - PUMP? (pump up = encourage, opposite of weakness) - Hmm, doesn't quite fit 45. **Words that can follow "MILKSHAKE"**... wait, I have SHAKE - MILK SHAKE ✓ - What else has SHAKE? - HAND SHAKE ✓ - What else? - DOWN SHAKE? (no) - PUMP SHAKE? (no) - VOICE SHAKE? (no) - VOTE SHAKE? (no) 46. **Words that can precede "AND BAKE"**: - SHAKE AND BAKE ✓ - Hmm, but this is just one word... 47. **Let me reconsider the HAND- compounds**: - HANDSHAKE (SHAKE) - HAND PUMP (PUMP) - HAND DOWN (DOWN) - These three definitely work - What's the 4th from available words? - HAND WHEEL? (not available) - HAND BRAKE? (not available) - HAND WAFFLE? (no) - HAND HEEL? (no) - HAND VOICE? (no) - HAND CHOICE? (no) - HAND TIRE? (no) - HAND SAY? (no) - HAND VOTE? (hand vote - maybe as in voting by hand show?) - HAND SPEAK? (no) - HAND STEAM? (no) If HAND VOTE is valid, then: SHAKE, PUMP, DOWN, VOTE - HANDSHAKE ✓ - HAND PUMP ✓ - HAND DOWN ✓ - HAND VOTE ✓ (voting by raising your hand) This seems promising! Let me go with: SHAKE, PUMP, DOWN, VOTE All can follow "HAND": - HAND SHAKE (handshake) - HAND PUMP (a manual pump) - HAND DOWN (to pass down or hand down a verdict) - HAND VOTE (voting by hand)

Let me analyze these 16 words for potential Connections categories. First, let me look for obvious patterns: 1. **Music/Genre related**: JAZZ, RAP, AMERICANA, CHORAL, SPIRIT (maybe), DIVINE (maybe) 2. **Homophones (words that sound like other words)**: - BLEW = BLUE - BROKE = BROKE (?) - READ = RED - SPLIT = ? - WIGHT = WHITE - BRAKE = BREAK (?) Wait, let me reconsider: BLEW (blue), READ (red), WIGHT (white), and what else? - BRAKE would work but it's not here - Could BRAKE be represented differently? No... - What about BURST? No... Actually: BLEW (blue), READ (red), WIGHT (white) - these are homophones of colors! What's the 4th? Could SPIRIT be "SPRITE"? That's a drink, not a color typically... 3. **Ghost/Supernatural**: SPIRIT, SPECTER, WIGHT (archaic for creature/ghost), SHADE (ghost/spirit) This seems very strong! All four are synonyms for ghosts. 4. **Words that can follow "WIND"**: - WIND SPIRIT? Not really - WIND CHIME? No CHIME 5. **Past tense verbs**: BLEW, READ (as in "I read"), SPLIT, BROKE, BURST Wait - these could be past tense! BLEW, READ (past of read), SPLIT, BROKE, BURST But that's 5 words... 6. **Let me reconsider the homophones of colors**: - BLEW = BLUE - READ = RED - WIGHT = WHITE - What's the 4th color? VIOLET, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, INDIGO, PURPLE? - Could DIVINE = something? No... - SHADE = could mean a shade/color? That's weak... 7. **Back to the GHOST category**: SPIRIT, SPECTER, SHADE, WIGHT This is very strong. All are synonyms for ghosts or supernatural beings. Let me start with my strongest category - the ghosts/supernatural beings.

Great! I got the GHOST/SUPERNATURAL category correct. Now I have 12 words left: JAZZ, AMERICANA, BLEW, SPLIT, DIVINE, CHORAL, RAP, READ, BURST, FORECAST, BROKE, CALL Let me look for patterns: 1. **Music Genres**: JAZZ, AMERICANA, CHORAL, RAP - These are all music genres/styles - This seems like a strong category 2. **Homophones of colors**: - BLEW = BLUE - READ = RED - What else could be a color homophone? - VIOLET? No... - Wait, could any of the remaining words work? - Let me think about this differently 3. **Words that can follow "DIVINE"**: No, that doesn't work 4. **Weather related**: FORECAST... what else? 5. **Past tense verbs**: BLEW, SPLIT, BROKE, BURST, READ - But that's 5 words and one might fit elsewhere 6. **Let me reconsider JAZZ, AMERICANA, CHORAL, RAP**: - All are definitely music genres - This feels like the strongest remaining category Let me try this music genres guess.

Excellent! Now I have 8 words remaining: BLEW, SPLIT, DIVINE, READ, BURST, FORECAST, BROKE, CALL Let me analyze: 1. **Homophones of colors**: - BLEW = BLUE - READ = RED - I need 2 more colors... - Could VIOLET work? No, that's not here - Wait, what about CALL = ? - BROKE = ? - DIVINE = ? - BURST = ? - SPLIT = ? - FORECAST = ? 2. **Past tense verbs**: BLEW, READ, BROKE, BURST, SPLIT - That's 5 words, so this might not be a pure category 3. **Words that can precede a common word**: - DIVINE INTERVENTION - DIVINE COMEDY - CALL... ? - FORECAST... ? 4. **Let me think about "____ CALL"**: - CALL FORECAST? No - BURST CALL? No 5. **Wait - could these be related to FORECAST?** - FORECAST + something? - Or words that go with FORECAST? 6. **Let me reconsider - could BROKE, BURST, SPLIT be related?** - BROKE UP - BURST OUT - SPLIT UP - These could all be phrasal verbs or relate to relationships ending 7. **Homophones again - let me be more creative**: - BLEW = BLUE - READ = RED - Could CALL = something? CAWL? No... - Could DIVINE = something? No... - Wait - BRAKE sounds like BREAK, but we don't have BRAKE - Could we have BRAKE spelled differently? No... 8. **What about words that can follow "BREAK"**: - BREAK CALL? No - BREAK FORECAST? No 9. **Let me try: things related to ending a relationship**: - BROKE UP - SPLIT UP - BURST (as in burst/explode?) - Hmm, weak 10. **New idea - Shakespearean plays**: - "THE DIVINE COMEDY" - no, that's Dante - Wait, could these be Shakespeare plays or related? 11. **Back to homophones - what if I'm missing something?** - BLEW = BLUE - READ = RED - CALL = ? (CAUL? A type of membrane?) - DIVINE = ? (not a homophone) - BROKE = ? (BROCK? A badger?) - SPLIT = ? (SPLAT? No...) - BURST = ? (BERST? No...) - FORECAST = ? (no...) 12. **Wait! Could BROKE, BURST, SPLIT be synonyms or related concepts?** - They all describe sudden changes or separations - But I need a 4th... 13. **Let me try another approach - words that can precede or follow a common word**: - CALL FORECAST? - FORECAST CALL? - DIVINE... INTERVENTION, COMEDY, RIGHT - BROKE... DOWN, UP, EVEN - BURST... OUT, OPEN - SPLIT... UP, OPEN - BLEW... UP, AWAY, OUT - READ... OUT, BETWEEN THE LINES 14. **Aha! Words that can precede "UP"**: - BLEW UP - SPLIT UP - BURST... hmm, BURST doesn't go with UP as commonly - BROKE UP - CALL UP - READ UP? (less common) - DIVINE UP? (no) - FORECAST UP? (no) Actually, BLEW UP, SPLIT UP, BROKE UP, CALL UP - these all work! These are phrasal verbs with UP. Let me verify: BLEW UP, SPLIT UP, BROKE UP, CALL UP - all are valid phrasal verbs!

Hmm, that was incorrect. So BLEW, SPLIT, BROKE, CALL are NOT the category. Let me reconsider. Remaining 8 words: BLEW, SPLIT, DIVINE, READ, BURST, FORECAST, BROKE, CALL Let me think differently: 1. **Homophones of colors - let me be more systematic**: - BLEW = BLUE - READ = RED - What about the others? - CALL = ? Could this be a color? CAUL? No... - Wait... could SPLIT = ? No... - VIOLET = ? We don't have that - INDIGO = ? We don't have that - GREEN = ? We don't have that - YELLOW = ? We don't have that - ORANGE = ? We don't have that - PURPLE = ? We don't have that - BROWN = ? We don't have that - PINK = ? We don't have that - GRAY = ? We don't have that - BLACK = ? We don't have that - WHITE = already used (WIGHT) - GOLD = ? We don't have that - SILVER = ? We don't have that 2. **Wait - could DIVINE and READ be related?** - DIVINE = to predict/foretell - READ = to read (as in read the future, read tea leaves) - FORECAST = to predict - Could these be synonyms for PREDICT? - DIVINE (as a verb) = to discover by divination - READ = to interpret/read signs - FORECAST = to predict - CALL = to make a prediction? ("I call what will happen") - This could work! DIVINE, READ, FORECAST, CALL as ways to predict/foretell 3. **That leaves: BLEW, SPLIT, BURST, BROKE** - These could all be past tense verbs of actions - Or they could all mean "ended/separated" - BLEW (as in "blew it" - ruined) - SPLIT (separated) - BURST (exploded) - BROKE (broke apart, or broke up) - These could all mean to end or break apart Let me try the PREDICT category: DIVINE, READ, FORECAST, CALL

Excellent! So DIVINE, READ, FORECAST, CALL were all ways to predict/foretell something. Now I have 4 words left: BLEW, SPLIT, BURST, BROKE Since these are the only 4 remaining, they must form the final category. Let me think about what connects them: 1. **Past tense verbs**: All are past tense - BLEW (past of BLOW) - SPLIT (past of SPLIT) - BURST (past of BURST) - BROKE (past of BREAK) 2. **Words meaning to break/separate**: - BLEW (as in "blew apart") - SPLIT (separated) - BURST (exploded) - BROKE (broke apart) 3. **Words that can follow "HEART"**: - HEARTBROKEN? (uses BROKE, not BREAK) - Wait... could these be related to relationship endings? - BROKE UP (ended relationship) - SPLIT UP (ended relationship) - BURST (as in burst bubble of romance?) - BLEW (as in "blew it" - ruined the relationship) 4. **Or simpler - they could all precede a common word**: - BLEW OUT, BLEW UP, BLEW AWAY - SPLIT UP, SPLIT OPEN - BURST OUT, BURST OPEN - BROKE DOWN, BROKE UP, BROKE OPEN Since these are the last 4 words, they must be the category. The connection could be past tense verbs that mean to break/separate/end, or they could all relate to ending relationships, or they could all be onomatopoetic-ish words describing sudden violent actions. Regardless, I'm confident these are the last group!

Let me analyze these 16 words for potential categories. First, I'll look for obvious patterns: 1. **Words containing "WOOD"**: SCROOGE, WOODCHUCK, WOOD, GUTHRIE, WOODSTOCK, WOODY, FOGHORN, WOODY - wait, let me be more careful. - WOODCHUCK, WOOD, WOODY, WOODSTOCK clearly have "WOOD" - SCROOGE - could be Scrooge McDuck? That's a duck character with "wood"? No, that doesn't fit. - FOGHORN - Foghorn Leghorn? Another cartoon character? 2. **Cartoon/animated characters**: SCROOGE (McDuck), WOODCHUCK (could be a character), WOODY (Woody Woodpecker? or Toy Story?), WOODSTOCK (the bird from Peanuts), FOGHORN (Foghorn Leghorn) - This seems promising! These are all Looney Tunes or similar animated bird/character names. 3. **Words meaning "stiff/awkward"**: STIFF, STILTED, AWKWARD, WOODEN (as in "wooden acting") - These all describe something rigid or lacking natural movement/expression 4. **Logic/reasoning words**: THEREFORE, GUTHRIE... hmm, this doesn't seem right. 5. **Words that could follow a word**: COULD, CREATE, CHUCK... - "WOOD" + "CHUCK" = WOODCHUCK (a tongue twister: "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck") - "WOOD" + "STOCK" = WOODSTOCK - "WOOD" + "PECKER" = WOODY (Woody Woodpecker) - Could there be a pattern with tongue twisters or "How much wood could..."? Let me reconsider the "stiff/awkward" category as it seems strong: - STIFF (rigid) - STILTED (artificially formal) - AWKWARD (lacking ease) - WOODEN (lacking natural expression) This seems like a solid Yellow or Green category. Let me start with this one since it's most clear to me.

Great! One category down. Now I have 12 words left: SCROOGE, WOODCHUCK, CREATE, WOOD, GUTHRIE, WOODSTOCK, THEREFORE, WOODY, CLASSICS, COULD, FOGHORN, CHUCK Let me reconsider the patterns: 1. **Cartoon/animated characters with "WOOD"**: - WOODY (Woody Woodpecker, or Woody from Toy Story) - WOODSTOCK (bird from Peanuts) - WOODCHUCK (could be a character, but also the animal) - SCROOGE (Scrooge McDuck from Disney) - FOGHORN (Foghorn Leghorn from Looney Tunes) Wait, these are all LOONEY TUNES or classic cartoon CHARACTERS: - WOODY Woodpecker - FOGHORN Leghorn - SCROOGE McDuck (though Disney) - WOODSTOCK (Peanuts, not Looney Tunes but classic cartoon) 2. **"How much wood could a woodchuck chuck" - tongue twister words**: - WOOD, COULD, CHUCK, WOODCHUCK - This is the famous tongue twister! These four words are key parts of it. 3. **Remaining words**: CREATE, GUTHRIE, THEREFORE, CLASSICS - GUTHRIE - could be Arlo Guthrie? Or a person's name? - THEREFORE - logic word - CREATE - verb meaning to make - CLASSICS - plural noun Let me think about the tongue twister angle: "How much WOOD COULD a WOODCHUCK CHUCK" This seems very strong as a category!

Excellent! Two categories down. Now I have 8 words left: SCROOGE, WOODSTOCK, WOODY, FOGHORN, CREATE, GUTHRIE, THEREFORE, CLASSICS Let me analyze what's left: 1. **Cartoon characters**: - WOODY (Woody Woodpecker) - WOODSTOCK (Peanuts bird) - SCROOGE (Scrooge McDuck) - FOGHORN (Foghorn Leghorn) These are all classic cartoon character names! 2. **Remaining words**: CREATE, GUTHRIE, THEREFORE, CLASSICS Let me think about these: - GUTHRIE - Could be Arlo Guthrie (folk singer)? - THEREFORE - a logical connector word - CREATE - verb - CLASSICS - plural noun Wait, could there be a connection with "Arlo Guthrie"? The song "Alice's Restaurant"? Let me think differently: - CREATE, THEREFORE, GUTHRIE, CLASSICS - Could these be things that can follow something? - Or things that are hidden in other words? Actually, wait - could these be parts of phrases or song titles? - "Alice's Restaurant" by Arlo Guthrie - But I don't see ALICE in the list Let me reconsider: Are there words that can be preceded by the same word? - WOODSTOCK festival - CLASSICS - music genre or collection - Could they all be types of music or music-related? I'm most confident about the cartoon characters category. Let me guess that first.

Perfect! Three categories down. Now I have 4 words left: CREATE, GUTHRIE, THEREFORE, CLASSICS Since these are the only 4 words remaining, they MUST form the final category. Let me think about what connects them: Possibilities: 1. Could they all be parts of titles or phrases? 2. Could they share a linguistic pattern? 3. Could they be hidden words or anagrams? 4. Could they follow or precede the same word? Let me think about common phrases or titles: - "Alice's Restaurant" by Arlo Guthrie - "Therefore" - logical connector - "Create" - verb - "Classics" - collection Wait - could these be things that can follow "ALICE"? - "Alice's Restaurant" (GUTHRIE - no, that's Arlo Guthrie) - No, that doesn't work Could they be homophones or sound-alikes? - GUTHRIE sounds like "guthrie" - THEREFORE sounds like "therefore" - CREATE sounds like "create" - CLASSICS sounds like "classics" Hmm, let me think about this differently. Could they be abbreviations or acronyms when combined? Actually, since these are the last 4 words and all other categories are confirmed, they MUST be the final group regardless of what I think the connection is. I should just guess them.

Let me analyze the available words to find patterns and categories. Available words: EXPLETIVES, MOUSE, SWEARING, MYSTERY, PROFANITY, HOUSE, HISTAMINE, NECKLACE, HERRING, OUROBOROS, EARRING, CHRISTMAS, MESH SHIRT, STIRRING, FOUR-LETTER WORDS, PLEATHER VEST Let me look for potential categories: 1. **Words related to swearing/cursing:** - EXPLETIVES (swear words) - SWEARING (the act of cursing) - PROFANITY (offensive language) - FOUR-LETTER WORDS (euphemism for swear words) This seems like a strong category - all four relate to curse words or offensive language. 2. **Things that could be "RED":** - HERRING (red herring - a false clue) - MOUSE (could be computer mouse, but doesn't fit "red") - CHRISTMAS (red and green) - NECKLACE (could be worn as jewelry) 3. **Words containing "RING":** - STIRRING - EARRING - HERRING - Looking for others... OUROBOROS has "boro" not "ring" 4. **Things with "MESH" or fabric items:** - MESH SHIRT - PLEATHER VEST 5. **Words that might precede or follow a common word:** - Let me think about "RING": STIRRING, EARRING, HERRING - What about things that precede "RED"? RED HERRING, RED MOUSE? No... Let me reconsider - looking at clothing/wearables: - NECKLACE - EARRING - MESH SHIRT - PLEATHER VEST These could all be things you wear/jewelry/clothing. But that seems weak. Wait, let me think about "RED" again: - RED HERRING (a misleading clue) - Could CHRISTMAS be related? RED Christmas? - MOUSE - RED mouse? Not really standard Actually, my strongest category is definitely the swearing/cursing one: **EXPLETIVES, SWEARING, PROFANITY, FOUR-LETTER WORDS** - all synonyms or closely related terms for offensive/curse language. Let me start with this confident guess.

Great! The first category was correct. Now I have 12 remaining words to work with: MOUSE, MYSTERY, HOUSE, HISTAMINE, NECKLACE, HERRING, OUROBOROS, EARRING, CHRISTMAS, MESH SHIRT, STIRRING, PLEATHER VEST Let me identify new patterns: 1. **Things that can be preceded by "RED":** - RED HERRING (a misleading clue/false lead) - RED MOUSE (doesn't seem standard) - Hmm, what about other colors? 2. **Words ending in "-ING":** - STIRRING - HERRING - EARRING - Wait, these all end in "-RING"! - Could there be a fourth? Let me look... no others end in -ring 3. **Jewelry/wearable items:** - NECKLACE - EARRING - MESH SHIRT (clothing) - PLEATHER VEST (clothing) 4. **Things that might precede "CLAUS":** - CHRISTMAS... Santa Claus? Father Christmas? - MYSTERY... Mystery Claus? No 5. **Words with specific prefixes or that relate to historical/literary items:** - OUROBOROS (the snake eating its tail - a symbol) - NECKLACE (jewelry) - EARRING (jewelry) 6. **Things that could be "WHITE":** - WHITE CHRISTMAS - WHITE MOUSE (lab mouse) - WHITE HOUSE - WHITE HERRING? (not standard, but playing with the pattern) Wait! Let me think about "WHITE": - WHITE CHRISTMAS (song/movie) - WHITE HOUSE (residence) - WHITE MOUSE (common lab animal) - WHITE HERRING (not as common as red herring, but possible?) Or maybe other color patterns: - CHRISTMAS (associated with colors) - HOUSE (generic) - MOUSE (generic) - HERRING (generic) Actually, let me reconsider words that can follow specific adjectives: - HERRING: RED herring, BLIND man's bluff... no - HOUSE: WHITE house, FULL house, CRAZY house... - MOUSE: WHITE mouse, CHURCH mouse, QUIET as a mouse... - CHRISTMAS: WHITE Christmas, MERRY Christmas... This is interesting - could these all go with WHITE? - WHITE HOUSE ✓ - WHITE CHRISTMAS ✓ - WHITE MOUSE ✓ - WHITE HERRING (less common but possible) Or perhaps words that can follow "MYSTERY": - MYSTERY HOUSE? - MYSTERY MOUSE? Let me try the "WHITE" pattern as it seems most solid.

Ah, I made a mistake! I need to use the exact words from the available list, not add prefixes to them. Let me reconsider with just the actual words available: CHRISTMAS, EARRING, HERRING, HISTAMINE, HOUSE, MESH SHIRT, MOUSE, MYSTERY, NECKLACE, OUROBOROS, PLEATHER VEST, STIRRING So the pattern would be: words that can be preceded by "WHITE" - CHRISTMAS (White Christmas) - HOUSE (White House) - MOUSE (White Mouse) - HERRING (Red herring is more common, but white herring could work) But wait, let me think about other patterns: 1. **"RED" connections:** - HERRING (red herring) - CHRISTMAS (red Christmas colors) - MOUSE (?) - HOUSE (?) 2. **Words ending in "-RING":** - STIRRING - EARRING - HERRING - Need a fourth... none of the others end in -ring 3. **Jewelry/accessories:** - EARRING - NECKLACE - MESH SHIRT - PLEATHER VEST These are all wearable items! 4. **Words that can follow "FULL":** - HOUSE (full house - poker hand or TV show) - STIRRING (full stirring?) - MYSTERY (full mystery?) - Hmm, not strong 5. **Words preceded by a specific word:** - CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING could all work with WHITE But HERRING is more commonly "RED" Let me try the wearable items category: EARRING, NECKLACE, MESH SHIRT, PLEATHER VEST

Excellent! Two down, two to go. Now I have 8 remaining words: CHRISTMAS, HERRING, HISTAMINE, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY, OUROBOROS, STIRRING Let me look for patterns: 1. **Words that can be preceded by "BLIND":** - BLIND MOUSE (Three Blind Mice) - BLIND HERRING (not standard) - BLIND HOUSE (not standard) - BLIND MYSTERY (not standard) - BLIND STIRRING (not standard) 2. **Words that can be preceded by "FULL":** - FULL HOUSE (poker hand, TV show) - FULL MYSTERY (?) - FULL MOUSE (?) 3. **"RED" + word:** - RED HERRING (false clue) - RED CHRISTMAS (?) - RED MOUSE (?) - RED HOUSE (Jimi Hendrix song!) - RED STIRRING (?) Wait, let me think about songs or movie titles: - RED HOUSE (Jimi Hendrix) - RED HERRING (common phrase) - Could there be others with RED? 4. **Words that can precede "QUEEN":** - MYSTERY QUEEN (?) - HOUSE QUEEN (?) - Doesn't seem right 5. **Ouroboros connection:** - OUROBOROS is a snake eating its tail - a circular symbol - Could STIRRING relate? Stirring in circles? - Could HOUSE relate? Circles? 6. **Words associated with specific phrases or idioms:** - HOUSE (FULL HOUSE, RED HOUSE, MYSTERY HOUSE) - MOUSE (CHURCH MOUSE, QUIET MOUSE, BLIND MICE) - HERRING (RED HERRING) - CHRISTMAS (WHITE CHRISTMAS, MERRY CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS MYSTERY?) Let me think about "____ QUEEN": - MYSTERY QUEEN? Not really What about "____MAN" or similar patterns? Actually, let me reconsider OUROBOROS - it's the only mythological/symbolic element. What connects to it? - STIRRING (circular motion?) - HOUSE (House as shelter, connected to survival?) - MOUSE (House mouse, lives in houses?) Hmm, let me think about the word structure: - OUROBOROS (mythological creature/symbol) - HISTAMINE (chemical compound) - These seem different from the others Wait! Could there be a pattern with chemical/biological terms? - HISTAMINE (chemical in the body) - What else could be biological? Let me reconsider: Could these words all precede or follow "MYSTERY"? - MYSTERY HOUSE - MYSTERY MOUSE - MYSTERY HERRING (?) - MYSTERY CHRISTMAS (?) Or could they follow "CHRISTMAS"? - CHRISTMAS MOUSE (not standard) - CHRISTMAS HOUSE (could work) - CHRISTMAS MYSTERY (could work) Let me think about "____ BELL": - CHRISTMAS BELL (yes!) - MYSTERY BELL (?) - HOUSE BELL (?) - MOUSE BELL (?) What about words that can follow a specific first word - let me try "STIRRING": - No, that doesn't make sense as a prefix Actually, let me reconsider chemical/medical terms: - HISTAMINE (definitely a chemical) - OUROBOROS (mythology, not chemistry) Wait! Could these relate to things that are circular or snake-like? - OUROBOROS (snake eating tail) - STIRRING (circular motion) - HOUSE (?) - MYSTERY (?) Let me think differently. Could the pattern be words that can follow "CURLY"? - CURLY HAIR - No... What about "____ LOCKS" or "____ TALE": - MYSTERY TALE? - CHRISTMAS TALE? - HOUSE TALE? - MOUSE TALE? (like Disney's "A Mouse Tale") Hmm, thinking about "Goldilocks and the Three ____": - HOUSE (yes! Goldilocks and the Three Bears - in the house) - MOUSE (Three Blind Mice - but not Goldilocks) - Wait! "GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE ____": - BEARS, not any of these words Let me try a different approach - "_____ HUNT": - MYSTERY HUNT? - No... What about "EASTER ____": - EASTER MYSTERY - EASTER MOUSE (?) - EASTER HOUSE (?) Or "CHRISTMAS ____": - CHRISTMAS MOUSE (?) - CHRISTMAS MYSTERY (?) - CHRISTMAS CAROL - not in list Let me reconsider if these could all precede or follow a common word: - Could "HOUSE" be the connecting word? - FULL HOUSE - MOUSE HOUSE (?) - MYSTERY HOUSE - CHRISTMAS HOUSE (?) - STIRRING HOUSE (?) - HERRING HOUSE (?) Actually, thinking about it - could these be things that precede "MOUSE"? - CHURCH MOUSE - HOUSE MOUSE (a type of mouse!) - MYSTERY MOUSE (not standard) - CHRISTMAS MOUSE (?) Let me try "____ SAUCE": - HERRING SAUCE? Nope - STIRRING SAUCE? (as in stirring a sauce) - weak What about "RED ____": - RED HERRING ✓ - RED HOUSE ✓ (Jimi Hendrix song) - RED CHRISTMAS (not standard) - RED MOUSE (not standard) - RED STIRRING (no) - RED MYSTERY (no) Hmm, only two strong ones with RED. Let me think about "MYSTERY ____": - MYSTERY HOUSE - MYSTERY MEAT (not in list) - MYSTERY SHOPPER (not in list) Or "THREE ____": - THREE MICE (Three Blind Mice) - THREE HOUSES (?) - THREE MYSTERIES (?) - THREE HERRINGS (?) Actually wait - thinking about nursery rhymes and stories: - THREE BLIND MICE - So MOUSE could be preceded by THREE or BLIND What about words that can follow a color? - BLUE CHRISTMAS - WHITE CHRISTMAS - RED HERRING - WHITE HOUSE - WHITE MOUSE - YELLOW HOUSE (?) So multiple of these work with color + word. Could the category be "Words that follow colors"? - CHRISTMAS (WHITE, BLUE, MERRY...) - HOUSE (WHITE, RED, FULL...) - HERRING (RED...) - MOUSE (WHITE, CHURCH, BLIND...) - MYSTERY (?) - STIRRING (?) - HISTAMINE (?) - OUROBOROS (?) Hmm, not all of them. Let me think about what OUROBOROS, HISTAMINE, STIRRING have in common: - OUROBOROS - circular symbol, mythological - HISTAMINE - chemical compound, medical term - STIRRING - action, present participle These seem very different. What if I'm overthinking? Let me look at simple connections: - HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING - could these all be types of something? - HOUSE - animal? No, but HOUSE MOUSE is a real animal - HERRING - a fish - MOUSE - an animal - Could CHRISTMAS, MYSTERY be animals too? Not standard Wait! Could the pattern be words that can follow "GOLD"? - GOLDFISH (no FISH in list) - What about "SCHOOL OF ____": - SCHOOL OF FISH (HERRING is a fish!) - SCHOOL OF MYSTERY (?) - SCHOOL OF HOUSE (?) Let me try thinking about "____FISH": - CATFISH, STARFISH, JELLYFISH... - None of these work Actually, let me reconsider compound words or phrases: - CHRISTMAS MYSTERY - MYSTERY HOUSE - FULL HOUSE - HOUSE MOUSE - RED HERRING What if the pattern is phrases where the words can swap order or combine? - CHRISTMAS MYSTERY / MYSTERY CHRISTMAS (?) - HOUSE MOUSE / MOUSE HOUSE (?) - etc. Let me try a completely different angle. What if these relate to specific works or references? - MYSTERY HOUSE (early computer game!) - STIRRING (part of a song title?) - Actually, I wonder if the remaining category is things that complete "____MEAT": - MYSTERY MEAT (cafeteria mystery meat!) - HERRING... no - CHRISTMAS... no - HOUSE... no Or things that complete phrases with animals: - HOUSE MOUSE - HERRING (a type of fish) - CHRISTMAS... - MYSTERY... Hmm. Let me try "____ BELL": - CHRISTMAS BELL (Christmas carolers/bells) - MYSTERY BELL (?) - STIRRING BELL (?) - No What about Disney references? - MICKEY MOUSE - So MOUSE could go with MICKEY - Could others? - MICKEY CHRISTMAS (?) - MICKEY HOUSE (?) - MICKEY MYSTERY (?) Only MOUSE works with MICKEY. Let me reconsider "BLIND ____": - BLIND MICE (Three Blind Mice) - BLIND SPOT - BLIND ALLEY - So MICE/MOUSE could work - BLIND HERRING (?) - BLIND MYSTERY (?) - BLIND STIRRING (?) Or "FULL ____": - FULL HOUSE - FULL STEAM - So HOUSE works - FULL MYSTERY (?) - FULL MOUSE (?) Or "MERRY ____": - MERRY CHRISTMAS - So CHRISTMAS works - MERRY MYSTERY (?) - MERRY HERRING (?) So far: - CHRISTMAS pairs with colors (WHITE, BLUE, MERRY) - HOUSE pairs with adjectives (FULL, WHITE, RED) - MOUSE pairs with adjectives (BLIND, WHITE, CHURCH) - HERRING pairs with RED What about MYSTERY, STIRRING, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS? - MYSTERY - MYSTERY MEAT, MYSTERY SHOPPER, MYSTERY HOUSE, MYSTERY BOX - STIRRING - STIRRING UP, STIRRING SOUND, CONSTANTLY STIRRING - HISTAMINE - chemical, medical term - OUROBOROS - symbol, mythology Hmm, HISTAMINE and OUROBOROS still don't fit obvious patterns. Wait! Let me think about things that can be "ANTI-": - ANTIHISTAMINE (blocks histamine!) - So HISTAMINE can follow ANTI - But what about the others? - ANTI-CHRISTMAS? - ANTI-MYSTERY? - ANTI-OUROBOROS? Only HISTAMINE works clearly. Let me try thinking about what letters are in these words: - Could there be a pattern with H words? HOUSE, HERRING, HISTAMINE - But CHRISTMAS, MOUSE, MYSTERY also have relevant letters Actually, wait. Let me look at what could precede these: - STIRRING - CONSTANTLY STIRRING, FAST STIRRING, SLOW STIRRING - But in terms of compound words... - STIRRING SOUND? - STIRRING STORY? Hmm. Let me think about "____BOARD": - OUROBOROS BOARD (?) - No What about music or songs? - "RED HOUSE" by Jimi Hendrix ✓ - "RED HERRING" (phrase) - "MYSTERY HOUSE" (game) - "STIRRING" (could be a song title) - "OUROBOROS" (mythology) Let me try another approach. What if these are all things that can be preceded by a word that makes a compound word: - CHURCH MOUSE - MYSTERY HOUSE - RED HERRING - WHITE CHRISTMAS - FULL HOUSE - STIRRING... ? - OUROBOROS... ? - HISTAMINE... ? The last three don't fit as well. Actually, you know what? Let me just try the most obvious remaining category - things that can follow "FULL": - FULL HOUSE (poker hand, TV show) - FULL... ? Or things that can be preceded by numbers: - THREE BLIND MICE - THREE HOUSES (?) - THREE MYSTERIES (?) - THREE HERRINGS (?) Actually, let me reconsider whether OUROBOROS, HISTAMINE could have meanings I'm missing: - OUROBOROS - the cycle, the circle, infinity, symbol - Could this relate to STIRRING (circular motion)? - Could this relate to HOUSE (going in circles, a cycle)? Hmm. What if the category is "Things associated with circles/cycles"? - OUROBOROS (literally a circle) - STIRRING (circular motion when stirring) - CHRISTMAS (yearly cycle, comes around annually) - MYSTERY (?) - HOUSE (?) Weak on mystery and house. Alright, let me try a different tactic. Let me group by what I'm most confident about: Group 1 (High confidence): CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE - these all clearly can be preceded by color words (WHITE CHRISTMAS, RED HOUSE, WHITE MOUSE) What's the fourth for this group? - HERRING (RED HERRING fits!) - So: CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING - all can follow colors Let me try this!

Hmm, that was incorrect. So CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING are NOT the category, even though they can all follow color words (WHITE CHRISTMAS, RED HOUSE, WHITE MOUSE, RED HERRING). Remaining words: CHRISTMAS, HERRING, HISTAMINE, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY, OUROBOROS, STIRRING Let me think differently. What if the pattern is NOT about colors? Let me reconsider what these words might have in common: 1. **Things that are types of something:** - HERRING (a fish) - MOUSE (an animal) - HOUSE (a structure) - MYSTERY (?) - CHRISTMAS (?) 2. **Things that can follow a specific word:** - BLIND MICE (Three Blind Mice nursery rhyme) - FULL HOUSE (poker term) - RED HERRING (misleading clue) - MERRY CHRISTMAS - MYSTERY HOUSE (early computer game) Could the connecting word be different for each? That wouldn't be a category... 3. **Wait, what if these all follow specific words:** - Let me think about "THREE ____": - THREE BLIND MICE (but it's usually just the phrase) - THREE MYSTERY (?) - THREE HOUSE (?) - THREE HERRING (?) - THREE CHRISTMAS (?) 4. **What if they follow "FULL":** - FULL HOUSE (yes) - FULL MYSTERY (?) - FULL MOUSE (?) - FULL HERRING (?) - FULL CHRISTMAS (?) Only HOUSE works. 5. **Let me think about OUROBOROS, HISTAMINE, STIRRING again:** - These three seem very different from the others - OUROBOROS - mythology/symbol - HISTAMINE - chemistry/biology - STIRRING - action/present participle Could THESE three be a category together? What would connect them? - They're all... nouns? No, STIRRING could be a verb or adjective - They all have more than one syllable? Yes, but so do others - They all relate to... motion/circles/cycles? - OUROBOROS - circular (snake eating tail) - STIRRING - circular motion - HISTAMINE - relates to inflammation/reaction (?) Weak connection. 6. **What if the category is about things that precede a common word?** Let me try "____ MYSTERY": - MYSTERY MYSTERY (?) - No... What about "MYSTERY ____": - MYSTERY HOUSE ✓ - MYSTERY MEAT - MYSTERY BOX - MYSTERY SHOPPER So HOUSE works with MYSTERY 7. **Let me think about "STIRRING" more carefully:** - STIRRING can mean: - The action of stirring (mixing) - An emotion (stirring emotions) - A type of sound/music (stirring music) Could this relate to a specific phrase? - STIRRING THE POT - CONSTANTLY STIRRING - UP AND STIRRING Hmm, what about "UP AND ____": - UP AND STIRRING (?) - UP AND ABOUT (?) - No... 8. **Wait! What if these all can precede "IRON"?** - STIRRING IRON (?) - No... 9. **What if they can follow "ANTI-"?** - ANTIHISTAMINE ✓ (definitely!) - ANTI-CHRISTMAS (?) - ANTI-HERRING (?) - ANTI-MOUSE (?) - ANTI-MYSTERY (?) Only HISTAMINE works. 10. **Let me reconsider - what about things that can follow "UP"?** - UP AND STIRRING (?) - UP AND ABOUT (?) - No... 11. **What about "____BOARD" or "____KEEPER"?** - HOUSEKEEPER (yes!) - MOUSEKEEPER (?) - HERRINGKEEPER (?) - CHRISTMASKEEPER (?) - MYSTERYKEEPER (?) Only HOUSE works clearly. 12. **Let me think about "COLD ____":** - COLD HERRING (?) - COLD HOUSE (?) - COLD MOUSE (?) - COLD MYSTERY (?) - COLD CHRISTMAS (?) - COLD STIRRING (?) None obvious. 13. **What about "____PLANT":** - CHRISTMAS PLANT (poinsettia is a Christmas plant!) - MYSTERY PLANT (?) - HOUSE PLANT ✓ (yes!) - MOUSE PLANT (?) - HERRING PLANT (?) - STIRRING PLANT (?) CHRISTMAS and HOUSE both work with PLANT! 14. **Oh! What if it's "____PLANT":** - HOUSE PLANT - CHRISTMAS PLANT (poinsettia) - What else? - STIRRING (?) - OUROBOROS (?) - HISTAMINE (?) - MOUSE PLANT (?) - HERRING PLANT (?) - MYSTERY PLANT (?) Only two clear ones. 15. **What about "____WARMING":** - GLOBAL WARMING (no) - HOUSE WARMING ✓ (yes! A housewarming party!) - CHRISTMAS WARMING (?) - MOUSE WARMING (?) - STIRRING UP WARMING (?) Only HOUSE works clearly. 16. **Let me think about things that can be "CREEPING":** - CREEPING CHRISTMAS (?) - CREEPING MOUSE (?) - CREEPING MYSTERY (?) - CREEPING HERRING (?) - CREEPING STIRRING (?) - CREEPING OUROBOROS (?) - CREEPING HISTAMINE (?) None obvious. 17. **What about words that can be compound words with similar structure:** - CHRISTMAS CAROL - CHRISTMAS TREE - HOUSE PLANT - HOUSE WARMING - MOUSE PAD - MOUSE HOLE - HERRING... can this be part of compounds? - MYSTERY... MYSTERY MEAT, MYSTERY BOX, MYSTERY SHOPPER 18. **Let me reconsider - what if the three weird ones (OUROBOROS, HISTAMINE, STIRRING) are meant to be together, and I need to find the fourth:** Hmm, what if they're all things that contain or are related to circles/cycles? - OUROBOROS - circular symbol - STIRRING - circular motion - HISTAMINE - ? (doesn't seem circular) - And the fourth could be: - CHRISTMAS - yearly cycle, comes around - MYSTERY - ? - HOUSE - ? - MOUSE - ? - HERRING - ? CHRISTMAS seems most related to cycles. 19. **Or what if STIRRING, OUROBOROS relate to something specific:** - Words with repeated letters? - STIRRING has R twice, I twice - OUROBOROS has O three times, R twice - CHRISTMAS has S twice, T twice... actually lots of repeats - HERRING has R twice - MOUSE has no repeats - MYSTERY has Y and E and M and T... Y appears once - HOUSE has E and U and S and H and O... no repeats wait, yes there's no repeats - HISTAMINE has I twice, A appears once... actually HISTAMINE: H-I-S-T-A-M-I-N-E, I appears twice So: STIRRING (R twice, I twice), OUROBOROS (multiple repeats), CHRISTMAS (repeats), HERRING (R twice), HISTAMINE (I twice) MOUSE and HOUSE don't have repeats. MYSTERY has one pair maybe? This is weak. 20. **Let me try "____BELL":** - CHRISTMAS BELL - DOOR BELL (HOUSE BELL?) - MOUSE BELL (?) - HERRING BELL (?) - MYSTERY BELL (?) - STIRRING BELL (?) - OUROBOROS BELL (?) - HISTAMINE BELL (?) Only CHRISTMAS works clearly. 21. **What about "____SONG":** - CHRISTMAS SONG ✓ - MYSTERY SONG (?) - HOUSE SONG (?) - MOUSE SONG (?) - HERRING SONG (?) - STIRRING SONG (could be "stirring music") - OUROBOROS SONG (?) - HISTAMINE SONG (?) CHRISTMAS and maybe STIRRING work. 22. **Let me try "____PARTY":** - CHRISTMAS PARTY ✓ - HOUSE PARTY ✓ - MYSTERY PARTY (could be a murder mystery party) - MOUSE PARTY (?) - HERRING PARTY (?) - STIRRING PARTY (?) - OUROBOROS PARTY (?) - HISTAMINE PARTY (?) CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, and MYSTERY could all go with PARTY! What's the fourth? - HERRING (HERRING PARTY? Not standard) - MOUSE (MOUSE PARTY? Like Mickey Mouse birthday party?) - STIRRING (?) - OUROBOROS (?) - HISTAMINE (?) Hmm, only three strong ones so far. 23. **What if it's "____ DECORATION" or "____DECORATIONS":** - CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ✓ - HOUSE DECORATIONS (?) - MYSTERY DECORATIONS (?) - MOUSE DECORATIONS (?) - HERRING DECORATIONS (?) - STIRRING DECORATIONS (?) - OUROBOROS DECORATIONS (?) - HISTAMINE DECORATIONS (?) Only CHRISTMAS clearly. 24. **Actually, wait. Let me reconsider the "____ PARTY" angle:** - CHRISTMAS PARTY (holiday gathering) - HOUSE PARTY (gathering at a house) - MYSTERY PARTY (murder mystery party, like Clue) - And what about the others? Could MOUSE be part of a "MOUSE PARTY"? In Mickey Mouse context? Could STIRRING be part of a "STIRRING PARTY"? No... What if I'm missing something obvious? 25. **Let me try "BLIND ____":** - BLIND MICE (Three Blind Mice) - BLIND SPOT (no SPOT) - So MICE/MOUSE works - BLIND CHRISTMAS (?) - BLIND HOUSE (?) - BLIND MYSTERY (?) - BLIND HERRING (?) - BLIND STIRRING (?) - BLIND OUROBOROS (?) - BLIND HISTAMINE (?) Only MOUSE clearly. 26. **What about "____TRICK" or "MAGIC ____":** - MAGIC TRICK (MYSTERY TRICK? Not standard) - MAGIC SHOW (MYSTERY SHOW? Could work) - No... 27. **Let me try "____TOUR" or "____GUIDE":** - HOUSE TOUR ✓ - MYSTERY TOUR ✓ (like The Beatles "Mystery Tour") - MOUSE TOUR (?) - CHRISTMAS TOUR (could be a holiday tour) - HERRING TOUR (?) - STIRRING TOUR (?) Multiple could work here too. 28. **Actually, let me reconsider what I know:** - NOT: CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING - Remaining: CHRISTMAS, HERRING, HISTAMINE, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY, OUROBOROS, STIRRING So one of {CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING} is NOT in the four I guessed, but two others are. Wait, that doesn't make sense. If my guess was INCORRECT, then none of those four are together as a group. So the real groups must split these four differently. 29. **Let me think about which of those four might be odd:** - CHRISTMAS - holiday, time period - HOUSE - structure, building - MOUSE - animal - HERRING - fish, animal Could CHRISTMAS be the odd one out? It's the only non-living thing? Or could HERRING be separate? It's a specific type of animal (fish)? 30. **What if the category is "Things that can be preceded by 'BLIND'":** - BLIND MICE - Can any others be BLIND? - BLIND MOUSE ✓ - BLIND HOUSE (?) - BLIND HERRING (not standard) - BLIND CHRISTMAS (?) - BLIND MYSTERY (?) - BLIND STIRRING (?) - BLIND OUROBOROS (?) - BLIND HISTAMINE (?) Only MOUSE works well. 31. **What if I try words that follow "FULL":** - FULL HOUSE - FULL STIRRING (?) - FULL MYSTERY (?) - FULL OUROBOROS (?) - FULL HISTAMINE (?) - FULL CHRISTMAS (?) - FULL HERRING (?) - FULL MOUSE (?) Only HOUSE. 32. **Alright, new approach. What if these are all things that can precede or follow specific words in movie/book titles or cultural references:** - MYSTERY HOUSE (computer game) - HOUSE OF MYSTERY (comic book!) - STIRRING UP (?) - OUROBOROS (??) - HISTAMINE (??) Hmm. 33. **What if they're all things related to specific Disney characters or properties:** - MICKEY MOUSE - MICKEY CHRISTMAS (?) - MICKEY HOUSE (?) - MICKEY HERRING (?) - MICKEY MYSTERY (?) - MICKEY STIRRING (?) - MICKEY OUROBOROS (?) - MICKEY HISTAMINE (?) Only MOUSE. 34. **Wait, let me think about compound words more carefully. What if these are all things that can PRECEDE a common word:** Let me try "____MEAT": - MYSTERY MEAT (cafeteria mystery meat!) ✓ - HERRING MEAT (?) - HOUSE MEAT (?) - MOUSE MEAT (?) - CHRISTMAS MEAT (?) - STIRRING MEAT (?) - OUROBOROS MEAT (?) - HISTAMINE MEAT (?) Only MYSTERY clearly. 35. **What about "____COCKTAIL":** - MYSTERY COCKTAIL (?) - HERRING COCKTAIL (?) - HOUSE COCKTAIL (?) - MOUSE COCKTAIL (?) - CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL (?) - STIRRING COCKTAIL (?) - OUROBOROS COCKTAIL (?) - HISTAMINE COCKTAIL (?) None obvious. 36. **Let me try "____ SHIP":** - FRIENDSHIP (no FRIEND) - HOUSE SHIP (?) - MOUSE SHIP (?) - No... 37. **What about "____ MOUSE":** - CHURCH MOUSE (poor as a church mouse) - HOUSE MOUSE (type of mouse) - MYSTERY MOUSE (?) - CHRISTMAS MOUSE (?) - HERRING MOUSE (?) - STIRRING MOUSE (?) - OUROBOROS MOUSE (?) - HISTAMINE MOUSE (?) CHURCH and HOUSE both work! But these aren't in my remaining words. 38. **Aha! What if the pattern is "Words that can follow a word to make a two-word phrase":** And specifically, what if some of them follow the SAME word? Let me group by what word they follow: - Follow "MYSTERY": MYSTERY HOUSE, MYSTERY MEAT (HOUSE, ?) - Follow "RED": RED HERRING (HERRING) - Follow "WHITE": WHITE CHRISTMAS, WHITE HOUSE, WHITE MOUSE (CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE) - Follow "CHURCH": CHURCH MOUSE (MOUSE) - Follow "FULL": FULL HOUSE (HOUSE) - Follow "MERRY": MERRY CHRISTMAS (CHRISTMAS) - Follow "BLIND": BLIND MICE (MOUSE) Hmm, none of these seem to group four of my remaining words. 39. **Actually, wait. What if I reconsider - could there be four words that all follow "WHITE"?** - WHITE CHRISTMAS ✓ - WHITE HOUSE ✓ - WHITE MOUSE ✓ - WHITE ??? Could one of the remaining be WHITE something? - WHITE HERRING (less common than red herring, but exists) - WHITE MYSTERY (?) - WHITE STIRRING (?) - WHITE OUROBOROS (?) - WHITE HISTAMINE (?) HERRING could work! But I already guessed CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING and it was wrong. 40. **So if "WHITE ____" is not the category, then maybe the pattern is different.** What if the correct grouping is: - Three from {CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING} - One from {MYSTERY, STIRRING, OUROBOROS, HISTAMINE} Which three from the first group? And which one from the second? 41. **What if it's "____KEEPER":** - HOUSEKEEPER ✓ - MYSTERY KEEPER (?) - MOUSEKEEPER (?) - HERRING KEEPER (?) - STIRRING KEEPER (?) - OUROBOROS KEEPER (?) - HISTAMINE KEEPER (?) Only HOUSE. 42. **What if it's "____WARMING":** - HOUSE WARMING ✓ - GLOBAL WARMING (but no GLOBAL) - STIRRING... no Only HOUSE. 43. **Let me try "____ PLANT":** - HOUSE PLANT ✓ - CHRISTMAS PLANT (like poinsettia) - could work - MYSTERY PLANT (?) - MOUSE PLANT (?) - HERRING PLANT (?) - STIRRING PLANT (?) - OUROBOROS PLANT (?) - HISTAMINE PLANT (?) HOUSE and CHRISTMAS could work! What would be the other two to make a group of four with HOUSE PLANT and CHRISTMAS PLANT? 44. **Actually, let me reconsider. If not all four {CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING} go together, then maybe:** - CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE don't all go together either - Or CHRISTMAS, HOUSE don't go together What if the grouping is totally different? 45. **Let me try "FULL ____":** - FULL HOUSE - FULL ??? (what else?) - FULL STIRRING (?) - FULL MYSTERY (?) - FULL OUROBOROS (?) - FULL HISTAMINE (?) - FULL HERRING (?) - FULL CHRISTMAS (?) - FULL MOUSE (?) Only HOUSE. 46. **Let me try "____PARTY":** - CHRISTMAS PARTY - HOUSE PARTY - MYSTERY PARTY - MOUSE PARTY (?) - HERRING PARTY (?) - STIRRING PARTY (?) - OUROBOROS PARTY (?) - HISTAMINE PARTY (?) CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, and MYSTERY work! What's the fourth? - MOUSE - MOUSE PARTY could be a Mickey Mouse birthday party - STIRRING - ? - HERRING - ? - OUROBOROS - ? - HISTAMINE - ? Could MOUSE PARTY be it? Making it CHRISTMAS PARTY, HOUSE PARTY, MYSTERY PARTY, MOUSE PARTY? 47. **Or what if it's "____EVENT":** - CHRISTMAS EVENT ✓ - HOUSE EVENT (?) - MYSTERY EVENT ✓ - MOUSE EVENT (?) - HERRING EVENT (?) - STIRRING EVENT (?) - OUROBOROS EVENT (?) - HISTAMINE EVENT (?) Only CHRISTMAS and MYSTERY clearly. 48. **What about "DINNER PARTY", "GARDEN PARTY", etc. - types of parties:** - CHRISTMAS PARTY (yes, a type of party!) - HOUSE PARTY (yes, a type of party!) - MYSTERY PARTY (yes, like a murder mystery party!) - MOUSE PARTY (could be a Mickey Mouse party?) - STIRRING (?) - OUROBOROS (?) - HERRING (?) - HISTAMINE (?) So CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MYSTERY could all be types of parties. What's the fourth? 49. **Actually, let me think about "____ SHOPPER" or "MYSTERY SHOPPER":** - MYSTERY SHOPPER (yes! A type of undercover shopper) - HOUSE SHOPPER (someone shopping for houses) - CHRISTMAS SHOPPER (someone shopping for Christmas) - MOUSE SHOPPER (?) - HERRING SHOPPER (?) - STIRRING SHOPPER (?) - OUROBOROS SHOPPER (?) - HISTAMINE SHOPPER (?) MYSTERY, HOUSE, and CHRISTMAS could work! 50. **Wait, I'm seeing a pattern:** - MYSTERY SHOPPER - MYSTERY PARTY - MYSTERY MEAT - MYSTERY HOUSE Could the category be "Words that follow MYSTERY"? - MYSTERY SHOPPER (yes) - MYSTERY PARTY (yes) - MYSTERY MEAT (yes) - MYSTERY HOUSE (yes!) But in my remaining words, MYSTERY appears only once. I need to find what comes AFTER mystery. The remaining words are: CHRISTMAS, HERRING, HISTAMINE, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY, OUROBOROS, STIRRING MYSTERY HOUSE - so HOUSE comes after MYSTERY! But that's only finding HOUSE. The category would need to be about things that follow "MYSTERY", but I only have MYSTERY and HOUSE remaining. 51. **Hmm, wait. Let me reconsider the structure of the puzzle.** I've already identified that EARRING, NECKLACE, MESH SHIRT, PLEATHER VEST are wearables. I've identified that EXPLETIVES, SWEARING, PROFANITY, FOUR-LETTER WORDS are curse-related. So I need to find 2 more groups from: CHRISTMAS, HERRING, HISTAMINE, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY, OUROBOROS, STIRRING 52. **What if one group is "THINGS THAT FOLLOW A SPECIFIC WORD":** Like things that follow "MERRY": - MERRY CHRISTMAS - MERRY ??? (what else?) - MERRY MOUSE (?) - MERRY HERRING (?) - MERRY MYSTERY (?) - MERRY STIRRING (?) - MERRY OUROBOROS (?) - MERRY HISTAMINE (?) Only CHRISTMAS. 53. **What if it's "Things preceded by FULL":** - FULL HOUSE (poker hand, TV show) - FULL ??? - FULL STIRRING (?) - FULL MYSTERY (?) - FULL OUROBOROS (?) - FULL HISTAMINE (?) - FULL HERRING (?) - FULL CHRISTMAS (?) - FULL MOUSE (?) Only HOUSE works well. But wait, what about "FULL STEAM AHEAD"? And "FULL STIRRING"? No... What about "AT FULL STIRRING"? Doesn't work. 54. **Let me try "THINGS PRECEDED BY BLIND":** - BLIND MICE (but the word is MOUSE/MICE) - BLIND ??? - BLIND STIRRING (?) - BLIND MYSTERY (?) - BLIND OUROBOROS (?) - BLIND HISTAMINE (?) - BLIND HERRING (?) - BLIND CHRISTMAS (?) - BLIND HOUSE (?) Only MOUSE/MICE. 55. **What if it's "Things preceded by RED":** - RED HERRING - RED ??? - RED STIRRING (?) - RED MYSTERY (?) - RED OUROBOROS (?) - RED HISTAMINE (?) - RED CHRISTMAS (?) - RED HOUSE (Jimi Hendrix song!) ✓ - RED MOUSE (?) RED HERRING and RED HOUSE both work! What else could work with RED? - RED STIRRING (not standard) - RED MYSTERY (not standard) - RED OUROBOROS (not standard) - RED HISTAMINE (not standard) - RED CHRISTMAS (not really standard like "Red Christmas" but doesn't sound right) - RED MOUSE (not standard) Only HERRING and HOUSE clearly work with RED. 56. **So far I have:** - RED HERRING ✓ - RED HOUSE ✓ - WHITE CHRISTMAS ✓ - WHITE HOUSE ✓ - WHITE MOUSE ✓ Wait, both RED and WHITE can precede HOUSE! So if the category is about colors preceding these words, then HOUSE is tricky because it works with multiple colors. 57. **What if the category is not about one specific color, but about COLOR + WORD:** - CHRISTMAS (WHITE, BLUE, MERRY - but MERRY isn't a color) - HOUSE (WHITE, RED, FULL - but FULL isn't a color) - MOUSE (WHITE, CHURCH - CHURCH isn't a color) - HERRING (RED, BLIND - BLIND isn't a color) These don't all cleanly fit with color + word patterns. 58. **Let me think differently. What if the remaining 8 words split into TWO groups of 4, and the groups have nothing to do with what precedes them?** What if they're grouped by meaning or structure? Group A could be: - OUROBOROS (mythology/symbol) - HISTAMINE (chemistry/biology) - STIRRING (action/motion) - ??? (what's the fourth?) Could MYSTERY, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING, CHRISTMAS any of these fit with OUROBOROS, HISTAMINE, STIRRING? MYSTERY could be mythology-related? MYSTERY like a mystery cult? STIRRING like churning... and OUROBOROS like a circle... and HISTAMINE...? What if they're all things that involve cycles or repeating patterns? - OUROBOROS (circular, eternal cycle) - STIRRING (circular motion) - CHRISTMAS (annual cycle, comes every year) - HERRING (swimming in schools, patterns) - HISTAMINE (release cycles in allergic reactions?) Hmm, weak. 59. **What if they're all things that can be "CURED" or things related to cures:** - HISTAMINE (related to allergies, antihistamines are cures) - HERRING (?) - MOUSE (?) - MYSTERY (?) - STIRRING (?) - OUROBOROS (?) - CHRISTMAS (?) - HOUSE (?) Only HISTAMINE fits. 60. **What if they're all things that appear in famous songs:** - "RED HOUSE" (Jimi Hendrix) - "WHITE CHRISTMAS" (Bing Crosby) - "THREE BLIND MICE" (nursery rhyme) - "MYSTERY TRAIN" (Elvis) - "HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN" (The Animals) Many of these are in songs. But how would this group them into exactly 2 groups of 4? 61. **Let me try: Things that can be preceded by "MUSIC":** - MUSIC MYSTERY (?) - MUSIC HOUSE (?) - MUSIC MOUSE (?) - MUSIC HERRING (?) - MUSIC STIRRING (?) - MUSIC OUROBOROS (?) - MUSIC HISTAMINE (?) - MUSIC CHRISTMAS (?) None obvious. 62. **What if the pattern is "Things that are TYPES of something":** - HOUSE - type of dwelling - MOUSE - type of animal - HERRING - type of fish - STIRRING - type of motion - OUROBOROS - type of symbol - HISTAMINE - type of chemical - CHRISTMAS - type of holiday - MYSTERY - type of genre/puzzle All of them are types of something. Not distinctive enough. 63. **Let me try "CHRISTMAS ____":** - CHRISTMAS CAROL - CHRISTMAS TREE - CHRISTMAS EVE - CHRISTMAS MYSTERY (?) - CHRISTMAS PARTY (!) - CHRISTMAS DINNER - CHRISTMAS HOUSE (?) - CHRISTMAS MOUSE (?) - CHRISTMAS HERRING (?) - CHRISTMAS STIRRING (?) - CHRISTMAS OUROBOROS (?) - CHRISTMAS HISTAMINE (?) CHRISTMAS PARTY works! 64. **So if CHRISTMAS PARTY is a thing, and HOUSE PARTY is a thing, and MYSTERY PARTY is a thing...** Could the category be "____ PARTY"? - CHRISTMAS PARTY - HOUSE PARTY - MYSTERY PARTY - ??? PARTY (what's the fourth?) Could any of the remaining words work? - MOUSE PARTY (Mickey Mouse birthday party?) - HERRING PARTY (?) - STIRRING PARTY (?) - OUROBOROS PARTY (?) - HISTAMINE PARTY (?) Only MOUSE seems remotely possible. 65. **So tentatively: CHRISTMAS PARTY, HOUSE PARTY, MYSTERY PARTY, MOUSE PARTY** That would leave: HERRING, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING What would connect HERRING, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING? - HERRING - a fish - HISTAMINE - a chemical - OUROBOROS - a mythological symbol - STIRRING - an action/adjective These seem very different... 66. **Unless... what if they're all things that can follow "CONSTANTLY"?** - CONSTANTLY STIRRING ✓ - CONSTANTLY HERRING (?) - CONSTANTLY OUROBOROS (?) - CONSTANTLY HISTAMINE (?) Only STIRRING clearly works. 67. **What if they're related to specific sounds or onomatopoeia:** - STIRRING (sound of stirring) - HERRING (?) - OUROBOROS (?) - HISTAMINE (?) Only STIRRING. 68. **What if they all contain specific letter patterns or letter counts:** - HERRING (7 letters: H-E-R-R-I-N-G) - HISTAMINE (9 letters: H-I-S-T-A-M-I-N-E) - OUROBOROS (9 letters: O-U-R-O-B-O-R-O-S) - STIRRING (8 letters: S-T-I-R-R-I-N-G) Ouroboros and Histamine both have 9 letters! Is that the connection? - OUROBOROS - 9 letters - HISTAMINE - 9 letters - What's the third and fourth? Are there any 9-letter words in {CHRISTMAS, HERRING, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY, STIRRING}? - CHRISTMAS (9 letters!) ✓ - MYSTERY (7 letters) - HERRING (7 letters) - HOUSE (5 letters) - MOUSE (5 letters) - STIRRING (8 letters) So: OUROBOROS, HISTAMINE, CHRISTMAS all have 9 letters! What's the fourth 9-letter word? Remaining: HERRING, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY, STIRRING - HERRING - 7 - HOUSE - 5 - MOUSE - 5 - MYSTERY - 7 - STIRRING - 8 None of these have 9 letters. Hmm. Wait, let me recount: - C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S = 9 letters ✓ - H-I-S-T-A-M-I-N-E = 9 letters ✓ - O-U-R-O-B-O-R-O-S = 9 letters ✓ - What could the fourth be? Could one of my party words be wrong? - M-Y-S-T-E-R-Y = 7 letters - C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S = 9 letters (already counted) Hmm, only three 9-letter words so far. 69. **Wait! Let me recount the remaining 8 words' letters:** - CHRISTMAS: C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S (9) - HERRING: H-E-R-R-I-N-G (7) - HISTAMINE: H-I-S-T-A-M-I-N-E (9) - HOUSE: H-O-U-S-E (5) - MOUSE: M-O-U-S-E (5) - MYSTERY: M-Y-S-T-E-R-Y (7) - OUROBOROS: O-U-R-O-B-O-R-O-S (9) - STIRRING: S-T-I-R-R-I-N-G (8) So: - 9 letters: CHRISTMAS, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS (3 words) - 8 letters: STIRRING (1 word) - 7 letters: HERRING, MYSTERY (2 words) - 5 letters: HOUSE, MOUSE (2 words) Only 3 words with 9 letters. So that's not the full category. 70. **But wait! What if the category is "9-LETTER WORDS" and maybe one 8-letter word that I miscounted:** - STIRRING: S-T-I-R-R-I-N-G = 8 letters Could STIRRING actually be 9? Let me recount: S(1)-T(2)-I(3)-R(4)-R(5)-I(6)-N(7)-G(8) = 8 letters. Hmm, definitely 8. 71. **What if the category is "Words with 7+ letters":** - That would include: CHRISTMAS (9), HERRING (7), HISTAMINE (9), MYSTERY (7), OUROBOROS (9), STIRRING (8) - Excluded: HOUSE (5), MOUSE (5) So the category would be: CHRISTMAS, HERRING, HISTAMINE, MYSTERY, OUROBOROS, STIRRING (6 words) But I need exactly 4 in a group. Not 6. 72. **What if the category is "Words with 8+ letters":** - CHRISTMAS (9), HISTAMINE (9), OUROBOROS (9), STIRRING (8) = 4 words! That's exactly 4! So the category might be: **CHRISTMAS, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING** - all have 8 or more letters! That would leave: HERRING, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY What connects HERRING, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY? - All have 5-7 letters: HERRING (7), HOUSE (5), MOUSE (5), MYSTERY (7) - So they could be "Words with 7 or fewer letters" Or more specifically, they might have another connection. 73. **Let me try: HERRING, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY:** - HERRING: a fish (animal) - HOUSE: a structure - MOUSE: an animal - MYSTERY: a puzzle/genre Hmm, HERRING and MOUSE are both animals. HOUSE is a structure. MYSTERY is a concept. Wait, could they all be things that can be preceded by a specific word? - "CREEPING" MYSTERY (creeping mystery, spreading mystery) - "CREEPING" HERRING (?) - "CREEPING" MOUSE (creeping mouse, sneaky mouse) - "CREEPING" HOUSE (?) Only MYSTERY and MOUSE might work. 74. **Or could they all be preceded by "THREE":** - THREE BLIND MICE (but it's MICE, not MOUSE - though related) - THREE MYSTERY (?) - THREE HERRING (?) - THREE HOUSE (?) Only MICE/MOUSE works. 75. **What if they're all things that can follow "BLIND":** - BLIND MICE (or MOUSE) - BLIND HERRING (?) - BLIND MYSTERY (?) - BLIND HOUSE (?) Only MOUSE/MICE. 76. **Okay, I'm going to go with my best guess based on letter count:** **CHRISTMAS, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING** (all have 8+ letters) This seems like a reasonable category. Let me try this. Actually, wait. Let me reconsider the "-ING" words: - STIRRING (ends in -ING) - Are there others in the remaining words? - No others end in -ING So that's not it. Let me try my letter count theory.

Okay, so CHRISTMAS, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING is incorrect. That means my letter count theory was wrong. Remaining words: CHRISTMAS, HERRING, HISTAMINE, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY, OUROBOROS, STIRRING Let me reconsider what I know: - NOT a group: CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING (color + word pattern) - NOT a group: CHRISTMAS, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING (8+ letter pattern) So the remaining 8 words must split into two groups of 4 in a different way. Let me think about what could connect groups: **Option 1: ____ PARTY** - CHRISTMAS PARTY - HOUSE PARTY - MYSTERY PARTY - MOUSE PARTY (possibly) This would leave: HERRING, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING What connects HERRING, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING? - They're very different. Herring is a fish, histamine is a chemical, ouroboros is a mythological symbol, stirring is an action. - Could they all be things that are "CIRCULAR" or involve circles? - OUROBOROS - definitely circular - STIRRING - circular motion - HERRING - ??? - HISTAMINE - ??? **Option 2: Things that precede a common word** Let me try "____ SAUCE": - HERRING SAUCE (?) - HISTAMINE SAUCE (?) - OUROBOROS SAUCE (?) - STIRRING SAUCE (?) - CHRISTMAS SAUCE (?) - HOUSE SAUCE (?) - MOUSE SAUCE (?) - MYSTERY SAUCE (?) None obvious. **Option 3: Let me think about RED + word again more carefully** Could some of the words I haven't considered work with RED? - RED HERRING ✓ (definitely) - RED HOUSE ✓ (Jimi Hendrix song) - RED CHRISTMAS (?) - RED MOUSE (?) - RED MYSTERY (?) - RED STIRRING (?) - RED OUROBOROS (?) - RED HISTAMINE (?) Only HERRING and HOUSE clearly work with RED. **Option 4: What if they're things that follow a character's name or a specific word** Like "MICKEY MOUSE" - could others follow character names? - SHERLOCK MYSTERY (?) - FATHER CHRISTMAS (!) - SANTA CHRISTMAS (?) - UNCLE OUROBOROS (?) - DR. HISTAMINE (?) FATHER CHRISTMAS works! What else could work? - SANTA CLAUS... no CLAUS - FATHER CHRISTMAS (yes!) - JOLLY ROGER... no - SCROOGE MCDUCK... no Hmm. **Option 5: Let me think about types or species** - HERRING: type of fish (also "red herring", "blind herring") - MOUSE: type of animal (also "house mouse", "church mouse") - HOUSE: not a type of thing, but a structure - MYSTERY: not a thing itself, but a genre Could some of these be types of dances? - CHRISTMAS... line dance? - No... **Option 6: Let me reconsider compound words or phrases more systematically** HERRING: - RED HERRING (false clue) - BLIND HERRING (?) - HERRING GULL (?) HOUSE: - FULL HOUSE (poker) - WHITE HOUSE (residence) - RED HOUSE (song) - HOUSE PARTY (?) - HOUSE MOUSE (animal) - HOUSE PLANT (?) - HOUSEWIFE (?) MOUSE: - MICKEY MOUSE (character) - CHURCH MOUSE (poor as a church mouse) - HOUSE MOUSE (animal type) - WHITE MOUSE (animal) - BLIND MICE (three blind mice) - MOUSE PAD (?) MYSTERY: - MYSTERY MEAT (?) - MYSTERY SHOPPER (?) - MYSTERY PARTY (?) - MYSTERY HOUSE (computer game) CHRISTMAS: - WHITE CHRISTMAS (song/movie) - MERRY CHRISTMAS (greeting) - FATHER CHRISTMAS (character) - CHRISTMAS PARTY (?) - CHRISTMAS TREE (?) - CHRISTMAS EVE (?) STIRRING: - CONSTANTLY STIRRING (?) - UP AND STIRRING (?) - HEART STIRRING (?) OUROBOROS: - THE OUROBOROS (?) - OUROBOROS SYMBOL (?) HISTAMINE: - ANTIHISTAMINE (drug that blocks histamine) - HISTAMINE REACTION (?) Hmm, I notice that ANTIHISTAMINE contains HISTAMINE. That's interesting. **Option 7: What if the category is "Words that can have a prefix added"** - ANTIHISTAMINE (anti- + histamine) - What about the others? - ANTI-CHRISTMAS (?) - ANTI-HERRING (?) - ANTI-HOUSE (?) - ANTI-MOUSE (?) - ANTI-MYSTERY (?) - ANTI-STIRRING (?) - ANTI-OUROBOROS (?) Only HISTAMINE works well with ANTI-. **Option 8: What if some words are related to specific cultural references or media** - MYSTERY HOUSE (early Sierra adventure game) - OUROBOROS (appears in anime like Fullmetal Alchemist, and mythology) - STIRRING (?) - FATHER CHRISTMAS (character, alternative to Santa) - MICKEY MOUSE (character) - THREE BLIND MICE (nursery rhyme) - RED HERRING (phrase from mystery stories) Could there be a pattern with characters or stories? **Option 9: Let me think about what two groups of 4 would make sense given the context of a puzzle** NYT Connections often has: - A very obvious group - A tricky group with wordplay - Two groups with subtle connections Given that I've found: - Wearables (EARRING, NECKLACE, MESH SHIRT, PLEATHER VEST) - obvious - Curse words (EXPLETIVES, SWEARING, PROFANITY, FOUR-LETTER WORDS) - fairly obvious The remaining two groups probably have some wordplay or trickiness. **Option 10: What if they're things that precede the same word** Let me try "SONG": - CHRISTMAS SONG (Nat King Cole song "The Christmas Song") - MYSTERY SONG (?) - HERRING SONG (?) - STIRRING SONG (?) - MOUSE SONG (?) - HOUSE SONG (?) - OUROBOROS SONG (?) - HISTAMINE SONG (?) Only CHRISTMAS clearly. Let me try "TALE" or "STORY": - MYSTERY TALE (or mystery story) - CHRISTMAS TALE (or Christmas story) - HERRING TALE (?) - MOUSE TALE (?) - STIRRING TALE (?) - HOUSE TALE (?) - OUROBOROS TALE (?) - HISTAMINE TALE (?) Only MYSTERY and CHRISTMAS. **Option 11: What if they're types of parties or social gatherings** - CHRISTMAS PARTY (yes) - HOUSE PARTY (yes) - MYSTERY PARTY (murder mystery party - yes!) - MOUSE PARTY (birthday party with Mickey Mouse theme - possibly) But I already tried CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MYSTERY, MOUSE and got told it was incorrect (I guessed CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING instead). Wait, I didn't try MYSTERY PARTY in that guess. Let me reconsider: My first guess of "COLOR + WORD" was: CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING This was incorrect. So one of these doesn't belong in a group together, or they're in different groups. **Option 12: What if it's not about "_____ PARTY" but something else** Let me think: if CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE can go together with one more word, what would the connection be? - CHRISTMAS + HOUSE + MOUSE + X - All can be preceded by WHITE? WHITE CHRISTMAS, WHITE HOUSE, WHITE MOUSE, WHITE X - X could be: HERRING? WHITE HERRING exists but is less common - X could be: OUROBOROS? STIRRING? MYSTERY? HISTAMINE? None of the others seem to work with WHITE. **Option 13: What if it's "_____ BELL"** - CHRISTMAS BELL (bells, carols) - HOUSE BELL (doorbell for a house?) - MOUSE BELL (?) - HERRING BELL (?) - STIRRING BELL (?) - MYSTERY BELL (?) - OUROBOROS BELL (?) - HISTAMINE BELL (?) Only CHRISTMAS clearly. **Option 14: What if these are all things that can be "BLIND"** - BLIND HERRING (less common than RED HERRING, but the phrase exists!) - BLIND MICE (Three Blind Mice) - BLIND STIRRING (?) - BLIND MYSTERY (?) - BLIND HOUSE (?) - BLIND OUROBOROS (?) - BLIND HISTAMINE (?) - BLIND CHRISTMAS (?) HERRING and MICE (MOUSE) could work with BLIND! But wait - RED HERRING is much more common than BLIND HERRING. Let me think about whether BLIND HERRING is actually a real phrase... Actually, I don't think "BLIND HERRING" is a standard phrase. "RED HERRING" is definitely the standard phrase. **Option 15: What if it's about things related to mythology or symbols** - OUROBOROS (definitely mythology) - CHRISTMAS (relates to a religious/cultural symbol/holiday) - MYSTERY (can relate to ancient mystery cults) - HERRING (?) - STIRRING (?) - MOUSE (?) - HOUSE (?) - HISTAMINE (?) Not obvious. **Option 16: What if it's about things that can follow "THE"** - THE OUROBOROS (?) - THE STIRRING (?) - THE HERRING (?) - THE MOUSE (Mickey's full name is "The Mouse"?) - THE HOUSE (?) - THE MYSTERY (?) - THE CHRISTMAS (?) - THE HISTAMINE (?) Not obvious. **Option 17: What if some are things that can precede "UP"** - STIRRING UP (definitely - "stirring up trouble") - HOUSE UP (?) - MOUSE UP (?) - CHRISTMAS UP (?) - HERRING UP (?) - MYSTERY UP (?) - OUROBOROS UP (?) - HISTAMINE UP (?) Only STIRRING clearly works with "UP" (STIRRING UP). **Option 18: Let me reconsider the "_____ PARTY" angle more carefully** What if it's specifically things that precede PARTY? - CHRISTMAS PARTY - HOUSE PARTY - MYSTERY PARTY - MOUSE PARTY (?) But I need to think about whether MOUSE PARTY is a real enough phrase. Could it be SURPRISE PARTY, BIRTHDAY PARTY, etc.? Actually, thinking about Disney - there could be MOUSE PARTY as in Mickey Mouse theme party, but that seems less standard than the others. What if it's not MOUSE PARTY, but one of: - HERRING PARTY (?) - STIRRING PARTY (?) - OUROBOROS PARTY (?) - HISTAMINE PARTY (?) None of these sound right either. **Option 19: What if they're things that can follow "CREEPING" or another adjective** - CREEPING MYSTERY (a mystery that grows/spreads) - CREEPING STIRRING (?) - CREEPING OUROBOROS (?) - CREEPING HERRING (?) - CREEPING HOUSE (?) - CREEPING MOUSE (a mouse that creeps) - CREEPING CHRISTMAS (?) - CREEPING HISTAMINE (?) Not obvious. **Option 20: What if the trick is that some words have double letters or repeated sounds** - HERRING (RR) - STIRRING (RR, II) - OUROBOROS (OO, RR, OO) - CHRISTMAS (?) - HOUSE (?) - MOUSE (?) - MYSTERY (?) - HISTAMINE (?) HERRING, STIRRING, and OUROBOROS all have RR! Could the fourth be something else? - HISTAMINE: no RR - CHRISTMAS: no RR - HOUSE: no RR - MOUSE: no RR - MYSTERY: no RR Only three have RR. But what if it's about repeated vowels or letters? - OUROBOROS: O appears 4 times, R appears 2 times - STIRRING: I appears 2 times, R appears 2 times - HERRING: R appears 2 times - CHRISTMAS: S appears 2 times - HISTAMINE: I appears 2 times - HOUSE: E appears 1 time, O appears 1 time - MOUSE: E appears 1 time, O appears 1 time, U appears 1 time - MYSTERY: Y appears 1 time Many have repeated letters. This might be too broad. **Option 21: Let me try "____ BELL" one more time, thinking about different meanings** - CHRISTMAS BELL (holiday bells/carols) - DINNER BELL (no DINNER) - DOORBELL (no DOOR) - BELL TOWER (no TOWER) - LIBERTY BELL (no LIBERTY) Only CHRISTMAS BELL seems clear. **Option 22: What if they're things that can be "MERRY"** - MERRY CHRISTMAS ✓ (standard greeting) - MERRY MOUSE (?) - MERRY HERRING (?) - MERRY MYSTERY (?) - MERRY STIRRING (?) - MERRY HOUSE (?) - MERRY OUROBOROS (?) - MERRY HISTAMINE (?) Only CHRISTMAS clearly works with MERRY. **Option 23: What if it's things that can follow "FATHER"** - FATHER CHRISTMAS (yes! Alternative name for Santa Claus) - FATHER MOUSE (?) - FATHER HERRING (?) - FATHER MYSTERY (?) - FATHER STIRRING (?) - FATHER HOUSE (?) - FATHER OUROBOROS (?) - FATHER HISTAMINE (?) Only CHRISTMAS works. **Option 24: What if multiple words can follow "FATHER"** Actually, in some contexts: - FATHER CHRISTMAS (definitely) - FATHER FIGURE (no FIGURE) Only CHRISTMAS with FATHER. **Option 25: Let me try "_____ DRUM" or "_____ SOUND"** - STIRRING SOUND (?) - CHRISTMAS CAROL/SOUND (?) - DRUM SOUND (no DRUM) Not obvious. **Option 26: Wait, let me reconsider "STIRRING" more carefully** Could STIRRING be part of a phrase I haven't thought of? - STIRRING UP - STIRRING EMOTIONS - STIRRING SPEECH - STIRRING THE POT - THE STIRRING (as in a band or DJ name?) What if the category is about words that can be verbs (present participles)? - STIRRING (definitely can be a verb - "stirring a pot") - HERRING (noun, not typically a verb) - OUROBOROS (noun, not a verb) - HISTAMINE (noun, not a verb) - CHRISTMAS (noun, not typically a verb) - HOUSE (can be a verb! "To house someone") - MOUSE (can be a verb! "To mouse" - to hunt for mice) - MYSTERY (noun, not typically a verb) So STIRRING, HOUSE, and MOUSE can be verbs! What's the fourth? - HERRING - can this be a verb? "To herring"? I don't think so. - OUROBOROS - no - HISTAMINE - no - CHRISTMAS - no - MYSTERY - no Only three can be verbs. **Option 27: What if it's words that can follow "FULL"** - FULL HOUSE (yes - poker hand) - FULL STIRRING (?) - FULL MYSTERY (?) - FULL OUROBOROS (?) - FULL HERRING (?) - FULL MOUSE (?) - FULL CHRISTMAS (?) - FULL HISTAMINE (?) Only HOUSE works. **Option 28: Let me try "____ COAT" or "____ JACKET"** - MOUSE COAT (?) - HOUSE COAT (?) - HERRING COAT (?) - Etc. Not obvious. **Option 29: What if it's things that can precede "MUSIC" or "MUSICIAN"** - HERRING MUSIC (?) - STIRRING MUSIC (yes! "stirring music") - CHRISTMAS MUSIC (yes!) - HOUSE MUSIC (yes! A genre of electronic dance music) - MOUSE MUSIC (?) - MYSTERY MUSIC (?) - OUROBOROS MUSIC (?) - HISTAMINE MUSIC (?) STIRRING, CHRISTMAS, and HOUSE can all precede MUSIC! What's the fourth? - HERRING MUSIC (not standard) - MOUSE MUSIC (not standard) - MYSTERY MUSIC (not standard) - OUROBOROS MUSIC (not standard) - HISTAMINE MUSIC (not standard) Only three clear ones. But let me think...could MYSTERY MUSIC be a genre? Or HERRING MUSIC? Actually, I don't think any of the others work well. So STIRRING MUSIC, CHRISTMAS MUSIC, HOUSE MUSIC...what's the fourth? **Option 30: Wait! What if it's "____PLANTS"?** - HOUSE PLANT (yes!) - CHRISTMAS PLANT (yes! Like poinsettia, Christmas cactus) - MYSTERY PLANT (?) - HERRING PLANT (?) - MOUSE PLANT (?) - STIRRING PLANT (?) - OUROBOROS PLANT (?) - HISTAMINE PLANT (?) HOUSE and CHRISTMAS work! What else? Hmm, I only have two. **Option 31: Let me think about "____ TREE"** - CHRISTMAS TREE (yes!) - HOUSE TREE (?) - MYSTERY TREE (?) - HERRING TREE (?) - MOUSE TREE (?) - STIRRING TREE (?) - OUROBOROS TREE (?) - HISTAMINE TREE (?) Only CHRISTMAS works. **Option 32: What if it's things that can precede "MYSTERY"** Wait, I already tried "MYSTERY ____". What about "____MYSTERY"? - RED MYSTERY (?) - WHITE MYSTERY (?) - HERRING MYSTERY (?) - HOUSE MYSTERY (?) - MOUSE MYSTERY (?) - STIRRING MYSTERY (?) - OUROBOROS MYSTERY (?) - HISTAMINE MYSTERY (?) - CHRISTMAS MYSTERY (?) Not obvious. **Option 33: Let me try "____ CAROL"** - CHRISTMAS CAROL (yes!) - HERRING CAROL (?) - HOUSE CAROL (?) - MOUSE CAROL (?) - MYSTERY CAROL (?) - STIRRING CAROL (?) - OUROBOROS CAROL (?) - HISTAMINE CAROL (?) Only CHRISTMAS. **Option 34: What if it's things associated with FOOD or COOKING** - HERRING (fish, food) - STIRRING (cooking action) - MOUSE (might eat food, or be eaten?) - Christmas (Christmas dinner) - HOUSE (kitchen is in a house) - MYSTERY (mystery meat) - OUROBOROS (?) - HISTAMINE (?) This is too broad and doesn't clearly separate into groups. **Option 35: Let me reconsider "____MUSIC" one more time** - HOUSE MUSIC (electronic dance music genre) ✓ - STIRRING MUSIC (emotionally stirring) ✓ - CHRISTMAS MUSIC (holiday music) ✓ - What's the fourth? Could any of these work? - HERRING MUSIC (?) - MOUSE MUSIC (Mickey Mouse music? Disney music?) - MYSTERY MUSIC (mystery/thriller music?) - OUROBOROS MUSIC (?) - HISTAMINE MUSIC (?) Let me think about MYSTERY MUSIC. Could that be a genre or type of music? Thriller music, suspenseful music? It could work! So maybe: HOUSE MUSIC, STIRRING MUSIC, CHRISTMAS MUSIC, MYSTERY MUSIC? That would leave: HERRING, MOUSE, OUROBOROS, HISTAMINE What connects HERRING, MOUSE, OUROBOROS, HISTAMINE? - They're all nouns - They're all... ? Hmm, OUROBOROS and HISTAMINE are very specific/technical words. HERRING and MOUSE are animals. Could they be: - Things that come from other languages? - OUROBOROS (Greek) - HERRING (German/English origin) - MOUSE (?) - HISTAMINE (Greek/Latin) This seems weak. - Things that appear in specific stories/mythology? - OUROBOROS (mythology) - HERRING (Red herring - detective stories) - MOUSE (Mickey Mouse, Three Blind Mice) - HISTAMINE (?) Not clear for HISTAMINE. **Option 36: Alright, let me go with my best guess: HOUSE MUSIC, STIRRING MUSIC, CHRISTMAS MUSIC, MYSTERY MUSIC** Actually, wait. Let me reconsider if "MYSTERY MUSIC" is a standard phrase. Is it more or less standard than "MOUSE MUSIC"? MYSTERY MUSIC - could refer to music from mystery/thriller movies MOUSE MUSIC - could refer to Mickey Mouse music/Disney music Hmm, both seem plausible. But HOUSE MUSIC is definitely a real genre. STIRRING MUSIC is definitely a phrase. CHRISTMAS MUSIC is definitely a phrase. Between MYSTERY and MOUSE for the fourth: - MYSTERY MUSIC seems more like a descriptive phrase - MOUSE MUSIC seems less standard I'll go with HOUSE MUSIC, STIRRING MUSIC, CHRISTMAS MUSIC, MYSTERY MUSIC. Wait, let me also double-check these are real: - HOUSE MUSIC - yes, definitely a genre of electronic dance music ✓ - STIRRING MUSIC - yes, music that is emotionally stirring ✓ - CHRISTMAS MUSIC - yes, holiday music ✓ - MYSTERY MUSIC - hmm, is this as standard? It could mean music from mystery movies/shows... Actually, I'm less confident about MYSTERY MUSIC now. Let me reconsider one more time. Could it be: - HOUSE MUSIC, STIRRING MUSIC, CHRISTMAS MUSIC, MOUSE MUSIC? "MOUSE MUSIC" could refer to music associated with Mickey Mouse/Disney. But that seems less standard than MYSTERY MUSIC. Okay, I'll go with my music hypothesis: HOUSE MUSIC, STIRRING MUSIC, CHRISTMAS MUSIC, MYSTERY MUSIC But let me also consider one more alternative... **Option 37: What if it's "____ SHOP" or "____SHOPPING"** - CHRISTMAS SHOPPING (yes!) - HOUSE SHOPPING (?) - MOUSE SHOPPING (?) - MYSTERY SHOPPING (yes! Mystery shopper) - HERRING SHOPPING (?) - STIRRING SHOPPING (?) - OUROBOROS SHOPPING (?) - HISTAMINE SHOPPING (?) CHRISTMAS and MYSTERY work with SHOPPING! What's the third and fourth? - MYSTERY SHOPPER (definitely a thing - undercover shopper) - CHRISTMAS SHOPPING (definitely a thing) - HOUSE SHOPPING (could be "shopping for houses"?) - HERRING... no - MOUSE SHOPPING (?) Hmm, HOUSE SHOPPING is plausible but less standard than "house hunting". **Option 38: Let me finalize my guess** I think the strongest category I've found is things that precede "MUSIC": - HOUSE MUSIC (definite genre) - STIRRING MUSIC (definite phrase - emotionally stirring music) - CHRISTMAS MUSIC (definite phrase - holiday music) - Hmm, what's the fourth? Could it be MYSTERY MUSIC? Or something else? Let me try one more: "____ ANIMAL" - HOUSE ANIMAL (?) - MOUSE ANIMAL (?) - HERRING ANIMAL (?) - Etc. Not obvious. Actually, you know what, let me just try: **CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MYSTERY, STIRRING** - all things that can precede MUSIC That would leave: HERRING, MOUSE, OUROBOROS, HISTAMINE

Oh no, I have only 1 guess left. Let me reconsider very carefully. Remaining 8 words: CHRISTMAS, HERRING, HISTAMINE, HOUSE, MOUSE, MYSTERY, OUROBOROS, STIRRING What I know: - NOT: CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MOUSE, HERRING (color + word pattern) - NOT: CHRISTMAS, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING (8+ letters) - NOT: CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MYSTERY, STIRRING (music/genre pattern) So my "____ MUSIC" theory was wrong. STIRRING MUSIC, CHRISTMAS MUSIC, HOUSE MUSIC might be real, but they don't form the category with MYSTERY. Let me think about what could actually connect 4 of these 8 words. Given that I've exhausted most "____ WORD" patterns, maybe the categories are more abstract or based on word properties. Let me reconsider: **What if they're grouped by what FOLLOWS them rather than what precedes them:** Things followed by "PARTY": - CHRISTMAS PARTY - HOUSE PARTY - MYSTERY PARTY - ??? PARTY (HERRING? MOUSE? STIRRING? OUROBOROS? HISTAMINE?) MOUSE could be MOUSE PARTY (Mickey Mouse party). So: CHRISTMAS PARTY, HOUSE PARTY, MYSTERY PARTY, MOUSE PARTY? That would leave: HERRING, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING What connects HERRING, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING? **Let me think about these four specifically:** - HERRING: a fish (7 letters, ends in -ING) - STIRRING: action/present participle (8 letters, ends in -ING) - OUROBOROS: mythological symbol (9 letters) - HISTAMINE: chemical compound (9 letters) Wait! HERRING and STIRRING both END IN "-ING"! And they have other properties: - HERRING: H-E-R-R-I-N-G (ends in -RING) - STIRRING: S-T-I-R-R-I-N-G (ends in -RING) Both end in -RING specifically! Could there be two more words that end in -RING? - OUROBOROS - ends in -OS - HISTAMINE - ends in -INE - CHRISTMAS - ends in -AS - HOUSE - ends in -E - MOUSE - ends in -E - MYSTERY - ends in -Y From the remaining words, MOUSE and HOUSE end in -E, but not -RING. Wait, let me look back at all 16 words to see if there were any -RING words I might have forgotten: From the full list: EXPLETIVES, MOUSE, SWEARING, MYSTERY, PROFANITY, HOUSE, HISTAMINE, NECKLACE, HERRING, OUROBOROS, EARRING, CHRISTMAS, MESH SHIRT, STIRRING, FOUR-LETTER WORDS, PLEATHER VEST Words ending in -RING: - HERRING - STIRRING - EARRING - Wait... EARRING ends in -RING too! But EARRING was already used in the wearables group! So it can't be used again. Hmm, so -RING words were: EARRING (used), HERRING, STIRRING That's only 3 remaining -RING words in my current set of 8. **Let me reconsider. What if the pattern is different:** What if they're things that can be preceded by "RED"? - RED HERRING (yes!) - RED HOUSE (Jimi Hendrix song - yes!) - RED CHRISTMAS (not standard) - RED MOUSE (not standard) - RED MYSTERY (not standard) - RED STIRRING (no) - RED OUROBOROS (no) - RED HISTAMINE (no) Only 2 clearly work. **What if they're things that can be preceded by a COLOR in general:** - CHRISTMAS (WHITE, BLUE, MERRY as colors... well, MERRY isn't a color) - HOUSE (WHITE, RED, FULL... FULL isn't a color) - MOUSE (WHITE, CHURCH... CHURCH isn't a color) - HERRING (RED, BLIND... BLIND isn't a color) This was already tried and failed. **What if the connection is more creative - like words that can follow "FULL":** - FULL HOUSE (poker hand) - FULL STIRRING (?) - FULL MYSTERY (?) - FULL HERRING (?) - FULL MOUSE (?) - FULL CHRISTMAS (?) - FULL OUROBOROS (?) - FULL HISTAMINE (?) Only HOUSE clearly. **What if it's about words that can be types of something (noun compounds):** - HOUSE MOUSE (a specific type of mouse animal) - CHURCH MOUSE (idiom - poor) - FIELD MOUSE (another mouse type) - MYSTERY MEAT (in cafeterias) - MYSTERY SHOPPER (undercover shopper) - MYSTERY HOUSE (computer game) - MYSTERY BOX (?) - CHRISTMAS CAROL (song) - CHRISTMAS TREE (decoration) - CHRISTMAS PARTY (gathering) - HERRING GULL (bird) - RED HERRING (false clue) - STIRRING UP (making trouble) - STIRRING EMOTIONS (evoking feelings) - OUROBOROS SYMBOL (?) - HISTAMINE RELEASE (?) Many of these can be parts of compound nouns. But this doesn't clearly divide them into two groups of 4. **What if it's about words that appear in specific titles of famous works:** Could there be: - MYSTERY HOUSE (computer game) - HOUSE OF MYSTERY (DC comic book) - STIRRING events in movies/books - etc. Not clear enough. **Let me try a completely different approach. What if they're grouped by number of syllables:** - CHRISTMAS: CHRIST-MAS (2 syllables) - HERRING: HER-RING (2 syllables) - HISTAMINE: HIS-TA-MINE (3 syllables) - HOUSE: HOUSE (1 syllable) - MOUSE: MOUSE (1 syllable) - MYSTERY: MYS-TER-Y (3 syllables) - OUROBOROS: OU-RO-BO-ROS (4 syllables) - STIRRING: STIR-RING (2 syllables) Grouping by syllables: - 1 syllable: HOUSE, MOUSE (2 words) - 2 syllables: CHRISTMAS, HERRING, STIRRING (3 words) - 3 syllables: HISTAMINE, MYSTERY (2 words) - 4 syllables: OUROBOROS (1 word) This doesn't divide into two groups of 4 evenly. **What if it's about whether they're animals:** - HERRING (animal - fish) - MOUSE (animal - rodent) - Others are not animals Only 2. **What if it's about words that can follow "BLIND":** - BLIND MICE (Three Blind Mice) - BLIND MOUSE (variation) - BLIND HERRING (not standard, but RED HERRING is standard) - BLIND... others? Only 1-2 clearly work. **What if some words can be preceded by "CHRISTMAS":** - CHRISTMAS PARTY - CHRISTMAS EVE (not in my words) - CHRISTMAS CAROL (not in my words) - CHRISTMAS TREE (not in my words) - CHRISTMAS MOUSE (?) - CHRISTMAS HERRING (?) - CHRISTMAS STIRRING (?) - CHRISTMAS HOUSE (?) - CHRISTMAS MYSTERY (?) - CHRISTMAS OUROBOROS (?) - CHRISTMAS HISTAMINE (?) Only PARTY might work, but that's not in my list. **Actually, wait. Let me reconsider the "____ PARTY" category one more time:** If the category is things that precede PARTY: - CHRISTMAS PARTY (yes) - HOUSE PARTY (yes) - MYSTERY PARTY (yes) - MOUSE PARTY (?) - could be a Mickey Mouse themed party This seems plausible. 4 words: CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MYSTERY, MOUSE That would leave: HERRING, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING What connects these four?? - HERRING: animal, fish, food, phrase (red herring), 7 letters - STIRRING: action, emotion, cooking, adjective, present participle, 8 letters - OUROBOROS: mythological symbol, serpent, circular, 9 letters - HISTAMINE: chemical, biology, medical, 9 letters Hmm...could they all be things with CIRCULAR or CYCLICAL meanings? - OUROBOROS: definitely circular (snake eating its tail) - STIRRING: circular motion when stirring - HERRING: fishing in circles? School of fish? Doesn't really fit - HISTAMINE: histamine cycles? Release cycles in allergies? Seems forced Or could they all be things that appear in specific GAMES or WORDS? - HISTAMINE: contains "HIST" + "AMINE" - OUROBOROS: something game-related? - HERRING: RED HERRING is used in mystery games - STIRRING: ? Not clear. Or could they be things related to SYMBOLS or SIGNS? - OUROBOROS: symbol - HERRING: symbol of deception (red herring) - STIRRING: ? - HISTAMINE: ? Not obvious. Or could they all contain specific letter patterns? - HERRING: R-R, ends in -ING - STIRRING: R-R, I-I, ends in -ING - OUROBOROS: O-O-O, R-R, O-O (multiple repeats) - HISTAMINE: I-I (two Is), no double consonants... wait, let me check: H-I-S-T-A-M-I-N-E, yes only the I repeats Could they all be words with repeated letters? - HERRING: R repeats, I appears once... wait does I repeat? H-E-R-R-I-N-G, I appears once, R appears twice - STIRRING: R repeats (twice), I repeats (twice) - OUROBOROS: O repeats many times, R repeats - HISTAMINE: I repeats, but no consonant repeats Many words have repeated letters, so this might be too broad. **Okay, I need to make my final guess. My best two options are:** **Option A: Things that precede PARTY** - CHRISTMAS PARTY, HOUSE PARTY, MYSTERY PARTY, MOUSE PARTY - Remaining: HERRING, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING **Option B: Something else I haven't figured out** Given that Option A has 3 very strong connections (CHRISTMAS PARTY, HOUSE PARTY, MYSTERY PARTY) and MOUSE PARTY at least seems plausible (Mickey Mouse party), I'm going to go with Option A. But wait, let me reconsider one more time if MOUSE PARTY is really a thing. Could the fourth word be something else? What if it's not MOUSE PARTY but: - HERRING PARTY (?) - STIRRING PARTY (?) - OUROBOROS PARTY (?) - HISTAMINE PARTY (?) None of these seem right. Could the category be something OTHER than PARTY? What if it's "____ SHOPPER": - MYSTERY SHOPPER (yes! undercover shopper) - CHRISTMAS SHOPPER (yes! someone shopping for Christmas) - HOUSE SHOPPER (someone shopping for houses - less standard than "house hunter") - MOUSE SHOPPER (?) - HERRING SHOPPER (?) - STIRRING SHOPPER (?) - OUROBOROS SHOPPER (?) - HISTAMINE SHOPPER (?) MYSTERY and CHRISTMAS work well. HOUSE maybe. MOUSE no. What if it's "____METER" or "____KEEPER": - HOUSEKEEPER (yes) - MYSTERY KEEPER (?) - CHRISTMAS KEEPER (?) - MOUSE KEEPER (?) Only HOUSEKEEPER clearly works. Okay, I'm going to commit to **CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MYSTERY, MOUSE** (things that precede PARTY). This leaves HERRING, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING as the final group. Actually, wait. Let me think one more time about what connects HERRING, HISTAMINE, OUROBOROS, STIRRING. Could they all be things that are CIRCULAR or create circles? - STIRRING: circular motion ✓ - OUROBOROS: circular symbol (snake eating tail) ✓ - HERRING: ?? - HISTAMINE: ?? Could they be related to specific SCIENTIFIC or TECHNICAL concepts? - HISTAMINE: definitely scientific (chemical compound) - OUROBOROS: mythology, not science - HERRING: biology (type of fish) - STIRRING: physics (motion) Hmm, 3 could be science-related? Or could they all be things that have REPETITION or RECURRING patterns? - STIRRING: repetitive circular motion - OUROBOROS: symbol of eternity/recurrence - HERRING: schools of herring move in patterns - HISTAMINE: released in cycles during allergic reactions This seems like a stretch. Or could they all END in specific sounds or letters? - HERRING: ends in -ING - STIRRING: ends in -ING - OUROBOROS: ends in -OS - HISTAMINE: ends in -INE Two end in -ING, others don't. Or could they be things that CONTAIN specific letters? - All contain 'I', 'R', or both? Let me check: - HERRING: H-E-R-R-I-N-G (has R and I) - STIRRING: S-T-I-R-R-I-N-G (has R and I) - OUROBOROS: O-U-R-O-B-O-R-O-S (has R, no I) - HISTAMINE: H-I-S-T-A-M-I-N-E (has I, no R) No clear pattern. Alright, I'm committing to my guess: **CHRISTMAS, HOUSE, MYSTERY, MOUSE** - all precede the word "PARTY" (CHRISTMAS PARTY, HOUSE PARTY, MYSTERY PARTY, MOUSE PARTY)

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 groups of 4 related words. First, let me look for potential categories: 1. Types of flooring: TILE, WOOD, LAMINATE, CARPET - these are all types of flooring materials. This seems like a strong category. 2. Words that can follow "BEACH": SHORE, COAST, STRAND, BANK? Let me think... "beach shore," "beach coast," "beach strand," "beach bank"? Actually, these might all be synonyms for the edge of water: SHORE, COAST, STRAND. But BANK is also water-related... 3. Looking at the remaining words after flooring: SPARK, WAILER, BANSHEE, FIREWORKS, CONNECTION, CHEMISTRY, HEARTBREAKER, PIP 4. Could there be a "wailing" theme? WAILER, BANSHEE (mythological wailing creature)... 5. Let me think about compound words or phrases: - FIREWORKS, SPARK, CHEMISTRY, CONNECTION - could these relate to attraction/relationships? - "Chemistry" in relationships, "Spark" (romantic spark), "Connection" (relationship connection), "Fireworks" (romantic excitement) - These could all be metaphors for romantic attraction! 6. That would leave: WAILER, BANSHEE, HEARTBREAKER, PIP - HEARTBREAKER is someone who breaks hearts (romance) - WAILER - could this be a wailing person? - BANSHEE - wailing spirit - PIP - ? Wait, let me reconsider. These could be song titles or references: - "HEARTBREAKER" - song title (Mariah Carey, etc.) - "WAILER" - Bob Marley was called "The Wailer" - Could PIP be Gladys Knight and the Pips? Actually, rethinking: Could these be references to musical groups or performers? - The Wailers (Bob Marley's band) - The Banshees (Siouxsie and the Banshees) - Heartbreaker - ? - PIP - Gladys Knight and the Pips Hmm, let me reconsider HEARTBREAKER - could it be "The Heartbreakers" (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)? So a category could be: Words that can follow "The" to make band names: - THE WAILERS - THE BANSHEES (Siouxsie and The Banshees) - THE HEARTBREAKERS (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers) - THE PIPS (Gladys Knight and The Pips) This seems strong! That leaves: SPARK, FIREWORKS, CHEMISTRY, CONNECTION, and the water words. So my groups are likely: 1. Flooring: TILE, WOOD, LAMINATE, CARPET 2. Band names (after "The"): WAILER, BANSHEE, HEARTBREAKER, PIP 3. Romantic attraction metaphors: SPARK, FIREWORKS, CHEMISTRY, CONNECTION 4. Water/shoreline: SHORE, COAST, STRAND, BANK Let me start with the flooring category as it's most straightforward.

Great! The flooring category was correct. Now I have 12 words remaining: SPARK, WAILER, SHORE, BANK, BANSHEE, FIREWORKS, CONNECTION, HEARTBREAKER, PIP, CHEMISTRY, COAST, STRAND Let me refine my analysis: 1. Band names (words that follow "The" to make famous bands): - THE WAILERS (Bob Marley's band) - THE BANSHEES (Siouxsie and the Banshees) - THE HEARTBREAKERS (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) - THE PIPS (Gladys Knight and the Pips) This still seems very strong. 2. Romantic attraction/relationship metaphors: - SPARK (romantic spark) - FIREWORKS (romantic fireworks/excitement) - CHEMISTRY (romantic chemistry) - CONNECTION (romantic connection) This also seems strong. 3. Water/shoreline synonyms: - SHORE (edge of water) - COAST (edge of water/land) - STRAND (shore, especially poetic) - BANK (edge of river/water) This is solid too. I'm most confident in the band names category, so let me try that next.

Excellent! Two down. Now I have 8 words remaining: SPARK, SHORE, BANK, FIREWORKS, CONNECTION, CHEMISTRY, COAST, STRAND My two remaining hypothesized categories: 1. Romantic attraction/relationship metaphors: - SPARK (romantic spark) - FIREWORKS (romantic fireworks/excitement) - CHEMISTRY (romantic chemistry) - CONNECTION (romantic connection) 2. Water/shoreline synonyms: - SHORE (edge of water) - COAST (edge of water/land) - STRAND (shore, especially poetic) - BANK (edge of river/water) Both categories have exactly 4 words each and make perfect sense. I'll go with the romantic attraction metaphors next since I'm very confident about this grouping.

Perfect! Three down. Now I have the final 4 words remaining: SHORE, BANK, COAST, STRAND These should all be synonyms for the edge of water/shoreline: - SHORE - the edge of a body of water - COAST - the edge of land bordering the sea - STRAND - a beach or shore (poetic/literary term) - BANK - the edge of a river or other body of water This is the last group, so it should be correct.

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 related groups. Available words: STALK, BULB, CABIN, CRAYON, ENGINE, CANDLE, HOSE, HONEYCOMB, HEAD, ROB, NOSE, FLEECE, STIFF, WING, SEAL, EAR Let me look for potential categories: 1. **Things that can follow "CORN"**: - CORN STALK (yes) - CORN BULB (no) - CORN HEAD (yes, harvester head) - CORN EAR (yes, corn ear) - CORN ROB (yes, corncob - the core of corn) This looks promising: STALK, HEAD, EAR, ROB 2. **Things associated with POLAR BEARS or animals**: - Looking for bear-related words... - POLAR: FLEECE, CABIN (bear cabin?), NOSE... - Actually, what about "____ BEAR"? - FLEECE (polar fleece) - CABIN (cabin? no) - Wait: POLAR BEAR has NO T, STIFF UPPER LIP? STIFF BEAR? No... 3. **Things that can be "NOSE"**: - NOSE CONE - NOSE BLEED - POKE YOUR NOSE (ROB could be ROBBERY?) 4. **Things that follow a color or precede a type**: - CRAYON (color-related) - BULB (light bulb) - CANDLE (light source) - HONEYCOMB (pattern) 5. **Words that can follow "YELLOW"**: - YELLOW BELLY (STIFF could relate to stiffening?) - YELLOW CABIN? No - YELLOW CRAYON (yes!) - YELLOW FLEECE? - YELLOW HONEYCOMB (yes! yellow honeycomb) - YELLOW SUBMARINE? YELLOW SEAL? YELLOW ENGINE? 6. **"______ JACKET" or "______ BELLY"**: - YELLOW BELLY - NOSE CONE? NOSE BLEED? Let me reconsider: **Things that can be YELLOW**: - YELLOW SUBMARINE (no SUBMARINE here) - YELLOW JACKET (JACKET? Maybe WING relates?) - Actually YELLOW could go with: CRAYON, BULB, CANDLE, HONEYCOMB 7. **ROBIN (bird) related**: - ROBIN could break down as... ROB + IN? - ROB could be part of ROBIN Actually, let me focus on CORN: STALK, HEAD, EAR, ROB (corncob) This seems very solid. My best guess is the CORN category first.

Interesting - my CORN hypothesis was wrong. Let me reconsider these words more carefully. Available words: STALK, BULB, CABIN, CRAYON, ENGINE, CANDLE, HOSE, HONEYCOMB, HEAD, ROB, NOSE, FLEECE, STIFF, WING, SEAL, EAR Let me think about other patterns: 1. **Things that can follow "POLAR"**: - POLAR BEAR (but BEAR isn't here) - POLAR FLEECE (yes!) - POLAR... WING? HONEYCOMB? 2. **Things that can precede "CONE"**: - NOSE CONE (yes!) - PINE CONE (no PINE) - TRAFFIC CONE (no TRAFFIC) - TRAFFIC CONE... wait, could ROB be CONE? No - Actually: PINE CONE, TRAFFIC CONE, NOSE CONE, ICE CREAM CONE - Do any words mean CONE? BULB? CRAYON? 3. **Things that can follow "ICE CREAM"**: - ICE CREAM CONE (CONE?) - Hmm, none of these are CONE directly 4. **Words that can precede "BONE"**: - FUNNY BONE (HOSE + BONE? No) - WISHBONE? T-BONE? - Actually: STIFF could be part of something 5. **Things that can follow "PENCIL"**: - PENCIL CASE? PENCIL HEAD? - Or precede it: YELLOW PENCIL? 6. **"_____ COLLAR" or professional terms**: - STIFF COLLAR (yes, stiff collar) - WHITE COLLAR (no WHITE) 7. **Things that are YELLOW or can be YELLOW**: - CRAYON (can be yellow) - BULB (yellow bulb) - CANDLE (yellow candle) - HONEYCOMB (honeycomb is yellow) - FLEECE (fleece can be yellow) - ENGINE (yellow engine? submarine?) - Actually YELLOW SUBMARINE has ENGINE and CABIN? 8. **"YELLOW _____"**: - YELLOW CRAYON - YELLOW BULB - YELLOW CANDLE - YELLOW HONEYCOMB - YELLOW FLEECE - YELLOW SUBMARINE (ENGINE, CABIN?) - YELLOW BELLY - YELLOW JACKET Wait - could CABIN be part of "YELLOW SUBMARINE"? And ENGINE? Let me try: CRAYON, BULB, CANDLE, HONEYCOMB (all can be yellow)

Two guesses wrong now. Let me reconsider completely. Available words: STALK, BULB, CABIN, CRAYON, ENGINE, CANDLE, HOSE, HONEYCOMB, HEAD, ROB, NOSE, FLEECE, STIFF, WING, SEAL, EAR Let me think about less obvious connections: 1. **Things that can follow "YELLOW"**: - YELLOW SUBMARINE (SUBMARINE... ENGINE? CABIN?) - YELLOW BELLY - YELLOW FEVER - YELLOW JACKET - YELLOW STIFF? YELLOW FLEECE? 2. **"YELLOW _____" more systematically**: - YELLOW CABIN? YELLOW CRAYON? YELLOW CANDLE? YELLOW HONEYCOMB? - YELLOW ENGINE? YELLOW HOSE? YELLOW HEAD? YELLOW ROB? YELLOW NOSE? YELLOW FLEECE? YELLOW STIFF? YELLOW WING? YELLOW SEAL? YELLOW EAR? YELLOW STALK? YELLOW BULB? 3. **Let me think of ROBIN**: ROB + IN = ROBIN - ROBIN is a bird - Could there be bird parts? WING, HEAD, EAR? - ROBIN EAR? ROBIN WING? ROBIN HEAD? ROBIN STALK? 4. **Things that can be types of YELLOW**: - Actually, what about "_____ YELLOW"? Or things IN yellow? 5. **"RUBBER _____"**: - RUBBER HOSE (yes!) - RUBBER BAND (no BAND) - RUBBER DUCK (no DUCK) - RUBBER SEAL (yes!) - RUBBER BULB (yes, like for aspirators!) - RUBBER HEAD? RUBBER NOSE? RUBBER FLEECE? - Hmm, could be: HOSE, SEAL, BULB... and one more? 6. **"RUBBER _____" continued**: - RUBBER HOSE - RUBBER SEAL - RUBBER BULB - RUBBER DUCKIE? RUBBER NOSE (yes, rubber nose!) - Could be: HOSE, SEAL, BULB, NOSE Let me try this combination!

One guess left! I need to be very careful. Let me reconsider all the words fresh. Available words: STALK, BULB, CABIN, CRAYON, ENGINE, CANDLE, HOSE, HONEYCOMB, HEAD, ROB, NOSE, FLEECE, STIFF, WING, SEAL, EAR I've tried: 1. STALK, HEAD, EAR, ROB (CORN...) - WRONG 2. CRAYON, BULB, CANDLE, HONEYCOMB (all YELLOW things) - WRONG 3. HOSE, SEAL, BULB, NOSE (RUBBER things) - WRONG Let me think differently: 1. **"STIFF _____"**: - STIFF UPPER LIP - STIFF DRINK - STIFF BREEZE - STIFF NECK 2. **Things with POLAR**: - POLAR FLEECE (yes) - POLAR BEAR - POLAR OPPOSITE - Could CABIN relate? POLAR CABIN? 3. **"FLEECE _____" or "_____ FLEECE"**: - POLAR FLEECE - GOLDEN FLEECE (mythology!) - FLEECE JACKET - Could other words relate to mythology or ancient stories? 4. **Ancient/Mythology references**: - GOLDEN FLEECE (Jason and Argonauts) - TROJAN HORSE (WING? HEAD? No...) - Actually what about TROY/TROJAN? 5. **"_____ BEAR"**: - POLAR BEAR - TEDDY BEAR - BEAR CUB - STIFF UPPER = STIFF... nope 6. **Things that can follow "LOG"**: - LOG CABIN (yes!) - LOG STALK? LOG CRAYON? LOG CANDLE? 7. **Words that can follow "LOG"**: - LOG CABIN 8. **Words that can follow body parts or precede them**: - EAR, NOSE, HEAD, WING 9. **Actually - "GOLDEN _____"**: - GOLDEN FLEECE (yes!) - GOLDEN EAR (audiophile term - yes!) - GOLDEN NOSE? GOLDEN HEAD? - Wait: GOLDEN GOOSE? GOLDEN GATE? - GOLDEN RETRIEVER (ROB? RETRIEVE?) - Hmm, GOLDENROD? ROB? 10. **Things with "ROBIN"**: - ROBIN can be: ROB + IN - ROBIN EGG (blue) - ROBIN REDBREAST - ROBIN WING? ROBIN HEAD? 11. **"_____ ROBIN"**: - ROBIN REDBREAST - AMERICAN ROBIN - Actually: could these be ROBIN-related? 12. **Wait - "ROBIN" breakdown**: - If ROB is in words, what about: CABIN, ENGINE, CRAYON? - CAB-IN, EN-GINE, CRAY-ON - Hmm, interior vehicle parts? 13. **Vehicle/Transportation interior**: - CABIN (airplane cabin, car cabin) - HOSE (car hose) - ENGINE (car engine) - STEERING WHEEL? SEAT? WING (airplane wing)? 14. **Parts of a car or airplane**: - CABIN, ENGINE, WING, HOSE? Or SEAL? - CABIN (yes) - ENGINE (yes) - WING (airplane yes) - HOSE (yes, car/plane) - SEAL (door seal, yes!) Let me try CABIN, ENGINE, WING, HOSE

Let me analyze these 16 words for potential categories in NYT Connections. First, let me look for obvious patterns: 1. **Car brands**: DODGE, FORD, ROCKET (Oldsmobile Rocket?), RAM (Dodge Ram - but also a truck/vehicle). Actually, RAM, DODGE, and FORD are definitely car brands. ROCKET could be a car model (Oldsmobile Rocket). LINCOLN is also a car brand! 2. **Birds**: DUCK, LARK, FLYER (could be a bird?), WING, STAR (starling?). DUCK and LARK are definitely birds. 3. **Food/Snacks**: CHIP, DIP, FRY, WING (chicken wing) 4. **Actions/Verbs**: DIVE, DUCK, SCRAPER, LARK (lark about?), FRY 5. **Sports teams**: SENATOR could be related to Ottawa Senators (hockey). FLYER could be Philadelphia Flyers. ROCKET could be Houston Rockets. STAR could be Dallas Stars. WING could be related to hockey positions but also Detroit Red Wings! Let me reconsider: - **NHL TEAMS**: FLYER (Philadelphia Flyers), SENATOR (Ottawa Senators), ROCKET (Montreal Rockets/Wanderers?), STAR (Dallas Stars), WING (Detroit Red Wings) Actually, looking more carefully: - Philadelphia FLYERS - Ottawa SENATORS - Dallas STARS - Detroit Red WINGS - Houston ROCKETS That's 5 potential NHL teams, so one might belong elsewhere. 6. **Car brands (revisited)**: RAM (Dodge Ram), FORD, DODGE, LINCOLN Wait - could some of these be "___ Lincoln"? LINCOLN is President Lincoln or the car. SENATOR, DODGE, FORD - these could all go with LINCOLN: - Lincoln was a SENATOR - Lincoln DODGE (to dodge = avoid) - FORD (Lincoln crossed the Ford) - CHIP (off the old block - but not Lincoln related) Let me try: **NHL Teams** - FLYER, SENATOR, STAR, WING, ROCKET - that's 5, too many. But if I remove ROCKET, I get 4 strong NHL teams: FLYER, SENATOR, STAR, WING Then **Car brands**: RAM, FORD, DODGE, LINCOLN Let me verify this makes sense: - FLYER (Philadelphia Flyers - NHL) - SENATOR (Ottawa Senators - NHL) - STAR (Dallas Stars - NHL) - WING (Detroit Red Wings - NHL) This leaves: DUCK, SCRAPER, ROCKET, CHIP, DIP, FRY, LARK, DIVE I'm fairly confident about the NHL teams group. Let me go with that.

My guess of NHL teams was incorrect. Let me reconsider the words more carefully. Available words: DUCK, RAM, SENATOR, SCRAPER, FLYER, LARK, FRY, WING, CHIP, DIP, DODGE, ROCKET, LINCOLN, STAR, DIVE, FORD Let me think about other connections: 1. **Types of DOGS**: ROCKET (could be a dog name?), LARK (a dog breed?), FLYER, actually no... 2. **Things you can do/Actions**: DUCK, DIVE, FRY, DODGE, LARK (lark about), SCRAPER... 3. **Food/Snacks**: CHIP, DIP, FRY, WING (chicken wing) 4. **Car brands**: RAM, FORD, DODGE, LINCOLN - all definitely car brands! 5. **Things that can go with "SKY"**: LARK (skylark), SCRAPER (skyscraper), ROCKET (sky rocket), DIVER (sky diver - DIVE?) Wait! **SKY ___**: - LARK (skylark - a bird) - SCRAPER (skyscraper) - ROCKET (skyrocket) - DIVE (skydive) This could be 4 words that go after "SKY"! Or **___ AWAY**: - LARK (lark away? not really) Let me try **SKY ___**: LARK, SCRAPER, ROCKET, DIVE This seems strong! These are all things that can follow "SKY": - Skylark (a bird, or to frolic) - Skyscraper - Skyrocket - Skydive I'm quite confident about this group.

Great! So LARK, SCRAPER, ROCKET, DIVE are all words that follow "SKY" (skylark, skyscraper, skyrocket, skydive). Remaining words: DUCK, RAM, SENATOR, FLYER, FRY, WING, CHIP, DIP, DODGE, LINCOLN, STAR, FORD Now let me identify the remaining categories from these 12 words: 1. **Car brands**: RAM, DODGE, FORD, LINCOLN - all definitely car brands/models! 2. **NHL Teams**: FLYER (Philadelphia), SENATOR (Ottawa), STAR (Dallas), WING (Detroit Red Wings) But wait, I tried this before and it was wrong. Let me reconsider... 3. **Food/Snacks**: CHIP, DIP, FRY, WING (chicken wing) These are all things you might eat at a casual gathering or party! 4. **Types of ___**: DUCK, FLYER, STAR, CHIP - things that can be "___MUNK" or other animals? - CHIP (chipmunk) - DUCK (no) - Actually: CHIP (chipmunk), STAR (starfish? starling?), FLYER (flying squirrel?), WING (no) Actually, let me think about animals with compound names: - CHIP (chipmunk) - STAR (starfish) - FLYER (flying squirrel - "flying" + squirrel) - Hmm, what about DUCK? Let me try: **___ MUNK** animals: - CHIP (chipmunk) - STAR... no, starfish not "starmunk" Wait, let me reconsider **Food items**: CHIP, DIP, FRY, WING All things you'd eat at a party or with appetizers. This seems very solid. That leaves: DUCK, RAM, SENATOR, FLYER, DODGE, LINCOLN, STAR, FORD **Car brands**: RAM, DODGE, FORD, LINCOLN - I'm very confident about this. That leaves: DUCK, SENATOR, FLYER, STAR Could these be NFL teams? - DUCK (Oregon Ducks - college, not NFL) - SENATOR (not an NFL team) - FLYER (not NFL) - STAR (Dallas Cowboys, not "Star") Hmm, let me try the food category first since I'm confident: CHIP, DIP, FRY, WING

Excellent! CHIP, DIP, FRY, WING are all words that can follow "BUFFALO" (buffalo wings, buffalo dip, buffalo fries, buffalo chip - or they're all appetizer/food items associated with Buffalo-style food). Remaining words: DUCK, RAM, SENATOR, FLYER, DODGE, LINCOLN, STAR, FORD Now I have 8 words left, so 2 more categories to find. 1. **Car brands**: RAM, DODGE, FORD, LINCOLN - RAM (Dodge Ram, or just Ram trucks) - DODGE (Dodge brand) - FORD (Ford brand) - LINCOLN (Lincoln brand - luxury Ford) This seems very solid! 2. That would leave: DUCK, SENATOR, FLYER, STAR Let me think about what connects these: - DUCK (could be a sports team or animal) - SENATOR (Ottawa Senators - NHL) - FLYER (Philadelphia Flyers - NHL) - STAR (Dallas Stars - NHL) Could DUCK be an NHL team? Actually, I don't think there's an NHL team called the Ducks... wait, there IS! The Anaheim Ducks! So this could be **NHL Teams**: - DUCK (Anaheim Ducks) - SENATOR (Ottawa Senators) - FLYER (Philadelphia Flyers) - STAR (Dallas Stars) I'm very confident about both remaining categories. Let me go with the car brands first since that seems most straightforward.

Perfect! RAM, DODGE, FORD, LINCOLN are all car brands/models. Remaining words: DUCK, SENATOR, FLYER, STAR These must be the final category. I'm confident these are all NHL teams: - DUCK (Anaheim Ducks) - SENATOR (Ottawa Senators) - FLYER (Philadelphia Flyers) - STAR (Dallas Stars) This should be the last group!

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 groups of 4 related words. First, let me look for obvious patterns: 1. "TRIX," "DONUT," "ROSE" - These could be cereals/brands: - Trix (cereal) - Froot Loops? No, that's not here - Wait, let me think about things that have "rabbit" associated with them: - Trix (Trix Rabbit) - Velveteen (Velveteen Rabbit) - Roger (Roger Rabbit) - White (White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland) - This seems promising! 2. Looking at remaining words: TRACK, PRINTER, DONUT, ROSE, WATCH, FOLLOW, TATTOO MACHINE, JUROR, PEN, SQUID, MONITOR, MONTH Words that could relate to "RECORD": - TRACK (music track, vinyl record) - MONITOR (to record/observe) - WATCH (to record/observe) - FOLLOW (to follow/record) - Actually, these could be things you can do: WATCH, FOLLOW, TRACK, MONITOR (all mean to observe/keep tabs on) 3. Things with "needle": - TATTOO MACHINE (has needle) - RECORD PLAYER (has needle) - MONITOR (?) - PRINTER (has needles - dot matrix printer) - PEN (fountain pen has nib, not needle) - Actually: PRINTER (dot matrix), TATTOO MACHINE, RECORD PLAYER(?), SEWING MACHINE(?) 4. Let me reconsider: TRACK, PRINTER, DONUT, WATCH, FOLLOW, TATTOO MACHINE, JUROR, PEN, SQUID, MONITOR, MONTH Things that can follow a word: - "MONTH" could be part of compound words - Wait, these could all precede or follow another word Let me try the rabbit connection first as it seems strongest: - TRIX (Trix Rabbit) - VELVETEEN (Velveteen Rabbit) - ROGER (Roger Rabbit) - WHITE (White Rabbit)

Great! Those were all "___ Rabbit" references: - Trix Rabbit - Velveteen Rabbit - Roger Rabbit - White Rabbit Now with 12 words remaining: TRACK, PRINTER, DONUT, ROSE, WATCH, FOLLOW, TATTOO MACHINE, JUROR, PEN, SQUID, MONITOR, MONTH Let me look for patterns: 1. Things with "needle": - TATTOO MACHINE (has needle) - PRINTER (dot matrix printer has needles) - COMPASS (not here) - Actually, what about things that "have needles" or "use needles"? 2. Words that can follow "GRAND": - JURY (GRAND JURY) - but JUROR is here instead - PIANO (not here) - Hmm, JUROR doesn't fit 3. Things you can "do" to keep track of something: - TRACK - WATCH - FOLLOW - MONITOR These all mean to observe or keep surveillance on something! 4. Remaining would be: PRINTER, DONUT, ROSE, TATTOO MACHINE, JUROR, PEN, SQUID, MONTH - SQUID, JUROR, PRINTER, PEN - could these be types of something? - Wait: INK - SQUID (has ink) - PRINTER (uses ink) - PEN (uses ink) - TATTOO MACHINE (uses ink) 5. That would leave: DONUT, ROSE, MONTH, JUROR - HOLE? DONUT HOLE, ROSE... hmm - Wait: Things with holes or things that can be "hung"? - Actually: DONUT, ROSE, JUROR, MONTH - what connects these? Let me try the observation/surveillance words first:

Excellent! Those were all synonyms for observing/keeping tabs on something: - TRACK - WATCH - FOLLOW - MONITOR Now with 8 words remaining: PRINTER, DONUT, ROSE, TATTOO MACHINE, JUROR, PEN, SQUID, MONTH Let me identify the patterns: 1. Things that use INK: - PRINTER (uses ink) - PEN (uses ink) - TATTOO MACHINE (uses ink) - SQUID (produces ink) This seems very strong! 2. That would leave: DONUT, ROSE, JUROR, MONTH What connects these four? - DONUT - has a hole - ROSE - a flower - JUROR - a person on a jury - MONTH - a period of time Hmm, let me think differently: - Could these all go with a common word? - HUNG: Hung donut? Hung rose? Hung juror? Hung month? - HUNG JURY - yes! - HUNG JUROR - yes! (a member of a hung jury) - Actually, wait... Let me reconsider: - Things that can be "DOZEN": - Dozen donuts - Dozen roses - Dozen jurors - Dozen months? No, that's a year - Actually: DONUT, ROSE, JUROR could all be things that come in 12s or sets - A jury has 12 jurors - A dozen donuts - A dozen roses - A year has 12 months! So these could all be "DOZEN ___" things! Let me go with the INK words first since I'm very confident:

Perfect! Those were all things that use/produce INK: - PRINTER (uses ink) - PEN (uses ink) - TATTOO MACHINE (uses ink) - SQUID (produces ink) Now I have the final 4 words remaining: DONUT, ROSE, JUROR, MONTH These must form the last group. Let me confirm the connection: - DOZEN DONUTS (a common gift/purchase) - DOZEN ROSES (classic romantic gift) - DOZEN JURORS (standard jury size in many trials) - DOZEN MONTHS (12 months = 1 year) They all represent things that typically come in groups of 12 or are commonly referred to as "a dozen." Since these are the only 4 remaining words, they must be the final group.

Let me analyze these 16 words for potential categories: FLIPPER, MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KIND, KETTLE, FRITTER, FIN, POPPER, WING, WARM, FIDDLE, THROW, TRIFLE, TENDER, SWEET, ARM Let me look for patterns: 1. **Kitchen/Cooking appliances**: MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KETTLE - but I need 4. POPPER could be a popcorn popper. 2. **Body parts/Appendages**: FLIPPER, FIN, WING, ARM - these are all limbs/appendages! FLIPPER (seal's limb), FIN (fish's limb), WING (bird's limb), ARM (human limb). This seems strong. 3. **Words that can follow a word**: - CORN: FRITTER (corn fritter), POPPER (corn popper), BREAD (corn bread) - BUTTER: TENDER (butter tender?), KIND (butter kind?) 4. **Words describing kindness/gentleness**: KIND, TENDER, SWEET, WARM - these could all be adjectives describing positive qualities or behaviors. WARM (warm person), KIND (kind person), TENDER (tender person), SWEET (sweet person). 5. **Cooking methods**: MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KETTLE? Need to think about this differently. 6. **Things that can precede "CORN"**: POPPER (popcorn popper), FRITTER (corn fritter), BREAD (cornbread), but that doesn't work. Let me reconsider: - MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KETTLE, POPPER could all be ways to heat water or cook things - Or MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KETTLE, and something else for cooking methods Actually, let me think about "____ CORN": - POPCORN (popper → popcorn) - CANDY CORN? CORN FRITTER? Wait - could these be things that go before a common word? - CANDY CORN (no popper) - CORN POPPER - CORN FRITTER - CORN... ? Let me try: FIDDLE, THROW, TRIFLE, WARM - FIDDLE WITH, THROW AWAY, TRIFLE WITH, WARM UP - words that can follow these? Actually: **FIDDLE, THROW, TRIFLE, WING** - Could these precede common words? FIDDLE-BACK? Let me reconsider "BUTTER": - BUTTER TENDER? (a butler? no...) - SWEET BUTTER - WARM BUTTER I'm most confident about: **FLIPPER, FIN, WING, ARM** as limbs/appendages. Let me go with this strong connection first.

Great! So FLIPPER, FIN, WING, ARM were all body parts/appendages. Remaining words: MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KIND, KETTLE, FRITTER, POPPER, WARM, FIDDLE, THROW, TRIFLE, TENDER, SWEET Let me identify new patterns: 1. **Cooking methods/appliances**: MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KETTLE - these are 3 ways to heat/cook. What's the 4th? Could POPPER work (popcorn popper)? 2. **Adjectives describing positive qualities**: KIND, WARM, TENDER, SWEET - these all describe pleasant/nice qualities. KIND (kind person), WARM (warm person), TENDER (tender person), SWEET (sweet person). 3. **Words that might go with "CORN"**: - POPCORN (popper) - CORN FRITTER (fritter) - CANDY CORN? - SWEET CORN (sweet) - But this doesn't seem to fit 4 cleanly. 4. **Words that can precede or follow a common word**: - FIDDLE, THROW, TRIFLE, ? - these could be verbs - Or could they go with something? FIDDLE-BACK, THROW-BACK, ? 5. **"AWAY" words**: THROW AWAY, TRIFLE AWAY, FIDDLE AWAY - ways to waste time or dismiss. What's the 4th? FRITTER AWAY! Yes! FRITTER AWAY (to waste), THROW AWAY, TRIFLE AWAY, FIDDLE AWAY - all mean to waste or dismiss. That leaves: MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KIND, KETTLE, POPPER, WARM, TENDER, SWEET 6. **Heating methods**: MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KETTLE, POPPER - all can heat/cook things! That would leave: KIND, WARM, TENDER, SWEET - positive adjectives about personality. I think **FIDDLE, THROW, TRIFLE, FRITTER** (all can precede "AWAY") is very strong.

Excellent! FIDDLE, THROW, TRIFLE, FRITTER were all words that can precede "AWAY" (fiddle away, throw away, trifle away, fritter away). Remaining words: MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KIND, KETTLE, POPPER, WARM, TENDER, SWEET Now I need to find 3 more groups of 4. Let me analyze: 1. **Cooking/heating appliances or methods**: MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KETTLE, POPPER - MICROWAVE (appliance) - STOVETOP (appliance/method) - KETTLE (appliance) - POPPER (popcorn popper - appliance) These all heat or cook things! 2. **Positive personality adjectives**: KIND, WARM, TENDER, SWEET - KIND (kind person) - WARM (warm personality) - TENDER (tender-hearted) - SWEET (sweet person) These all describe nice personal qualities. Both of these seem very strong. Let me verify: - If I take out the heating appliances, I have: KIND, WARM, TENDER, SWEET - If I take out the personality adjectives, I have: MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KETTLE, POPPER Both work perfectly! I'll go with the heating/cooking appliances next since that also feels strong.

Perfect! MICROWAVE, STOVETOP, KETTLE, POPPER were all cooking/heating appliances or methods. Remaining words: KIND, WARM, TENDER, SWEET This is the last group, and it should be: KIND, WARM, TENDER, SWEET - all positive adjectives that describe pleasant personality traits or qualities. - KIND: being kind to others - WARM: warm personality - TENDER: tender-hearted, affectionate - SWEET: sweet person, kind demeanor This is the final group of 4, so I'm very confident.

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 related groups. Looking at the words: COLOSSUS, SCRATCH, WHALE, DENT, MOUND, POINT, WHISPER, MAMMOTH, BASE, WHOPPER, PLATE, BOX, MAR, DING, SNICKER, STARE Let me consider potential categories: 1. **Large/Huge words**: COLOSSUS, WHALE, MAMMOTH, WHOPPER - these all mean something very large or impressive 2. **Damage/Mark words**: SCRATCH, DENT, MAR, DING - these all mean to damage or create a mark on something 3. **Looking/Observing words**: STARE, WHISPER, POINT, SNICKER - hmm, not all work. STARE and POINT work, but WHISPER and SNICKER don't fit this well. 4. **Baseball terms**: BASE, PLATE, BOX, MOUND - these are all baseball field/play areas: - BASE (bases in baseball) - PLATE (home plate) - MOUND (pitcher's mound) - BOX (batter's box) Let me reconsider: - COLOSSUS, WHALE, MAMMOTH, WHOPPER - all mean something huge/gigantic - SCRATCH, DENT, MAR, DING - all mean to damage/mark something - BASE, PLATE, MOUND, BOX - all baseball terms - STARE, POINT, WHISPER, SNICKER - remaining words. Could these be ways of communicating or reacting? STARE and POINT can be non-verbal communication, WHISPER and SNICKER... SNICKER is a candy bar! And STARE could be... wait, these might be HERSHEY'S candies: SNICKER (Snickers), WHOPPER (no, that's burger)... Actually, let me reconsider the candy angle: - SNICKER (Snickers bar) - WHISPER (could be a candy?) - MOUND (Mounds bar!) - And... ALMOND? No, that's not here. Wait - ALMOND JOY, MOUNDS... SNICKERS... Let me think about Hershey's products or candy bars. Let me start with what I'm most confident about: **Strongest guess: SCRATCH, DENT, MAR, DING** - all mean to damage or mark a surface This seems very solid - all four are synonyms for minor damage/marks.

Great! SCRATCH, DENT, MAR, DING was correct - they all mean to damage or mark a surface. Remaining words: COLOSSUS, WHALE, MOUND, POINT, WHISPER, MAMMOTH, BASE, WHOPPER, PLATE, BOX, SNICKER, STARE Now let me reconsider the remaining 12 words: 1. **Large/Huge words**: COLOSSUS, WHALE, MAMMOTH, WHOPPER - these all mean something very large or gigantic - COLOSSUS: something enormous - WHALE: a large animal, or slang for "huge" - MAMMOTH: very large prehistoric creature, or adjective meaning huge - WHOPPER: something huge (or a Burger King burger) 2. **Baseball terms**: BASE, PLATE, MOUND, BOX - BASE: bases in baseball - PLATE: home plate - MOUND: pitcher's mound - BOX: batter's box or catcher's box 3. **Remaining**: POINT, WHISPER, SNICKER, STARE - These could be: ways to express something subtly? - POINT: gesture - WHISPER: speak softly - SNICKER: laugh quietly/derisively - STARE: look intently Actually, these could all be Hershey's/chocolate candy bars: - SNICKERS (yes, definitely) - STARE? (STAR? No...) - Hmm, or could WHOPPER be a candy? No, that's Burger King. Wait - could these be things you can do at someone? - POINT (at someone) - WHISPER (to someone) - SNICKER (at someone) - STARE (at someone) Let me go with the most confident second group: **COLOSSUS, WHALE, MAMMOTH, WHOPPER** - all synonyms for something very large/gigantic.

Excellent! COLOSSUS, WHALE, MAMMOTH, WHOPPER was correct - they all mean something very large or gigantic. Remaining words: MOUND, POINT, WHISPER, BASE, PLATE, BOX, SNICKER, STARE That's 8 words left, so 2 groups of 4. 1. **Baseball terms**: BASE, PLATE, MOUND, BOX - BASE: bases in baseball - PLATE: home plate - MOUND: pitcher's mound - BOX: batter's box or catcher's box This is very strong - all four are specific locations/areas on a baseball field. 2. **Remaining**: POINT, WHISPER, SNICKER, STARE - POINT: could be a gesture or direction - WHISPER: speak quietly - SNICKER: laugh quietly/derisively - STARE: look intently Could these all be things you do "at" someone? - POINT at someone - WHISPER to someone (not quite "at") - SNICKER at someone - STARE at someone Or could they be candy bars? - SNICKERS (yes, definitely a candy bar) - STARBURST? (STARE + BURST = STARBURST? That's a stretch...) - WHOPPERS? (no, Whoppers are malted milk balls, but WHOPPER was already used) Actually, wait - could these be words that can follow a specific word? - POINT: "___ point" or "point ___" - WHISPER: "___ whisper" - SNICKER: "___ snicker" - STARE: "___ stare" Hmm, or precede it? - POINT blank - WHISPER campaign - SNICKER doodle (SNICKERDOODLE!) - STARE down Actually - could these be types of doodles/candies or cookies? - SNICKERDOODLE (cookie) - STARE? Not a cookie... Let me just go with the baseball one which I'm very confident about.

Perfect! BASE, PLATE, MOUND, BOX was correct - they're all baseball terms/locations on a baseball field. Remaining words: POINT, WHISPER, SNICKER, STARE That's the last 4 words, so they must form the final group! Let me think about what connects them: - POINT - WHISPER - SNICKER - STARE Possibilities: 1. Things you can do "at" someone (POINT at, WHISPER to, SNICKER at, STARE at) 2. Ways of communicating or expressing something 3. Could they be words that precede another word to form a compound? - POINT blank - WHISPER campaign - SNICKER doodle (SNICKERDOODLE) - STARE down 4. Could they relate to candy/chocolate? - SNICKERS (candy bar) - STARBURST (STARE + BURST?) - Hmm, doesn't work well Since these are the last 4 words, they MUST form a group. The most likely connection given they're left over is probably things you can do "at" someone, or possibly words that can precede/follow another specific word. I'll guess them since they're the only 4 remaining.

Let me analyze these 16 words for potential categories. Available words: BEAT, BLONDE, DIM, WHISK, POLAR, PALE, CREAM, WORD, SUN, FAINT, LIGHT, POOL, BLACK, RICE, BROWN, WHIP Let me look for patterns: 1. **Types of bears**: POLAR, BROWN, BLACK, PANDA (no PANDA available). Wait - BLONDE could relate to bears? Let me reconsider. Actually: POLAR (bear), BROWN (bear), PANDA (bear)... but I need to find 4. Could BEAT sound like a bear? No. What about relating to "bear"? Hmm. 2. **Light/darkness related**: PALE, FAINT, DIM, LIGHT - these could all describe brightness levels or appearance. BLONDE and PALE could both describe color. But FAINT and DIM specifically relate to dimness. 3. **Cooking/Kitchen verbs**: BEAT, WHISK, WHIP, CREAM - these are all cooking techniques! Beat (eggs), whisk (batter), whip (cream), cream (butter and sugar together). This seems very strong. 4. **Types of something**: - POLAR, BLACK, BROWN - types of bears! - RICE (type of pudding?), PALE ALE (type of beer?) - BLONDE, PALE - colors/appearances - POOL, WORD, SUN - ? 5. **___ ALE (beer types)**: PALE (pale ale), BROWN (brown ale), BLONDE (blonde ale), and... what's the fourth? Could BLACK be BLACK ALE? Let me check - yes, BLACK IPA and other black ales exist. But also RICE could be RICE BEER, not ALE specifically. 6. Let me reconsider: **ALE types**: PALE ALE, BROWN ALE, BLONDE ALE, LIGHT ALE (or just LIGHT BEER)? Could work, but LIGHT and ALE together? Wait - let me think about the bears connection again: POLAR BEAR, BROWN BEAR, BLACK BEAR, and... PANDA BEAR. But PANDA isn't here. Actually, reconsidering: Could these be things that go with a common word? - POLAR, BLACK, POOL - things that precede something? - POLAR + ? = POLAR BEAR, POLAR NIGHT, POLAR COORDINATES... - BLACK + ? = BLACK BEAR, BLACK HOLE, BLACK FRIDAY... - POOL + ? = POOL TABLE, POOL PARTY, POOL BOY... Let me try: **Beer/Ale types**: PALE, BROWN, BLONDE, LIGHT - Pale ale ✓ - Brown ale ✓ - Blonde ale ✓ - Light beer ✓ This seems strong! Let me go with this guess.

The beer types guess was incorrect, though I was fairly confident. Let me reconsider the available words. Available words: BEAT, BLONDE, DIM, WHISK, POLAR, PALE, CREAM, WORD, SUN, FAINT, LIGHT, POOL, BLACK, RICE, BROWN, WHIP So PALE, BROWN, BLONDE, LIGHT is not the correct grouping, even though those are beer types. Let me explore other categories: 1. **Cooking verbs**: BEAT, WHISK, WHIP, CREAM - these are definitely cooking techniques. This still seems very solid. 2. **Types of bears**: POLAR, BROWN, BLACK, and one more? PANDA isn't available. Could BLONDE be a type of bear? Actually, there might not be a "blonde bear" type. But wait - could this category be something else? 3. **Words that can follow a word**: - PALE, DIM, FAINT - words meaning "not bright" - RICE, CREAM - types of pudding? RICE PUDDING, BREAD PUDDING? But BREAD isn't here. 4. **___ PUDDING**: RICE pudding, BREAD pudding, TAPIOCA pudding, CHOCOLATE pudding. Do any of these relate? No direct match. 5. **Words associated with "NOT STRONG"**: PALE, FAINT, DIM, WEAK (not available) 6. **___ SUN**: Words that precede SUN? POLAR sun? MIDNIGHT sun? SETTING sun? 7. Let me reconsider: **COOKING VERBS** - BEAT, WHISK, WHIP, CREAM. I'm very confident about this. Let me start with my strongest guess.

Great! BEAT, WHISK, WHIP, CREAM were cooking verbs. Now I have 12 words left: BLONDE, DIM, POLAR, PALE, WORD, SUN, FAINT, LIGHT, POOL, BLACK, RICE, BROWN Let me look for patterns: 1. **Types of bears**: POLAR (bear), BROWN (bear), BLACK (bear), and... BLONDE? Is there a blonde bear? This seems incomplete. 2. **Words meaning "not bright/dim"**: PALE, DIM, FAINT, LIGHT (as in "light colored" or "not dark"). Actually LIGHT could mean "not heavy" too, so this might not be the cleanest category. 3. **Things that can be "___ PUDDING"**: RICE pudding is obvious. BREAD pudding, TAPIOCA pudding... but I don't see those. Wait - could there be PALE pudding? No. BROWN pudding? CHOCOLATE pudding? SUMMER pudding? Hmm. 4. **MIDNIGHT ___**: MIDNIGHT sun (yes!), MIDNIGHT pool? MIDNIGHT word? 5. **___ MIDNIGHT**: POOL midnight? WORD midnight? 6. Let me think about compound words or phrases: - POOL + ? = POOL BOY, POOL TABLE, POOL PARTY, SWIMMING POOL - WORD + ? = WORD GAME, WORDPLAY, PASSWORD - SUN + ? = SUNLIGHT, SUNSHINE, SUNBURN, SUNSET - LIGHT + ? = LIGHTHOUSE, LIGHTBULB, LIGHTNING 7. **Types of something with colors**: PALE, BLONDE, BROWN, BLACK - these are all colors or color-related adjectives 8. Wait - could these be things that precede a common word? - PALE ale ✓ (but we already used this) - BLACK pool? POOL BLACK? - RICE + something? 9. **DEAD ___**: DEAD pool (Deadpool!), DEAD light? DEADPAN? DEAD weight? - DEADPOOL ✓ - DEADPAN? (needs PAN) - DEADWEIGHT? (needs WEIGHT) 10. **MIDNIGHT ___**: MIDNIGHT SUN (yes!), MIDNIGHT OIL, MIDNIGHT MOVIE 11. Let me reconsider systematically: - POLAR: polar bear, polar opposite, polar night, polar coordinates - BLACK: black bear, blackout, black light, black hole, black Friday - BROWN: brown bear, brown rice, brownstone - BLONDE: blonde hair, blonde moment - PALE: pale ale (already used), pale skin - DIM: dim light, dim sum - FAINT: faint heart, faint outline - LIGHT: light beer (already tried), light bulb, light switch - RICE: rice bowl, rice pudding, brown rice - POOL: pool party, deadpool, pool boy, swimming pool, gene pool - WORD: wordplay, password, word game - SUN: midnight sun, sunshine, sunburn, sunset - WORD: crossword? 12. **DIM SUM!** That's a category! DIM sum... Could there be other types of SUM or things? Or things that go with DARK? DARK sum? No. 13. Actually, let me think about "DEAD ___": DEADPOOL, DEAD ___? And "MIDNIGHT ___": MIDNIGHT SUN 14. **___ LIGHT**: PALE light? DIM light? FAINT light? BLACK light? Yes! BLACK LIGHT is a thing (ultraviolet light). Could these all go before LIGHT? - PALE light (not common) - DIM light (not a set phrase) - FAINT light (not common) - BLACK light ✓ - But also: LIGHT light? No. 15. Wait - could the pattern be things that go with "MIDNIGHT"? - MIDNIGHT SUN ✓ - MIDNIGHT OIL (but no OIL) - MIDNIGHT POOL? No. - MIDNIGHT WORD? No. 16. Let me think about **COLOR/APPEARANCE adjectives**: PALE, BLONDE, DIM, FAINT, LIGHT, BLACK, BROWN - But that's 7 words, too many. 17. **Things that can be "LIGHT"**: - LIGHT brown - LIGHT pale - LIGHT colored - Actually: LIGHT BROWN, LIGHT BLONDE, LIGHT PALE... 18. Or things that describe LOW INTENSITY: - DIM ✓ - FAINT ✓ - PALE ✓ - LIGHT ✓ This feels strong! DIM, FAINT, PALE, LIGHT all describe something that is not intense/bright/strong. Actually wait - these could all be adjectives meaning "weak" or "not intense": - DIM (weak light) - FAINT (weak sound/image) - PALE (weak color) - LIGHT (weak/not heavy, but also can mean weak in color) Let me try this.

Excellent! DIM, FAINT, PALE, LIGHT were words meaning weak/not intense. Now I have 8 words left: BLONDE, POLAR, WORD, SUN, POOL, BLACK, RICE, BROWN Let me identify patterns: 1. **Types of bears**: POLAR (bear), BROWN (bear), BLACK (bear), BLONDE (bear?) - I don't think BLONDE bear is a standard bear type, but let me keep this in mind. 2. **Things that can be "MIDNIGHT ___"**: - MIDNIGHT SUN ✓ (a real phenomenon in polar regions) - MIDNIGHT OIL (but no OIL) - MIDNIGHT POOL? (No) - MIDNIGHT WORD? (No) 3. **"___ RICE"**: BROWN RICE ✓, WILD RICE, WHITE RICE, JASMINE RICE - Only BROWN RICE matches here 4. **Words that can follow a word**: - POLAR ___: POLAR bear, POLAR opposite - BLACK ___: BLACK bear, BLACK hole, BLACK pool (Deadpool) - BROWN ___: BROWN bear, BROWN rice - BLONDE ___: BLONDE hair, BLONDE moment - WORD ___: WORD play, WORD game - SUN ___: SUN shine, SUN set, SUN burn - POOL ___: POOL party, POOL boy 5. **DEAD ___**: DEADPOOL, DEADPAN, DEADWEIGHT, DEADBOLT - DEADPOOL matches! (POOL) - Could WORD be part of DEAD WORD? No. - Could SUN be part of a DEAD compound? No. 6. **"___ MIDNIGHT"**: - SUN midnight? (MIDNIGHT SUN - sun at midnight!) - Could also be: MIDNIGHT ___ 7. Let me think about **WORD ___** or **___ WORD**: - WORD play - WORD game - PASSWORD - CROSSWORD - KEYWORD - Could BROWN WORD? BLACK WORD? BLONDE WORD? No. 8. **___ POOL**: POOL boy, POOL party, GENE POOL, CAR POOL, DEAD POOL - DEADPOOL ✓ - GENE POOL (but no GENE) - CARPOOL (but no CAR) 9. Wait, let me reconsider compound words or phrases with these 8 words: - BLONDE: blonde hair, blonde moment, dumb blonde - POLAR: polar bear, polar opposite, polar regions, polar night - WORD: password, crossword, keyword, wordplay - SUN: midnight sun, sunshine, sunburn, sunset, rising sun - POOL: deadpool, gene pool, car pool, pool party, swimming pool - BLACK: black bear, black hole, black market, blackmail, black light - RICE: brown rice, fried rice, rice bowl, rice pudding, rice paper - BROWN: brown bear, brown rice, brownie, brownstone, brown sugar 10. **Could these be things that go with a specific word?** - Things that precede "BEAR": POLAR bear, BLACK bear, BROWN bear, BLONDE bear? - I don't think BLONDE bear is standard. 11. **Things that can follow "MIDNIGHT"**: - MIDNIGHT SUN ✓ - MIDNIGHT OIL (no OIL available) - MIDNIGHT MOVIE - MIDNIGHT POOL? MIDNIGHT WORD? Unlikely. 12. **Things that can precede a common word**: - BROWN rice, BROWN sugar, BROWN stone - BLACK market, BLACK mail, BLACK hole - POOL boy, POOL party, POOL table - WORD play, WORD game - SUN shine, SUN set, SUN burn - POLAR opposite, POLAR bear - BLONDE hair, BLONDE moment - RICE bowl, RICE paper 13. Hmm, what if the pattern is things that go before specific words? - ___ BEAR: POLAR, BLACK, BROWN, and one more? - Could BLONDE BEAR work in some context? Let me think... 14. Actually, I just realized: Could these be types of something? - POLAR (opposite) - BLACK (hole/market) - BROWN (sugar/stone) - BLONDE (hair type?) 15. Wait! Could the category be **TYPES OF BEARS** after all? - POLAR bear ✓ - BLACK bear ✓ - BROWN bear ✓ - BLONDE bear - is this a thing? Actually, there IS such a thing as a "Blonde Bear" or "Spirit Bear" which is a blonde/white variant. But that seems weak. 16. Let me think differently. What if one of these words is the key? - RICE: brown rice, fried rice, jasmine rice, wild rice - Could RICE be paired with BROWN? RICE and BROWN go together. 17. **Things that can be DEAD ___**: - DEAD pool (Deadpool) ✓ - DEAD ringer - DEAD weight - DEAD pan (but no PAN) - DEAD beat? DEADBEAT is a word! 18. Actually wait - could these be things that precede specific compound words? - Could "BLONDE" + something = a compound word? - BLONDE AMBITION (Madonna album) - Could "WORD" relate? - WORD PLAY - PASSWORD - CROSSWORD - KEYWORD 19. Let me try a different approach. What if these 8 remaining words split into 2 groups of 4? - Group 1: POLAR, BLACK, BROWN, BLONDE (types of bears?) - Group 2: WORD, SUN, POOL, RICE (?) 20. For group 2, what connects WORD, SUN, POOL, RICE? - COMPOUND words? PASSWORD, SUNSHINE, SWIMMING POOL, RICE BOWL? - Things that can be modified? - Let me think... POOL, RICE - could these go with BROWN? - BROWN rice ✓ - BROWN... pool? Not really. 21. Actually, I think the bears might be it: - POLAR bear - BLACK bear - BROWN bear - BLONDE bear (less common, but it exists - Spirit Bear) Let me try this guess, though BLONDE bear seems weakest.

Okay, so POLAR, BLACK, BROWN, BLONDE is not the correct grouping, even though they could all be types of bears. That leaves me with 8 words: BLONDE, POLAR, WORD, SUN, POOL, BLACK, RICE, BROWN I need to find the remaining two groups of 4. Let me reconsider more carefully: 1. **MIDNIGHT ___**: - MIDNIGHT SUN ✓ (the sun visible at midnight in polar regions) - What else could go with MIDNIGHT? - Could POOL be MIDNIGHT POOL? Unlikely. - Could WORD be related to midnight? Not obviously. 2. **"DEAD ___"** or **"___ DEAD"**: - DEADPOOL ✓ (POOL) - Could WORD relate? DEAD WORD? No, but KEYWORD exists... - Could RICE relate? DEAD RICE? No. - Could BLONDE relate? DEAD blonde? No. 3. **___ AMBITION** (like Madonna's BLONDE AMBITION): - BLONDE AMBITION ✓ - What else could have "AMBITION"? - BLACK AMBITION? Not a famous phrase. 4. **Things that can precede a color or descriptor**: - Wait, what if these words go AFTER something? - ___ BLONDE, ___ POOL, ___ WORD, ___ SUN, ___ RICE, ___ BROWN, ___ BLACK, ___ POLAR 5. **"BROWN ___"**: - BROWN rice ✓ - BROWN sugar - BROWN stone - BROWN bear (already tried) 6. **"BLACK ___"**: - BLACK pool? (DEADPOOL is different) - BLACK rice? (This exists! Black rice/forbidden rice) - BLACK sun? (Not common) - BLACK word? No. 7. Hmm, what if the pattern is **___ RICE**: - BROWN rice ✓ - BLACK rice ✓ (forbidden rice) - WILD rice - ARBORIO rice - Could POLAR rice? No. - Could WORD rice? No. - Could BLONDE rice? No. - Could POOL rice? No. - Could SUN rice? No. 8. Actually, that's interesting! BROWN RICE and BLACK RICE are both things. Let me think about what else... - BROWN rice - BLACK rice - What about the others? - WORD rice? POOL rice? BLONDE rice? SUN rice? POLAR rice? None of these work. 9. **___ WORD**: - KEYWORD ✓ - PASSWORD ✓ - CROSSWORD ✓ - BUZZWORD ✓ - Could any of our words precede WORD? - BROWN word? POOL word? SUN word? POLAR word? RICE word? BLACK word? BLONDE word? None seem obvious. 10. Wait, what if the category is things that go WITH a specific word? - Things that go with SUN: MIDNIGHT SUN, RISING SUN, SETTING SUN, MIDNIGHT ___ - Things that go with POOL: DEADPOOL, GENE POOL, SWIMMING POOL, CAR POOL - Things that go with WORD: PASSWORD, KEYWORD, CROSSWORD, BUZZWORD 11. Let me think about **DEAD ___** again: - DEADPOOL (POOL) ✓ - DEADPAN (but no PAN) - DEADBEAT (but no BEAT - wait, we had BEAT but it was used!) - Could WORD be DEAD WORD? Unlikely. - Could RICE be DEAD RICE? No. - Could BLONDE be DEAD BLONDE? No. - Could SUN be DEAD SUN? No. - Could BROWN be DEAD BROWN? No. - Could BLACK be DEAD BLACK? No. - Could POLAR be DEAD POLAR? No. 12. What if I look at **things that precede a specific word** across different categories? - ___ LIGHT: We already used this (DIM, FAINT, PALE, LIGHT) - ___ BEAR: POLAR, BLACK, BROWN, and ??? - ___ SUN: MIDNIGHT SUN, RISING SUN, SETTING SUN - could MIDNIGHT go with SUN? 13. **MIDNIGHT ___**: - MIDNIGHT SUN ✓ - What else from our list could go with MIDNIGHT? - MIDNIGHT POOL? No. - MIDNIGHT WORD? No. - MIDNIGHT RICE? No. - MIDNIGHT BROWN? No. - MIDNIGHT BLONDE? No. - MIDNIGHT BLACK? No. - MIDNIGHT POLAR? No. 14. I'm stuck. Let me try a different angle. What if these are things that can be compound with each other or a common word? 15. **"WORD ___"**: - WORDPLAY ✓ - WORDSMITH ✓ - Could WORD POOL exist? Like a WORD POOL for selection? Not really standard. - Could WORD SUN? WORD RICE? WORD BROWN? WORD BLACK? WORD BLONDE? WORD POLAR? None standard. 16. **Things that are types of something**: - BROWN: brown sugar, brown rice, brown bear - BLACK: black rice, black bear, black hole - Could the pattern be things that can precede multiple nouns? 17. Wait! What if the pattern is **things that can follow "GOLDEN"**? - GOLDEN rice? (Yes, this is a genetically modified rice!) - GOLDEN sun? (Metaphorically yes) - GOLDEN pool? No. - GOLDEN word? (In phrases like "golden words" but not standard) - GOLDEN brown? (Yes! GOLDEN BROWN is a color!) - GOLDEN black? No. - GOLDEN blonde? (Yes! A color variation!) - GOLDEN polar? No. 18. So GOLDEN compounds: RICE, SUN, BROWN, BLONDE - GOLDEN RICE ✓ (the genetically modified rice) - GOLDEN SUN ✓ (common phrase/metaphor) - GOLDEN BROWN ✓ (a color) - GOLDEN BLONDE ✓ (hair color) This seems promising! Let me check if this leaves a consistent group: - Remaining: POLAR, WORD, POOL, BLACK 19. **What do POLAR, WORD, POOL, BLACK have in common?** - POLAR opposite - WORD play - POOL party - BLACK market Hmm, could they all precede a specific word? - POLAR + ? = opposite, bear, coordinates, night - WORD + ? = play, game, smith, salad - POOL + ? = party, boy, table, side - BLACK + ? = market, hole, mail, list 20. Or could they follow something? - ___ POLAR = BIPOLAR! - ___ WORD = PASSWORD, KEYWORD, CROSSWORD, BUZZWORD! - ___ POOL = DEADPOOL, GENE POOL, CAR POOL, SWIMMING POOL! - ___ BLACK = JET BLACK? COAL BLACK? PITCH BLACK? 21. Hmm, what if the pattern is "BI___"? - BIPOLAR ✓ - But BIWORD? No. BIPOOL? No. BIBLACK? No. 22. What if it's "___PLAY"? - WORDPLAY ✓ - BLACKPLAY? No. POOLPLAY? No. POLARPLAY? No. 23. Let me reconsider. Could these be things that precede "OPPOSITE"? - POLAR opposite ✓ - What about the others? - WORD opposite? No. - POOL opposite? No. - BLACK opposite? No. 24. Actually, wait. Let me reconsider the GOLDEN theory more carefully: - GOLDEN RICE ✓ - GOLDEN SUN ✓ - GOLDEN BROWN ✓ - GOLDEN BLONDE ✓ This is actually quite strong! All of these are legitimate phrases/concepts. Let me try this guess.

Oh no! GOLDEN RICE, GOLDEN SUN, GOLDEN BROWN, GOLDEN BLONDE didn't work, even though those all seem like legitimate phrases. Remaining 8 words: BLONDE, POLAR, WORD, SUN, POOL, BLACK, RICE, BROWN I have only 1 guess left! I need to figure out the correct groupings. Let me think very carefully: 1. If RICE, SUN, BROWN, BLONDE is incorrect, then what connects the other 4? - Remaining would be: POLAR, WORD, POOL, BLACK 2. What could connect POLAR, WORD, POOL, BLACK? - POLAR opposite - Could WORD, POOL, BLACK relate to OPPOSITE too? - OPPOSITE WORD? No. - OPPOSITE POOL? No. - OPPOSITE BLACK? No. 3. Wait, what if they all precede or follow a specific word? - Things that can follow "___": - BIPOLAR ✓ - Could BIWORD? BIPOOL? BIBLACK? No, these don't work. 4. What about things that go with "SIDE"? - POOLSIDE ✓ - BEDSIDE? SEASIDE? - WORD side? BLACK side? POLAR side? None of these work. 5. What if the pattern involves compound words with a different word? - ___ PARTY: POOL party, BLACK party? WORD party? POLAR party? No. - ___ BOY: POOL boy, WORD boy? POLAR boy? BLACK boy? No. - ___ TABLE: POOL table, WORD table? POLAR table? BLACK table? No. 6. Hmm, let me reconsider what could actually connect these 8 words in pairs: - Group A possibilities: POLAR, WORD, POOL, BLACK - Group B possibilities: BLONDE, SUN, RICE, BROWN 7. What if one group has a different pattern than "GOLDEN ___"? 8. Let me think about **___ MARKET**: - BLACK market ✓ - WORD market? No. - POOL market? No. - POLAR market? No. 9. What about **___ HOLE**: - BLACK hole ✓ - WORD hole? No. - POOL hole? No. (POTHOLE is different) - POLAR hole? No. 10. Okay, what if I'm wrong about the GOLDEN group? Let me reconsider all 8: - What if the pattern is **___ HAIR**? - BLONDE hair ✓ - BROWN hair ✓ - BLACK hair ✓ - POLAR hair? No. - WORD hair? No. - POOL hair? No. - SUN hair? No. (Though "sun-bleached hair" exists) - RICE hair? No. 11. So if BLONDE, BROWN, BLACK are types of HAIR, what's the fourth? - Could it be a color that describes hair? - POLAR? No. - WORD? No. - POOL? No. - SUN? Could "SUN" be related to hair? SUN-BLEACHED? Not really a standalone hair type. - RICE? No. 12. Wait! What about **RICE, POOL, WORD, and one more**? - WILD rice, BROWN rice - SWIMMING pool, GENE pool - PASSWORD, KEYWORD - Could these have a pattern? 13. Hmm, what if the pattern is things that can be preceded by a specific word? - ___ RICE: BROWN rice, WILD rice, ARBORIO rice, BASMATI rice, JASMINE rice - ___ POOL: SWIMMING pool, GENE pool, CAR pool, DEAD pool - ___ WORD: PASSWORD, KEYWORD, CROSSWORD, BUZZWORD - ___ BROWN: ??? Could BROWN be preceded by something? GOLDEN brown, LIGHT brown? 14. Actually, what if the fourth word for the "hair colors" group is **POLAR**? - Could POLAR be a hair color? Like platinum blonde or something? This seems very weak. 15. Let me try another approach. What if one group is **things that precede BEAR**: - POLAR bear ✓ - BLACK bear ✓ - BROWN bear ✓ - BLONDE bear (Spirit Bear, Kermode Bear - this IS a thing!) 16. If POLAR, BLACK, BROWN, BLONDE are all types of bears, then the remaining group is: - WORD, SUN, POOL, RICE 17. What connects WORD, SUN, POOL, RICE? - CROSSWORD puzzle, CROSSWORD - MIDNIGHT sun - SWIMMING pool - RICE bowl? FRIED rice? 18. Could they all go with "CROSS"? - CROSSWORD ✓ - CROSS sun? No. - CROSS pool? No. - CROSS rice? No. 19. Could they all go with "SWIMMING"? - SWIMMING pool ✓ - SWIMMING word? No. - SWIMMING sun? No. - SWIMMING rice? No. 20. What if they go with "MIDNIGHT"? - MIDNIGHT sun ✓ - MIDNIGHT word? No. - MIDNIGHT pool? No. - MIDNIGHT rice? No. 21. Hmm, what if they all precede "BOWL"? - WORD bowl? No. - SUN bowl ✓ (the Sun Bowl is a college football game!) - POOL bowl? No. (BOWLING POOL exists but not POOL BOWL) - RICE bowl ✓ (a bowl for serving rice, or the Rice Bowl is a football game) 22. Actually, wait! Could they all be SPORTS BOWLS/GAMES? - SUN Bowl ✓ (college football) - ROSE Bowl (but no ROSE) - SUGAR Bowl (but no SUGAR) - Could RICE Bowl? ✓ (yes, it's a rivalry football game!) - Could POOL relate? No. - Could WORD relate? No. 23. Let me think differently. What if the grouping is: - Group 1: POLAR, BLACK, BROWN, BLONDE (types of bears) - Group 2: WORD, SUN, POOL, RICE 24. For group 2, let me think of what could connect them in a less obvious way: - Things that can be COMPOUND or SWIMMING? - Things that precede "SIDE"? - POOLSIDE ✓ - SEASIDE? WATERSIDE? HILLSIDE? - Could WORD side? No. SUN side? RICE side? No. 25. Could they all precede "BLIND"? - POOL blind? No. WORD blind? No. SUN blind ✓ (venetian blind)? Actually, it's usually "sunblind" or "slatted blind" - Actually, SUNBLIND is a thing! It's a blind to block out sun. - Could WORD blind? RICE blind? POOL blind? Hmm. 26. What if they're things that follow "PASSWORD", "CROSSWORD", etc., and there's a pattern I'm missing? 27. Actually, let me reconsider: Could the grouping be: - POLAR, WORD, POOL, BLACK - BLONDE, SUN, RICE, BROWN 28. What if BLONDE, SUN, RICE, BROWN go with "GOLDEN"? - GOLDEN BLONDE ✓ - GOLDEN SUN ✓ - GOLDEN RICE ✓ - GOLDEN BROWN ✓ But I already tried this and it was wrong! 29. Unless... what if it's not GOLDEN but another word? - Things that go with "HONEY"? - HONEY blonde? Not really standard. - HONEY brown? Not standard. - HONEY rice? No. - HONEY sun? No. 30. Or things that go with "CARAMEL"? - CARAMEL brown ✓ - CARAMEL blonde? Not really. - CARAMEL rice? No. - CARAMEL sun? No. 31. Let me try yet another approach. What if the group is: - Things that can follow "BLIND"? - BLIND pool ✓ (BLIND POOL is a financial term - a pool of money managed without knowledge of how it will be invested) - BLIND word? No. - BLIND rice? No. - BLIND sun? No. - BLIND POOL - yes, this is definitely a thing! 32. Could WORD go with BLIND? - Actually - BLIND WORD! In crossword puzzles, a "blind" can refer to something, but also... wait, could it be BLINDWORD? Or is there a word game called BLIND WORD? 33. Hmm, what about **GENE**? - GENE pool ✓ - GENE rice? GOLDEN RICE was created but it's not GENE RICE... - GENE word? GENE sun? GENE brown? GENE blonde? No. 34. I'm really stuck. Let me just make my best guess based on the bear theory: - POLAR, BLACK, BROWN, BLONDE (types of bears) But that was already marked incorrect! 35. So the remaining 4 must be found among: - BLONDE, POLAR, WORD, SUN, POOL, BLACK, RICE, BROWN If the bears don't work, then maybe: - One of them (BLONDE) is not a bear type in this game's definition 36. Could the grouping actually be: - POLAR, WORD, POOL, BLACK - BLONDE, SUN, RICE, BROWN Let me think about what POLAR, WORD, POOL, BLACK have in common... 37. **Things that can be preceded by "BI"**: - BIPOLAR ✓ - Could there be BIWORD, BIPOOL, BIBLACK? No. 38. **Things that can be preceded by "CROSS"**: - CROSSWORD ✓ - CROSSPOLAR? CROSSPOOL? CROSSBLACK? No. 39. Actually, you know what? Let me think about **PREFIX** or **common preceding words**: - POLAR + OPPOSITE = POLAR OPPOSITE - WORD + PLAY = WORDPLAY - POOL + PARTY = POOL PARTY - BLACK + MARKET = BLACK MARKET What do OPPOSITE, PLAY, PARTY, MARKET have in common? - They're all nouns? - They all follow the preceding word? - Hmm, not obvious. 40. What if they all can precede "SIDE"? - POOLSIDE ✓ - BLACKSIDE? No. - WORDSIDE? No. - POLARSIDE? No. 41. Okay, I'm going to make an educated guess. Since the bear theory was wrong, and GOLDEN + (RICE, SUN, BROWN, BLONDE) was wrong, let me try: - POLAR, WORD, POOL, BLACK These four seem like they could be things that precede other words to make compound words. And then: - BLONDE, SUN, RICE, BROWN would be the other group. Actually, wait! What if the pattern is **things that precede "OPPOSITE"**? - POLAR opposite ✓ - But the others don't fit. Or **things that precede a word to make a phrase**? 42. Final attempt: What if some of these can precede or follow "SIDE"? - POOLSIDE ✓ - BLIND SIDE? But no BLIND word. - Wait, could the other words go with different words entirely? 43. I think I should guess the opposite of what I tried before: - If I already guessed (BLONDE, SUN, RICE, BROWN) and it was wrong - Then maybe: POLAR, WORD, POOL, BLACK is the answer But I'm not confident. Let me try one more thing: 44. **Things that go with "DARK"**: - DARK pool? No. - DARK word? No. - DARK sun? No. (Though "dark sun" is a D&D setting) - DARK polar? No. - DARK brown ✓ - DARK rice? (Black rice is dark) - Hmm, not quite. 45. Actually, you know what? Let me reconsider the remaining 8 completely fresh: The words are: BLONDE, POLAR, WORD, SUN, POOL, BLACK, RICE, BROWN Two categories I'm confident about: - COOKING VERBS: BEAT, WHISK, WHIP, CREAM (used ✓) - WEAK/NOT INTENSE: DIM, FAINT, PALE, LIGHT (used ✓) Now for the last two: - What if one is **TYPES OF BEARS**: POLAR, BLACK, BROWN, and ??? - The fourth bear type could be: SLOTH bear, SUN bear, PANDA bear, GRIZZY bear... - SUN BEAR exists! It's also called "honey bear"! 46. So: POLAR bear, BLACK bear, BROWN bear, SUN bear! - These are all actual bear species! - Remaining: BLONDE, WORD, POOL, RICE 47. What connects BLONDE, WORD, POOL, RICE? - BLONDE hair - CROSSWORD, KEYWORD, PASSWORD (WORD compounds) - SWIMMING POOL, GENE POOL (POOL compounds) - BROWN RICE, FRIED RICE (RICE compounds) Hmm, these don't form a cohesive group. 48. Unless... could these be things that precede "MOMENT"? - BLONDE moment ✓ - WORD moment? No. - POOL moment? No. - RICE moment? No. 49. Or things that relate to movies/songs? - BLONDE AMBITION (Madonna) - No clear connection for the others. 50. Actually, I realize I might be overthinking. Let me try: - SUN BEAR (yes, this is a real bear!) - POLAR bear - BLACK bear - BROWN bear This leaves: BLONDE, WORD, POOL, RICE But what connects these four? This seems weak for a category... 51. Unless the last category is "things that can be ___"? - BLONDE can be a hair color or a person - WORD can be... a word - POOL can be... a pool - RICE can be... rice That doesn't work. 52. Wait! What if they all can precede a color or descriptor? - BLONDE + ___: BLONDE AMBITION? - WORD + ___: WORDPLAY, CROSSWORD - POOL + ___: POOLSIDE, POOL BOY - RICE + ___: RICE BOWL, RICE PAPER 53. Or what if the pattern is "things that are types of something"? - BLONDE: hair color, or types of hair - WORD: types of word (CROSSWORD, PASSWORD, KEYWORD)? - POOL: types of pool (SWIMMING, GENE, CAR)? - RICE: types of rice (BROWN, WHITE, JASMINE)? This is too broad. 54. I think my best bet is: - POLAR, BLACK, BROWN, SUN (types of bears) - BLONDE, WORD, POOL, RICE (remaining - hopefully a category I'm missing) Let me go with the SUN BEAR theory!

Excellent! POLAR, BLACK, BROWN, SUN are all types of bears: - POLAR bear - BLACK bear - BROWN bear - SUN bear Now I have the final 4 words remaining: BLONDE, WORD, POOL, RICE These must form the last category. Let me think about what connects them: 1. **Things that can precede a common word**: - BLONDE ___ - WORD ___ - POOL ___ - RICE ___ 2. **Could they all precede "MOMENT"**? - BLONDE moment ✓ (as in "dumb blonde moment") - WORD moment? No. - POOL moment? No. - RICE moment? No. 3. **Could they all precede "HAIR"**? - BLONDE hair ✓ - WORD hair? No. - POOL hair? No. - RICE hair? No. 4. **Could they follow a common word**? - ___ BLONDE - ___ WORD - ___ POOL - ___ RICE 5. **Could they be types of games or puzzles**? - CROSSWORD - WORD games - POOL games (POOL/BILLIARDS) - RICE... games? No. 6. **Could they all follow "WILD"**? - WILD blonde? Not standard. - WILD word? No. - WILD pool? No. - WILD rice ✓ 7. **Could they all be things in movies/pop culture**? - BLONDE AMBITION (Madonna) - WORD (various) - POOL (various) - RICE (various) 8. **Could they all precede "SALAD"**? - BLONDE salad? No. - WORD salad ✓ (word salad is a linguistic term for nonsensical combinations of words) - POOL salad? No. - RICE salad ✓ (a rice salad is a dish) 9. **Could they all precede "PAPER"**? - BLONDE paper? No. - WORD paper? No. - POOL paper? No. - RICE paper ✓ 10. Hmm, these all seem like they should go together but I can't find the obvious connection. 11. **Wait! Could they all be things that can follow "SWIMMING"**? - SWIMMING pool ✓ - SWIMMING blonde? No. - SWIMMING word? No. - SWIMMING rice? No. 12. **Or things that follow "FRIED"**? - FRIED blonde? No. - FRIED word? No. - FRIED pool? No. - FRIED rice ✓ 13. **Or things that follow "BROWN"**? - BROWN blonde? No. - BROWN word? No. - BROWN pool? No. - BROWN rice ✓ Wait, we already used BROWN as part of the bears group! 14. **Could they all be things that follow "DUMB"**? - DUMB blonde ✓ (the stereotype "dumb blonde") - DUMB word? No. - DUMB pool? No. - DUMB rice? No. 15. **Could they all precede "AMBITION"**? - BLONDE AMBITION ✓ (Madonna album/tour) - WORD ambition? No. - POOL ambition? No. - RICE ambition? No. 16. **Could they all be things that can be "DYED" or relate to appearance/color**? - BLONDE (hair color) ✓ - WORD (not a color) - POOL (not a color) - RICE (not a color) 17. **Actually, wait. Could they all be things that can precede or follow a specific word related to "SIDE" or "BALL"**? - POOLSIDE - BLONDE SIDE? No. - WORD SIDE? No. - RICE SIDE? No. 18. **Hmm, could they all be things that can be compound words with a specific prefix or suffix**? - BLONDE: adjective/noun - WORD: noun - POOL: noun - RICE: noun 19. **Wait! Could they all be things that follow "CROSSING" or "CROSS"**? - CROSSWORD ✓ - CROSSING blonde? No. - CROSSING pool? No. - CROSSING rice? No. 20. **Could they all relate to FASHION, SLANG, or CULTURE**? - BLONDE: fashion/appearance - WORD: slang/language - POOL: culture/recreation - RICE: food/culture? 21. **Actually, I just realized - could these all be things that can follow "VALLEY"**? - VALLEY girl (but not VALLEY BLONDE) - Hmm, no. 22. **Could they all precede "GAME"**? - BLONDE game? No. - WORD game ✓ - POOL game ✓ (pool/billiards is a game) - RICE game? No. 23. **Could they all precede "PARTY"**? - BLONDE party? No. - WORD party? No. - POOL party ✓ - RICE party? No. 24. **Could they all relate to MOVIES or MEDIA**? - BLONDE movies/actresses - WORD play (in media) - POOL (in movies) - RICE (in movies) 25. **Actually, could these all be things preceded by "CROSSING" or be types of "CROSSINGS"**? - No, that doesn't work. 26. **Could they all be things that follow "SWIMMING" or precede "PARTY"**? - SWIMMING pool ✓ - But not the others. 27. I think these are just the 4 remaining words and must be the last category, even if I can't identify the specific connection clearly. Since they're the only 4 left, they must go together! The connection might be: - Things that can precede "MOMENT": BLONDE moment ✓, and maybe the others in less obvious ways? - Things related to a Madonna connection: BLONDE AMBITION? - Things that can be compounds with other words? - Cultural/pop culture references? Regardless, these are the final 4, so they must be correct!

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 related groups. Looking at the words: FISH, PEEL, RAISE, CRANK, BALONEY, HUNT, NAP, POWERS, WALK, RUBBISH, BULL, JACK, HIKE, BUNK, ARCHER, TAIL Let me consider different categories: 1. **Words that can follow "CALL":** - CALL FISH? (not really) - Let me think differently... 2. **Words that can precede or follow a common word:** - BULL, FISH, JACK - these could be types of animals - But also: BULL could be part of BULL___ or ___BULL 3. **Slang for nonsense/lies:** - BULL (bull market, bullshit) - BALONEY (baloney = nonsense) - RUBBISH (rubbish = nonsense) - BUNK (bunk = nonsense/fake) - These all mean "nonsense" or "lies"! 4. **Words related to STEPHEN or character names:** - ARCHER (Sterling Archer from Archer? Or Jeffrey Archer?) - HUNT (could be part of a name) - Wait... POWERS, ARCHER, HUNT... could these be superhero/spy related? 5. **Words that can mean "to skip or avoid":** - BUNK (bunk off = skip) - Actually, looking again at potential word patterns... Let me reconsider: - BULL, BALONEY, RUBBISH, BUNK - all slang for "nonsense/lies" - this seems very strong 6. **Remaining words after removing the above: FISH, PEEL, RAISE, CRANK, HUNT, NAP, POWERS, WALK, JACK, ARCHER, TAIL, HIKE** 7. **Words that can follow "POWER":** - POWERS itself is here - But maybe: WALK (power walk), RAISE (power raise?), JACK (power jack?) 8. **Words that can precede "WALK":** - POWER WALK (yes!) - CAKE WALK? (not in list) - TAIL WALK? (not really) - BUNK WALK? (no) Wait, let me think about STEPHEN ARCHER, STEPHEN HUNT, STEPHEN POWERS... or maybe these are British personalities? - ARCHER (Jeffrey Archer - British politician/author) - HUNT (Jeremy Hunt - British politician) - POWERS (not immediately obvious) Actually, thinking about archery/hunting themed words: - ARCHER - HUNT - BOW (not here) Let me reconsider TAIL, JACK, PEEL, HIKE: - JOHN PEEL (British Radio DJ) - JACK (Jack Hanna? explorer) - Hmm, British culture figures? Actually: PEEL, HUNT, ARCHER could be British Prime Ministers! - Robert Peel (PM) - Jeremy Hunt (ran for PM, was Foreign Secretary) - Wait, Archer wasn't a PM... Let me verify: PEEL was definitely a PM. And Conservative politicians... - PEEL (Robert Peel - PM) - Wait, could HUNT, ARCHER, CRANK be related? My strongest guess remains: BULL, BALONEY, RUBBISH, BUNK = all slang for nonsense

Great! I got the first category: BULL, BALONEY, RUBBISH, BUNK (all slang for nonsense/lies) Remaining words: FISH, PEEL, RAISE, CRANK, HUNT, NAP, POWERS, WALK, JACK, ARCHER, TAIL, HIKE Let me analyze these 12 words: 1. **British Prime Ministers:** - PEEL (Robert Peel) - HUNT (Jeremy Hunt - ran for PM, was prominent politician) - Wait, Hunt wasn't PM. Let me reconsider... - Actually, could ARCHER be related? (Jeffrey Archer) - Hmm, not all PMs 2. **Words that can follow "POWER":** - WALK (power walk) - NAP (power nap) - RAISE (power raise?) - Hmm, not quite 3. **Words that can precede or follow specific words:** - TAIL: TAIL FIN, TAIL FISH, TAIL WALK - JACK: JACK FISH (yes!), JACK RABBIT - WALK: WALK FISH? (not really) - HIKE: HIKE FISH? (no) 4. **Words associated with "TAIL":** - TAIL HIKE? (no) - TAIL WALK? (no) - Wait... TAIL, FISH, WALK, HIKE could all relate to outdoor activities? 5. **"POWER" + word:** - POWER WALK (yes!) - POWER NAP (yes!) - POWER RAISE (no, but RAISE could work as in "raise power"?) - POWER PLAY? (not here) 6. **Animals or can be animals:** - FISH (animal) - JACK (jackrabbit, donkey) - CRANK (not an animal) - Hmm 7. **Synonyms or related to effort/energy:** - CRANK (crank up = increase effort) - RAISE (raise up) - HUNT (pursuit) - HIKE (physical activity) Wait! Could these be words that follow "POWER"? - POWER WALK ✓ - POWER NAP ✓ - POWER PLAY (PLAY not here, but RAISE could work as power raise?) - Hmm, what about: POWER, WALK, NAP... and what else? Actually: RAISE, WALK, NAP - things you can do with POWER: - POWER WALK - POWER NAP - POWER RAISE? or could CRANK work? POWER CRANK? (not really) Let me think of British politicians/figures again: - PEEL (Robert Peel) - ARCHER (Jeffrey Archer) - HUNT (Jeremy Hunt) - FISH (Michael Fish? British weatherman!) This seems strong!

Interesting! PEEL, ARCHER, HUNT, FISH was incorrect. So they're not all British figures or celebrities. Remaining words: FISH, PEEL, RAISE, CRANK, HUNT, NAP, POWERS, WALK, JACK, ARCHER, TAIL, HIKE Let me reconsider: 1. **Words that can follow "POWER":** - POWER WALK ✓ - POWER NAP ✓ - POWER PLAY (not here) - POWER RAISE? (maybe) - POWER TRIP (not here) - What about CRANK? POWER CRANK? (no) - POWER HIKE? (maybe power hiking is a thing?) Actually, thinking more carefully: - WALK (power walk - definitely a thing) - NAP (power nap - definitely a thing) - What else? RAISE, CRANK, HIKE, PLAY? - Could RAISE work? (raise power, but not "power raise") - Could PLAY work? (power play - yes, but PLAY isn't in remaining list) 2. **Words that can precede a common word:** - JACK + ?: JACK FISH, JACK RABBIT, JACK POT, JACK HAMMER - TAIL + ?: TAIL FISH, TAIL GATE, TAIL LIGHT - Hmm, could there be a pattern with compound words or phrases? 3. **Words related to "JACK":** - JACK (the word itself) - CRANK (crank jack? hydraulic jack types?) - Nope 4. **Reconsidering: could these be things you can do that start with a verb?** - WALK (you walk) - HIKE (you hike) - HUNT (you hunt) - FISH (you fish) - All outdoor activities! 5. **Or animals:** - FISH (animal) - JACK (jackrabbit, or jack as in male animal) - HARE? (not here) - But CRANK isn't an animal 6. **Back to word association - what about "TAIL"?** - TAIL FISH? (not really) - TAIL WALK? (no) - TAIL RAISE? (no) Let me try: WALK, HIKE, HUNT, FISH - all outdoor activities you can do

Hmm, WALK, HIKE, HUNT, FISH was incorrect too. Those seemed like obvious outdoor activities. Remaining words: FISH, PEEL, RAISE, CRANK, HUNT, NAP, POWERS, WALK, JACK, ARCHER, TAIL, HIKE Let me think differently: 1. **Words that can follow "POWER":** - POWER WALK ✓ - POWER NAP ✓ - POWER PLAY (PLAY not here) - POWER RAISE? (not common) - POWER TRIP (TRIP not here) - POWER CORD (CORD not here) - POWER JACK? (power jack is a thing! audio connector or jack of some kind) - POWER HIKE? (not really a common phrase) - So: WALK, NAP, JACK? Need a 4th... - POWER TAIL? (no) - POWER FISH? (no) - POWER PEEL? (no) - POWER RAISE? (maybe?) - POWER CRANK? (no, but crank is related to power) - POWER ARCHER? (no) - POWER HUNT? (no) 2. **Words that can precede a common word:** - TAIL: TAILGATE, TAILLIGHT, TAILWIND, TAILSPIN - JACK: JACKPOT, JACKRABBIT, JACKASS, JACKKNIFE, JACK HAMMER - PEEL: PEELINGS? Not really precedes - ARCHER: ARCHER FISH? (wait, that's a real fish!) - CRANK: CRANKCASE, CRANKSHAFT 3. **Types of FISH:** - ARCHER (archer fish - real!) - JACK (jack fish - real!) - Could there be more? - CRANK? (not a fish) - PEEL? (not a fish) - TAIL? (not a specific fish type) - Hmm, only 2 4. **Words that can follow a noun:** - PEEL: ORANGE PEEL, BANANA PEEL, LEMON PEEL - RAISE: SALARY RAISE, RAISE HELL - CRANK: HAND CRANK, CRANK CASE - Hmm 5. **Words related to "CRANK":** - CRANK (person who is eccentric) - CRANK (mechanical device) - CRANK (increase effort/volume) - JACK (crank jack? lift mechanism?) 6. **Could these precede "CASE"?** - CRANK CASE (crankcase!) - TAIL CASE? (no) - TACKLE CASE? (not here) Wait! What about things you can do with your body or effort? - RAISE (raise your hand, raise your voice) - PEEL (peel something - not a body action) - Hmm 7. **Words that can follow "UP"?** - RAISE (up raise? no, but raise up) - CRANK (crank up!) - Actually: CRANK UP is definitely a phrase - What about others with UP? - JACK UP (yes!) - HIKE UP (yes!) - WALK UP? (walk-up apartment) - So: CRANK, JACK, HIKE... and what? WALK? PEEL? RAISE? Let me try: CRANK, JACK, HIKE, RAISE - all can follow "UP"? - CRANK UP ✓ - JACK UP ✓ - HIKE UP ✓ - RAISE UP or UP RAISE? (maybe not as clean, but raise can mean "up") Actually wait: - CRANK UP ✓ - JACK UP ✓ - PEEL UP? (peel back, peel up?) - Hmm, maybe PEEL doesn't work What about: - CRANK UP - JACK UP - HIKE UP - WALK UP (walk-up)

Oh no! Only 1 guess left. Let me really think carefully about the remaining 12 words. Remaining words: FISH, PEEL, RAISE, CRANK, HUNT, NAP, POWERS, WALK, JACK, ARCHER, TAIL, HIKE Wrong guesses so far: 1. PEEL, ARCHER, HUNT, FISH (British figures - wrong) 2. WALK, HIKE, HUNT, FISH (outdoor activities - wrong) 3. CRANK, JACK, HIKE, WALK (words that follow "UP" - wrong) Let me reconsider what I know: - BULL, BALONEY, RUBBISH, BUNK = slang for nonsense ✓ Now with 12 words left, there should be 3 more groups of 4. Let me think about patterns: 1. **Words that can follow "POWER":** - POWER WALK - POWER NAP - POWER PLAY (not here, but these two are solid) - What could the other 2 be? - POWER RAISE? (not really) - POWER TAIL? (no) - POWER JACK? (yes, actually - power jack is a connector/port) - POWER PEEL? (no) - POWER TRIP (TRIP not here) - POWER CORD (CORD not here) - POWER HIKE? (not common) 2. **Words that can precede a common word:** - TAIL: TAILGATE, TAILSPIN, TAILWIND - JACK: JACKPOT, JACKKNIFE, JACKASS - ARCHER: ARCHER FISH (a real fish type!) - CRANK: CRANKCASE, CRANKSHAFT - These might be compound word prefixes 3. **Words related to celebrities/people:** - POWERS (Stefania Powers? Austin Powers?) - HUNT (Jeremy Hunt, Helen Hunt?) - ARCHER (Jeffrey Archer, Stephen Archer?) - Wait... AUSTIN POWERS! That's a famous character/movie - Could there be other famous people/characters? - JOHNNY CRANK? (no) - HUNT (as in Helen Hunt, actress) - Hmm 4. **Words that can follow a specific word like "TAIL":** - TAIL HUNT? (no) - TAIL WALK? (no) - TAIL HIKE? (no) 5. **Wait - could these be things you can do after "TAKE"?** - TAKE A WALK ✓ - TAKE A HIKE ✓ - TAKE A NAP ✓ - TAKE A RAISE? (not really, you GET a raise) - TAKE A FISH? (no) - TAKE CRANK? (no) - Hmm, only 3 6. **Things you can "TAKE":** - TAKE A WALK - TAKE A HIKE - TAKE A NAP - What's the 4th? - TAKE A FISH? (no) - TAKE RAISE? (no) - TAKE A PEEL? (no) - Hmm, maybe this isn't it 7. **Wait - let me reconsider "POWERS":** - POWERS (plural of power) - POWERS (Austin Powers) - POWERS (supernatural powers) - Could POWERS go with something? 8. **Words that can follow "SUPER"?** - SUPER POWERS (yes!) - SUPER RAISE? (no) - SUPER CRANK? (no) - Hmm 9. **Let me try a different angle - words with double meanings:** - RAISE (poker term, or increase) - CRANK (person or device) - JACK (name, animal, device, playing card) - FISH (animal, verb, or something else?) 10. **Austin Powers related?** - POWERS (Austin Powers) - But what would the other 3 be? 11. **Wait! Could these be things you can do to something?** - RAISE (raise something) - PEEL (peel something) - HUNT (hunt something) - Verbs that are transitive? 12. **Let me reconsider - words that can precede "HAMMER":** - JACK HAMMER (yes!) - CRANK? (no) - Hmm, just one 13. **Actually, thinking about compound words or two-word phrases with Stephen or a name:** - STEPHEN ARCHER - STEPHEN HUNT - STEPHEN POWERS - STEPHEN ___? - Actually, these could be Stephen Colbert, Stephen King... - Or characters/people with first name? 14. **Wait - STEPHEN ARCHER, STEPHEN HUNT, STEPHEN POWERS are they all the same thing?** - Or different names? - HENRY ___? JACK ___? 15. **Could they be things that complete "JERKING" or "JERK"?** - Nope 16. **Let me focus on TAIL specifically:** - TAIL WALK? (no, but tail walk like a dog?) - TAIL RAISE? (raise tail?) - TAIL PEEL? (no) - TAIL HUNT? (hunt tail? no) - TAIL HIKE? (no) - TAIL FISH? (no) - TAIL CRANK? (no) - TAIL POWERS? (no) - Hmm 17. **Actually - could TAIL precede these words?** - TAILGATE (GATE not here) - Could TAIL be part of compound verbs? 18. **New thought: words that can follow "BETWEEN"?** - BETWEEN TWO FISH? (no) - Hmm 19. **Words associated with Stephen FRY or STEPHEN something?** - Hmm 20. **Wait - could these be things you can do with FISH?** - FISH WALK? (no) - FISH HUNT (yes, you hunt fish!) - FISH TAIL (yes, fish tail!) - FISH PEEL? (no) - FISH CRANK? (no) - Hmm, only 2 Actually wait - FISH can be a verb! - FISH (to fish) - HUNT (to hunt) - WALK (to walk) - HIKE (to hike) - PEEL (to peel) - RAISE (to raise) - CRANK (to crank) - TAIL (to tail/follow) - NAP (not really a verb as nap, but to nap yes) - JACK (to jack up) - ARCHER (not a verb) - POWERS (not really a verb as powers) 21. **Hmm, what if ARCHER, POWERS are names/people and not verbs?** - ARCHER (Jeffrey Archer, author/politician) - POWERS (Austin Powers, character) - HUNT (Helen Hunt, actress) - PEEL (John Peel, DJ - wait, or Emma Peel from The Avengers!) - These could be TV/movie characters or celebrities! Actually: - ARCHER (Sterling Archer from the show Archer, or Jeffrey Archer) - POWERS (Austin Powers) - HUNT (Helen Hunt from Mad About You) - PEEL (Emma Peel from The Avengers!) These could all be TV characters or famous people with these last names! Let me try this!

Excellent! ARCHER, POWERS, HUNT, PEEL was correct. So they were likely TV characters or famous people: - ARCHER (Sterling Archer from "Archer") - POWERS (Austin Powers) - HUNT (Helen Hunt from "Mad About You") - PEEL (Emma Peel from "The Avengers") Now I have 8 words left to form 2 groups of 4: FISH, RAISE, CRANK, NAP, WALK, JACK, TAIL, HIKE Let me analyze these: 1. **Words that can follow "POWER":** - POWER WALK ✓ (definitely a thing) - POWER NAP ✓ (definitely a thing) - POWER JACK? (power jack is a connector) - POWER RAISE? (not really) - POWER HIKE? (not common) - POWER TAIL? (no) - POWER FISH? (no) - POWER CRANK? (no) 2. **Words that can follow "UP":** - CRANK UP ✓ (definitely) - JACK UP ✓ (definitely) - HIKE UP ✓ (definitely - as in hike up a skirt, or hiking up a mountain) - WALK UP (walk-up apartment is a thing, or walking up stairs) - RAISE UP? (raise can work with up, but it's "raise up") - Actually, could RAISE work? (raise, as in raising up) - TAIL UP? (no) - FISH UP? (fish up - is that a thing? maybe fishing up?) 3. **Actually, let me reconsider:** - CRANK UP (start up, increase effort) - JACK UP (lift up, increase price) - HIKE UP (lift up, increase price) - RAISE (increase - but is it "RAISE UP" or just "RAISE"?) Wait, these all mean to INCREASE! - CRANK UP (increase volume/effort) - JACK UP (increase price) - HIKE UP (increase, as in hiking prices) - RAISE (increase, as in raising prices) These could all be synonyms or similar phrases for INCREASING something! 4. **That would leave: FISH, NAP, WALK, TAIL** - FISH (noun/verb) - NAP (verb/noun) - WALK (verb/noun) - TAIL (verb/noun) What could connect these? - Things you can do? (fish, nap, walk, tail - yes, you can do all of these) - But that's too broad Wait - could these all follow "POWER"? - POWER FISH? (no) - POWER NAP ✓ (yes!) - POWER WALK ✓ (yes!) - POWER TAIL? (no) Hmm, that doesn't work either. 5. **Let me reconsider - could FISH, NAP, WALK, TAIL be things that can follow another word?** - CAT NAP (yes!) - CAT WALK (yes! - a model's catwalk) - CAT FISH (yes! - catfish is a real fish) - CAT TAIL (yes! - cattail is a plant/reed) These could all follow CAT! 6. **That would make the other group: CRANK, JACK, HIKE, RAISE** - These could all mean to INCREASE or RAISE UP! - CRANK (crank up - increase) - JACK (jack up - increase) - HIKE (hike up - increase, as in hiking prices) - RAISE (raise - increase) I'm very confident about the CAT group!

Perfect! FISH, NAP, WALK, TAIL was correct - they all follow "CAT": - CATFISH - CAT NAP - CATWALK - CATTAIL That leaves the final 4 words: CRANK, JACK, HIKE, RAISE These should all mean to INCREASE or be synonymous in some way: - CRANK (crank up = increase) - JACK (jack up = increase, raise prices) - HIKE (hike up = increase prices) - RAISE (raise = increase) All four can mean to increase or elevate something!

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 related groups. First, let me categorize by potential meanings: **Cosmetics/Makeup:** - DYE (hair dye) - MASCARA (eye makeup) - BLUSH (cheek makeup) - These are all makeup products **Verbs that could mean "evaluate/assess":** - SCORE (to score something) - GRADE (to grade) - RANK (to rank) - RATE (to rate) - PACE (hmm, doesn't fit) **Homophones or words with multiple meanings:** - NOSE (body part, or "nose around") - TRAIL (path, or "trail behind") - PACE (speed, or "pace oneself") - SWEAT (perspiration, or "sweat it out") **Words that could go with "BLOOD":** - SWEAT (blood, sweat, tears) - TOWEL (throw in the towel) - STOCKINGS (blood type? no...) Let me reconsider. Looking for "_____ PRESSURE" or similar compound patterns: - BLOOD PRESSURE: SWEAT, TOWEL, NOSE... Wait, let me think about "TIGER _____": - TIGER WOODS? But these aren't all golfers... Let me look for homophones or homonyms: - MASCARA sounds like... no - STOCKINGS - Christmas stockings, or leg wear - TIGER - animal, or Tiger Woods, or tiger stripe Actually, let me reconsider compound words or phrases: - NOSE BLEED, NOSE DIVE - TRAIL BLAZER, TRAIL MIX - STOCKINGS - could be "Christmas stockings" Wait - "_____ STRIPE" or similar: - TIGER (tiger stripe) - SWEAT (sweatband - no) Let me think about things that can be "FITTED": - TOWEL, STOCKINGS, CLIP, MASCARA? Actually, "STOCKING ___" or "___ STOCKING": - STOCKING STUFFER? STOCKING CAP? New approach - words that precede another word: - GRADE SCHOOL, GRADE A - RANK AND FILE - SCORE BOARD - RATE CARD Let me focus on the strong makeup group first: MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE - these are definitely cosmetics. What's the 4th? - EYESHADOW? No, that's not here. - Could NOSE be a cosmetic? NOSE JOB? Strong "evaluate" group: SCORE, GRADE, RANK, RATE - these all mean to assess/evaluate Let me try this group first as it's very strong.

Great! So SCORE, GRADE, RANK, RATE was correct - they all mean to evaluate or assess something. Now I have 12 words remaining: DYE, MASCARA, FIDGET, STOCKINGS, TOWEL, CLIP, SWEAT, NOSE, TRAIL, BLUSH, TIGER, PACE Let me recategorize: **Cosmetics/Makeup:** - MASCARA (eye makeup) - BLUSH (cheek makeup) - DYE (hair dye) - These are all makeup products. What could be the 4th? **Body parts or things on body:** - NOSE - Could relate to cosmetics indirectly **Clothing/Wear items:** - STOCKINGS (hosiery) - TOWEL (wear as clothing?) - CLIP (hair clip?) **Toys/fidget items:** - FIDGET (fidget spinner) - CLIP (could be a fidget toy) - STOCKINGS (Christmas stocking filler?) **Words that can follow "TIGER":** - TIGER WOODS - TIGER STRIPE - TIGER LILY - TIGER SHARK Let me think about compound words with these: - TIGER LILY (flower) - TIGER STRIPE - TIGER WOODS - TIGER SHARK Or words that precede another word: - TRAIL MIX, TRAIL BLAZER - TOWEL RACK - SWEAT PANTS, SWEAT SHIRT - PACE CAR Actually - "_____ LILY": - TIGER LILY (flower) - PACE could relate to... no Let me think about "_____ SHARK": - TIGER SHARK - SWEAT? No... What about things you find in Christmas stockings or stocking stuffers? - CLIP, FIDGET, DYE, MASCARA - small items that could be stocking stuffers Or the pattern could be words that precede a common word: - TIGER WOODS, TIGER LILY, TIGER STRIPE, TIGER SHARK - all "TIGER ___" Let me try the cosmetics group: MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, and... NOSE (nose contour? rhinoplasty?) - probably weak. I think the strongest next guess is cosmetics: MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, and I need a 4th. Could SWEAT work? SWEAT-resistant makeup? Or TOWEL (makeup remover)? Actually, let me try: MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, SWEAT (as in "sweat-proof")

Okay, so MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, SWEAT is not a valid group. That means: - MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE are likely cosmetics, but SWEAT doesn't belong - OR the cosmetics group doesn't exist as I thought Let me reconsider the remaining 12 words: DYE, MASCARA, FIDGET, STOCKINGS, TOWEL, CLIP, SWEAT, NOSE, TRAIL, BLUSH, TIGER, PACE Let me think about different patterns: **Words that can precede a common word:** - TIGER LILY, TIGER WOODS, TIGER SHARK, TIGER STRIPE - TRAIL BLAZER, TRAIL MIX, TRAIL HEAD - PACE CAR, PACE SETTER - TOWEL RACK, TOWEL BAR - SWEAT PANTS, SWEAT SHIRT, SWEAT BAND - NOSE DIVE, NOSE BLEED, NOSE RING - CLIP ART, CLIP-ON - FIDGET SPINNER - STOCKINGS (Christmas stockings, stocking cap) - BLUSH (rose, raspberry blush?) - MASCARA - DYE **Could there be a "_____ BAND" group?** - SWEAT BAND - RUBBER BAND? (no) - HAIR BAND? (CLIP?) - NOSE BAND? **Words that can follow "CHRISTMAS":** - STOCKINGS (Christmas stockings) - Could others fit? **"_____ SHARK":** - TIGER SHARK - Hmm, what else? **Things that can be "TIED":** - SWEAT (sweatshirt can be tied) - TOWEL (tie a towel) - DYE (tie-dye!) - Oh! TIE-DYE! Wait! TIE-DYE is a thing! What else could have "TIE" in it? - TIE-DYED - TIE + other words? Or words related to "TIE": - DYE (tie-dye) - CLIP (necktie clip?) - BLUSH (rosy blush?) Hmm, let me think about "BOW": - BOW TIE - BOW (hair bow) Or words that can be types of "BOWS": - Wait, could these be types of something? Let me reconsider: Could MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE + one more be a group where the 4th is not SWEAT? Possible 4th candidates: NOSE, TOWEL, CLIP, TRAIL, STOCKINGS, FIDGET, TIGER, PACE NOSE - could relate to makeup (nose job, nose contour) CLIP - hair clip (cosmetic styling) TOWEL - makeup remover? makeup towel? Let me try: MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, CLIP (all can be used for appearance/beauty)

Two guesses left! Let me reconsider more carefully. Remaining 12 words: DYE, MASCARA, FIDGET, STOCKINGS, TOWEL, CLIP, SWEAT, NOSE, TRAIL, BLUSH, TIGER, PACE I was wrong about: 1. SCORE, GRADE, RANK, RATE ✓ (correct - they mean to evaluate) 2. MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, SWEAT ✗ 3. MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, CLIP ✗ This means MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE are probably NOT all in the same group together, OR if they are, the 4th member is different from SWEAT and CLIP. Let me think differently. What if these words have HOMOPHONES or multiple meanings? **PACE:** - Speed (noun/verb) - P-A-C-E could sound like "pace" **SWEAT:** - Perspiration - "No sweat" (no problem) - Sweat shirt, sweat pants **TRAIL:** - Path - To follow/trail behind - Trail mix **NOSE:** - Body part - To nose around (investigate) - Nose dive **BLUSH:** - Makeup - To blush (turn red) - Wine (Blush wine) **STOCKINGS:** - Hosiery - Christmas stockings - Stock/inventory **TOWEL:** - Cloth item - To towel off - Throw in the towel **CLIP:** - Hair clip - To clip something - Bulldog clip **TIGER:** - Animal - Tiger Woods (golfer) - Tiger lily (flower) Could there be a group of things that can be preceded by "TIGER"? - TIGER LILY - TIGER WOODS - TIGER SHARK - TIGER STRIPE But I don't see SHARK, LILY, WOODS, or STRIPE in the remaining words. What about things that can follow "BLOOD"? - BLOOD SWEAT (blood, sweat, and tears) - Hmm, doesn't work well What about "_____ CLIP"? - HAIR CLIP - BULLDOG CLIP - PAPER CLIP - VIDEO CLIP What about things you might find at Christmas or in a stocking? - STOCKINGS (obviously) - CLIP (toy) - FIDGET (toy/fidget spinner) - DYE (craft supplies) These could be stocking stuffer items! Or what about FIDGET toys/items? - FIDGET spinner, fidget cube - CLIP (fidget?) - Could others be fidgets? Let me try: FIDGET, CLIP, STOCKINGS, DYE (all could be stocking stuffers or small gifts) Actually, wait. Let me think about words that can precede or follow a common word: **Words that go with "NOSE":** - NOSE BLEED - NOSE DIVE - NOSE RING - NOSE CANDY (slang for cocaine) - BUTTON YOUR NOSE? **Words that go with "SWEAT":** - SWEAT PANTS - SWEAT SHIRT - SWEAT BAND - SWEAT LODGE - BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS Hmm, what about "BLOOD _____": - BLOOD SWEAT (tears) - Doesn't work What about homophones with "-OOD" sound: - TIGER WOODS (person's name) - GOOD, HOOD, WOOD, STOOD Or what if these are all things that can be "BAND"? - SWEAT BAND (yes!) - HAIR BAND (CLIP? BLUSH with hair?) - RUBBER BAND - ARMBAND - HEADBAND (TOWEL? MASCARA?) Wait! What about things that go on your head/face? - MASCARA (eyes) - BLUSH (cheeks) - CLIP (hair) - TOWEL (head wrap) - STOCKINGS (on legs, not head) Or things related to appearance/grooming? - MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, CLIP (but we tried this) Let me try a completely different approach. What if one of the words I think is cosmetic actually isn't in that group? What if BLUSH is not about makeup, but about "to blush" (turn red)? Or what if DYE is not about hair, but something else? TIE-DYE! What if these are all things you can "TIE"? - DYE (tie-dye) - TOWEL (tie a towel around yourself) - CLIP (? not really) - STOCKINGS (? tie stockings?) Or compound words/phrases with specific words: Let me try: FIDGET, CLIP, STOCKINGS, TOWEL (random objects/items) Actually, let me reconsider: Could these be things that rhyme or sound similar? - PACE, TRACE, FACE, BRACE? (no TRACE or FACE here) - SWEAT, THREAT, BREAD? (no THREAT or BREAD) What about words that can precede "TIGER"? - PAPER TIGER - TIGER could be the second word... Let me try: TOWEL, STOCKINGS, CLIP, FIDGET (all objects you can hold/toys/items)

One guess left! I need to be very careful. Let me reconsider everything. Correct group so far: 1. SCORE, GRADE, RANK, RATE (words meaning to evaluate) Remaining 12 words: DYE, MASCARA, FIDGET, STOCKINGS, TOWEL, CLIP, SWEAT, NOSE, TRAIL, BLUSH, TIGER, PACE My failed guesses: - MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, SWEAT ✗ - MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, CLIP ✗ - TOWEL, STOCKINGS, CLIP, FIDGET ✗ This tells me: - MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE are probably NOT all in the same group - The group with random objects doesn't work Let me think about less obvious connections: **Words that can follow "TIGER":** - TIGER LILY (but LILY not here) - TIGER WOODS (but WOODS not here) - Could TIGER go with other words differently? **"PAPER _____":** - PAPER TIGER - PAPER TRAIL - PAPER CLIP - PAPER TOWEL OH! PAPER CLIP! PAPER TOWEL! PAPER TRAIL! PAPER TIGER! Could the group be: CLIP, TOWEL, TRAIL, TIGER (all can be preceded by "PAPER")? - PAPER CLIP ✓ - PAPER TOWEL ✓ - PAPER TRAIL ✓ - PAPER TIGER ✓ This makes sense! Let me verify the remaining words would then be: DYE, MASCARA, FIDGET, STOCKINGS, SWEAT, NOSE, BLUSH, PACE That's 8 words left for 2 groups of 4. Could MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE be part of a group? - MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE + ? (not SWEAT, not CLIP, not TOWEL, not TRAIL, not TIGER) - Could be: NOSE, FIDGET, STOCKINGS, PACE, or SWEAT **Words related to eyes:** - MASCARA (eye makeup) - Could others fit? EYESHADOW? Not here. **Words that can be preceded by "NYLON":** - NYLON STOCKINGS - NYLON SWEAT? (no) **Words related to Christmas:** - STOCKINGS (Christmas stockings) - Could others be Christmas-related? SWEAT (ugly sweater)? DYE (tie-dye ugly sweater)? **Words that can follow a color:** - Could these be color-related? BLUSH (rose blush), DYE, MASCARA (black mascara)? **"ROSE _____":** - ROSE BLUSH? (rosy blush) - Doesn't work **Words that rhyme or have similar sounds:** - PACE, FACE? (no FACE) **"_____ NOSE":** - ROMAN NOSE - BUTTON NOSE - POWDER NOSE - Hmm, not seeing a pattern **Words that can be "BLUE":** - BLUSH (blue blush?) - STOCKINGS (blue stockings - yes, historical term!) - Could others be preceded by colors? Actually, wait. Let me think about "BLUE": - BLUE STOCKINGS (historical literary women) - Could others be types of stockings or preceded by colors? Or: "_____ STOCKINGS" - BLUE STOCKINGS - CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS - NYLON STOCKINGS - SILK STOCKINGS Hmm, let me think about words that can be types/kinds of something: - MASCARA (black mascara, waterproof mascara) - BLUSH (rose blush, peach blush) - DYE (hair dye, fabric dye) - SWEAT (cold sweat, nervous sweat) Could there be a group about things that can be "NERVOUS"? - NERVOUS SWEAT - NERVOUS BLUSH (turning red) - Doesn't work Let me reconsider the PAPER group: CLIP, TOWEL, TRAIL, TIGER This seems very strong. Let me go with this.

Excellent! CLIP, TOWEL, TRAIL, TIGER are all things that can be preceded by "PAPER": - PAPER CLIP - PAPER TOWEL - PAPER TRAIL - PAPER TIGER Now I have 8 words remaining: DYE, MASCARA, FIDGET, STOCKINGS, SWEAT, NOSE, BLUSH, PACE Let me find the remaining 2 groups of 4. **Cosmetics/Makeup:** - MASCARA (eye makeup) - BLUSH (cheek makeup) - DYE (hair dye) - These three are definitely cosmetics. What's the 4th? **Other possibilities:** - NOSE (body part, or nose makeup/contouring) - SWEAT (sweat-proof makeup?) - FIDGET (no connection to makeup) - STOCKINGS (no connection to makeup) - PACE (no connection to makeup) Actually, could NOSE be makeup-related? Like "NOSE JOB" or nose contouring is a thing in makeup. So potential group 1: MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, NOSE (all makeup/cosmetic-related) That would leave: FIDGET, STOCKINGS, SWEAT, PACE What could connect these four? - FIDGET SPINNER - STOCKINGS (noun) - SWEAT (noun/verb) - PACE (noun/verb - speed) Could these all be things you do or ways you move? - FIDGET (to fidget - move restlessly) - PACE (to pace - walk back and forth) - Could SWEAT and STOCKINGS fit? Not obviously. Could these be compound words with a common word? - FIDGET + ? - STOCKINGS + ? - SWEAT + PANTS, SHIRT, BAND - PACE + CAR, SETTER Hmm, what about "_____ SETTER"? - PACE SETTER - TRENDSETTER? TRENDSETTER has TREND not in this list - GOAL SETTER? GOAL not here What about things you wear or put on? - STOCKINGS (wear on legs) - SWEAT (sweatshirt - wear) - MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE (wear on body) - But we'd need FIDGET and PACE to fit... Could these be types of things that are "NERVOUS"? - NERVOUS SWEAT - NERVOUS FIDGET - NERVOUS PACE (pacing nervously) - NERVOUS STOCKINGS? (no) Or things associated with anxiety/nervousness? - FIDGET (fidgeting from nervousness) - SWEAT (nervous sweat) - PACE (nervous pacing) - STOCKINGS (? doesn't fit) Wait! What if these are all things that can be preceded by "BLUE"? - BLUE STOCKINGS (yes! historical term for educated women) - BLUE SWEAT? (no) - Doesn't work Or preceded by a color: - BLUE STOCKINGS - ? FIDGET - ? SWEAT - ? PACE Actually, let me reconsider. Could NOSE not be makeup, but something else? **Words that can follow "ROMAN":** - ROMAN NOSE (a type of nose shape) - ROMAN STOCKINGS? (no) - ROMAN SWEAT? (no) **Words that can follow or precede specific words:** Let me try: MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, NOSE (makeup/cosmetics group) This leaves: FIDGET, STOCKINGS, SWEAT, PACE For the second group, could they all be: - Things you do when nervous/anxious: FIDGET, PACE, SWEAT - But STOCKINGS doesn't fit Or things that can be "COLD"? - COLD SWEAT - COLD PACE? (no) - COLD STOCKINGS? (no) Or things that can be types of responses/reactions: - SWEAT (physical response) - BLUSH (physical response - turning red) - FIDGET (physical response) - PACE (physical response) Wait! Could it be: BLUSH, FIDGET, SWEAT, PACE (all things you do or happen to you when nervous/anxious)? - NERVOUS BLUSH (turn red) - FIDGET (nervous fidgeting) - NERVOUS SWEAT (cold sweat) - NERVOUS PACE (pacing nervously) That would leave: DYE, MASCARA, NOSE, STOCKINGS Can these four be connected? - DYE (hair product) - MASCARA (eye makeup) - NOSE (body part?) - STOCKINGS (clothing) Hmm, that doesn't make as much sense. Let me reconsider: MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, NOSE (all makeup-related) That leaves: FIDGET, STOCKINGS, SWEAT, PACE Could these be things that are "BLUE"? - BLUE STOCKINGS (definitely a thing - educated/intellectual women) - Could FIDGET, SWEAT, PACE be preceded by BLUE? Doesn't seem likely. Or things that can be preceded by "BOXER"? - BOXER SHORTS? (shorts not here) - Doesn't work Let me try my strongest guess: MASCARA, BLUSH, DYE, NOSE (cosmetics/makeup)

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 groups of related words. First, let me look for obvious patterns: 1. Words that sound like letters or homophones: - ORCA = sounds like "Orca" but also... wait - ARS = sounds like "R's" (the letter R plural) - AYES = sounds like "eyes" or the letter "A's"? Actually AYES sounds like "aye's" - OWES = sounds like "O's" (the letter O plural) - Wait, let me reconsider: - AYES = "A's" (letter A) - ARS = "R's" (letter R) - OWES = "O's" (letter O) - What about a fourth? EASE = "E's" (letter E)! So: AYES (A's), ARS (R's), OWES (O's), EASE (E's) - homophones of letters! 2. Geometry/Math terms: - AREA - PERIMETER - VOLUME - LENGTH These are all measurements/dimensions! 3. Las Vegas hotels/casinos: - LUXOR (famous Vegas pyramid hotel) - EXCALIBUR (Vegas hotel themed after Camelot) - ARIA (Vegas hotel) - What's the fourth? Let me think... DOMINO? No... - Could ENCORE work? Yes! The Encore is a Vegas hotel! 4. Remaining words: - DOMINO - ORCA - OREO - CROSSWORD - ENCORE (but I think this is Vegas hotel) - ENCORES could be plurals... Wait, let me reconsider the Vegas hotels: - LUXOR (yes) - EXCALIBUR (yes) - ARIA (yes) - ENCORE (yes, part of The Wynn/Encore complex) That leaves: - DOMINO, ORCA, OREO, CROSSWORD, VOLUME, LENGTH, PERIMETER, AREA The VOLUME, LENGTH, PERIMETER, AREA group seems solid for geometry. That leaves: DOMINO, ORCA, OREO, CROSSWORD Hmm, what connects these? - Things with black and white? DOMINO (black/white dots), ORCA (black/white whale), OREO (black/white cookie), CROSSWORD (black and white grid)? Let me finalize my most confident guess first - the letter homophones:

Great! I got the letter homophones correct: AYES (A's), ARS (R's), OWES (O's), EASE (E's). Remaining 12 words: DOMINO, ORCA, ENCORE, VOLUME, OWES, LENGTH, OREO, CROSSWORD, ARIA, EXCALIBUR, LUXOR, AREA, PERIMETER Wait, OWES should be gone. Let me recount the remaining: DOMINO, ORCA, ENCORE, VOLUME, LENGTH, OREO, CROSSWORD, ARIA, EXCALIBUR, LUXOR, AREA, PERIMETER That's 12 words. Now let me identify the remaining 3 groups: 1. Las Vegas Hotels: - LUXOR (pyramid-shaped hotel) - EXCALIBUR (Camelot-themed hotel) - ARIA (modern luxury hotel) - ENCORE (The Encore at The Wynn) This seems very solid! 2. Geometry/Measurements: - AREA (2D measurement) - PERIMETER (outer boundary) - VOLUME (3D measurement) - LENGTH (1D measurement) This also seems very solid! 3. Remaining (Black and white things): - DOMINO (black/white spots) - ORCA (black/white whale) - OREO (black/white cookie) - CROSSWORD (black/white puzzle grid) I'll go with the Las Vegas hotels next since I'm very confident about that group.

Excellent! The Las Vegas hotels were correct. Remaining 8 words: DOMINO, ORCA, VOLUME, LENGTH, OREO, CROSSWORD, AREA, PERIMETER Now I have two clear groups left: 1. Geometry/Measurements: - AREA (2D measurement) - PERIMETER (outer boundary measurement) - VOLUME (3D measurement) - LENGTH (1D measurement) These are all mathematical measurements/dimensions. 2. Black and white things: - DOMINO (black and white spots/dots) - ORCA (black and white whale) - OREO (black and white cookie) - CROSSWORD (black and white puzzle grid) Let me go with the geometry measurements since that's very straightforward.

Perfect! The geometry measurements were correct. Remaining 4 words: DOMINO, ORCA, OREO, CROSSWORD These are the last four words, so they must form the final group. Let me confirm the connection: - DOMINO: has black and white dots - ORCA: black and white whale - OREO: black and white cookie - CROSSWORD: black and white puzzle grid These are all things that are characteristically black and white in color/pattern. This should be the final group!

Let me analyze these 16 words and look for potential categories. First, let me group by possible connections: **Photography/Lens types:** - FISHEYE (lens type) - ZOOM (lens type) - MACRO (lens type) - TELEPHOTO (lens type) - FINLET (not a lens... actually, a finlet is a small fin) **Platforms/Websites:** - EBAY (shopping site) - ZOOM (video conferencing) - EMAIL (communication) - Actually, these could be platforms but doesn't feel strong **Legal/Court terms:** - APPEAL (legal term) - BID (offer) - PETITION (legal request) - CALL (demand) - DEMAND could work but isn't here **Things that can follow a word:** - Let me think about what precedes these words... - APPEAL, PETITION, CALL, BID - these could all be things you make or file **Words that can follow "SNOW":** - FLAKE (snowflake) - DRIVER (snow driver? no...) - EMAIL? no... **Words that can follow specific prefixes:** - DRIVER, MACRO, ZOOM, TELEPHOTO - these could be types of lenses or settings - Wait, DRIVER could be golf driver **Words that can be preceded by "LENS":** - FLARE? No, but FISHEYE is a lens type - ZOOM lens, MACRO lens, TELEPHOTO lens, FISHEYE lens - these are all LENS TYPES! This seems like a strong category: **FISHEYE, ZOOM, MACRO, TELEPHOTO** (all types of camera lenses) **Remaining words:** BID, EMAIL, EBAY, APPEAL, DRIVER, FINLET, CALL, NUMBER, PETITION, ADDRESS, NAME, FLAKE **Words that can follow "SNOW":** - FLAKE (snowflake) - DRIVER (snowdriver? no) - Actually: CALL, BALL, FLAKE... SNOW CALL? No... **Words that can follow "GOLF":** - BALL, DRIVER, CLUB... DRIVER is there! **Things with "LAST":** - NAME (last name) - CALL (last call) - NUMBER (last number? or phone number) - ADDRESS (email address) **Words that can follow "SURNAME" or relate to identity:** - NAME, ADDRESS, EMAIL, PHONE NUMBER - Wait: EMAIL ADDRESS, CALL ADDRESS, PETITION ADDRESS... Let me reconsider. Words that can follow specific words: - FIRST NAME, LAST NAME - FIRST ADDRESS? EMAIL ADDRESS, HOME ADDRESS - FIRST CALL, LAST CALL - BID, PETITION, APPEAL, CALL - things you make or file Actually, thinking about "FIRST": - FIRST NAME - FIRST CALL - FIRST BID - FIRST PETITION? Not really... Let me try the lens types first as that seems very strong.

Great! So FISHEYE, ZOOM, MACRO, TELEPHOTO were all types of camera lenses. **Remaining words:** BID, EMAIL, EBAY, APPEAL, DRIVER, FINLET, CALL, NUMBER, PETITION, ADDRESS, NAME, FLAKE Now let me look for patterns in these 12 words: **Words that can follow "SNOW":** - FLAKE (snowflake) - DRIVER (snow driver? - not really) - BALL (not here) - JOB (not here) **Words that can follow "GOLF":** - DRIVER (golf driver) - BALL (not here) - CLUB (not here) **Words that can follow "LAST":** - NAME (last name) - CALL (last call) - PETITION? No - ADDRESS? Not really **Words that can follow "FIRST":** - NAME (first name) - CALL (first call) - BID (first bid) - PETITION? Appeal? Not really Actually, wait - could these follow "COLD"? - CALL (cold call) - SNAP (not here) Let me think about what precedes these: - EMAIL ADDRESS (ADDRESS follows EMAIL) - PHONE NUMBER (NUMBER follows PHONE) - LAST NAME (NAME follows LAST) - FINAL APPEAL (APPEAL follows FINAL) Or what about words that can come after common words: - EBAY (eBay is a platform) - EMAIL (platform/communication) - APPEAL, PETITION, BID, CALL - legal/formal requests **Things you can "make" or "file":** - APPEAL (file an appeal) - PETITION (file a petition) - BID (make a bid) - CALL (make a call) This seems strong! These are all things you can file/make as formal requests. Let me verify: - FILE AN APPEAL ✓ - FILE A PETITION ✓ - MAKE A BID ✓ - MAKE A CALL ✓ This feels very solid.

Excellent! APPEAL, PETITION, BID, CALL were all things you can file or make as formal requests/actions. **Remaining words:** EMAIL, EBAY, DRIVER, FINLET, NUMBER, ADDRESS, NAME, FLAKE 8 words left, need to find 2 more groups of 4. Let me analyze: **Words that can follow "LAST":** - NAME (last name) - CALL (already used) - NUMBER (last number? phone number?) - ADDRESS (last address?) **Words that can follow "EMAIL":** - ADDRESS (email address) - Not the others really **Words that can precede something:** - EMAIL ADDRESS - DRIVER'S LICENSE (driver) - SNOW FLAKE (flake) - EBAY LISTING? **Things related to identity/contact info:** - EMAIL (communication method) - ADDRESS (location info) - NAME (identifier) - NUMBER (phone number) - DRIVER (driver's license) Hmm, what about things that can follow "FIRST"? - FIRST NAME ✓ - FIRST CALL (already guessed) What about things that can follow a specific word? - SNOW FLAKE (snowflake) - GOLFER'S DRIVER? or GOLF DRIVER - Wait... SNOW, DRIVER, FLAKE... Could these be things that follow "SNOW"? - SNOWFLAKE ✓ - SNOWDRIVER? No... - SNOWBALL? (not here) - SNOWPLOW? (not here) Actually, what if they're things that follow specific words? - LAST NAME - FIRST CALL (used) - EMAIL ADDRESS - eBay... Wait, could some of these follow specific proper nouns or be part of compound words? Let me think differently: - DRIVER, FLAKE, NUMBER, NAME - Could these all follow "SNOW"? SNOW DRIVER, SNOW FLAKE, SNOW NUMBER, SNOW NAME? No... What about "FIRST"? - FIRST NAME ✓ - FIRST DRIVER? No - FIRST FLAKE? No - FIRST NUMBER? No Let me try another approach - compound words or phrases: - EBAY (online marketplace) - EMAIL (electronic mail) - These are things... technologies? Communication methods? Actually: NAME, ADDRESS, EMAIL, NUMBER could all be pieces of contact information! - NAME (person's name) - ADDRESS (mailing address) - EMAIL (email address) - NUMBER (phone number) These are all contact information fields! That leaves: EBAY, DRIVER, FINLET, FLAKE What do these have in common? - EBAY (company) - DRIVER (golf club, vehicle operator, software) - FINLET (small fin) - FLAKE (particle) Hmm, this is tricky. Could they all be types of something or follow something? Wait - could they all follow "CORN" or "SNOW" or something? - CORNFLAKE (cornflake!) - SNOW DRIVER? No - SNOWFLAKE (snowflake!) - So FLAKE could be part of compounds... Let me reconsider: NAME, ADDRESS, EMAIL, NUMBER as contact info seems solid.

Perfect! NAME, ADDRESS, EMAIL, NUMBER were all pieces of contact information. **Remaining words:** EBAY, DRIVER, FINLET, FLAKE Only 4 words left, so these must be the final group! Let me think about what connects them: - EBAY (online auction/shopping platform) - DRIVER (golf club, vehicle operator, software driver) - FINLET (small fin on a fish) - FLAKE (particle, snowflake, cornflake) These seem quite disparate at first glance. Let me think about patterns: Could they all follow a word? - SNOW: SNOWFLAKE ✓, SNOW DRIVER? SNOW FINLET? SNOW EBAY? No... - CORN: CORNFLAKE ✓, CORN DRIVER? No... - GOLD: GOLDFINCH? Not finlet... but GOLDRIVER? No... Wait - could these all be types of things or could they all have something in common? Let me think about anagrams or wordplay: - EBAY - contains BAY - DRIVER - contains RIVER - FINLET - contains FIN - FLAKE - contains LAKE Do these contain bodies of water? BAY, RIVER, LAKE... and FIN? That doesn't work. Actually wait - could they all contain words that can stand alone? - EBAY contains BAY - DRIVER contains RIVER - FINLET contains... FIN? INLET? - FLAKE contains LAKE FINLET = FIN + LET? Or could it be FIN + INLET? Let me reconsider: INLET, LAKE, RIVER, BAY - these are all bodies of water! - FLAKE contains LAKE - DRIVER contains RIVER - FINLET contains INLET (FIN + INLET reversed? Or rearranged?) - EBAY contains BAY Actually, more carefully: - FLAKE: F + LAKE = contains LAKE - DRIVER: D + RIVER = contains RIVER - EBAY: E + BAY = contains BAY - FINLET: Should contain INLET? FI + NLET? Hmm... F-I-N-L-E-T... rearranging: INLET + F? Or FIN + LET? Wait! Could it be that each word contains a body of water hidden in it? - FLAKE (LAKE) - DRIVER (RIVER) - EBAY (BAY) - FINLET (INLET) Yes! These all contain bodies of water as substrings or near-substrings!

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 groups of 4 related words. Looking at the words: - GUARD, WORM, TRIDENT, ORBIT, AEGIS, ICE BREAKERS, LIGHTNING BOLT, BUFFALO, EXTRA, FLEUR-DE-LIS, PROTECTION, HORSESHOE, TROJAN HORSE, BACKDOOR, VIRUS, SHIELD Let me consider potential categories: 1. **Computer security threats**: TROJAN HORSE, VIRUS, WORM, BACKDOOR - These are all types of malware/security threats. This seems very strong. 2. **Things that can mean "protection"**: SHIELD, AEGIS, PROTECTION... but I need a fourth. GUARD could work - but that might be part of another category. 3. **Things associated with luck/good luck symbols**: HORSESHOE, FLEUR-DE-LIS, TRIDENT, LIGHTNING BOLT... Let me think. Horseshoe is a luck symbol. Fleur-de-lis is a symbol. Trident is a symbol. Lightning bolt is a symbol. But is this about luck specifically? 4. **Things that can follow a specific word**: Let me think about word associations: - ICE BREAKERS - a candy/mint brand - BUFFALO - Buffalo wings - LIGHTNING BOLT - could be part of something - ORBIT - an orbit gum brand Wait! ORBIT, ICE BREAKERS, EXTRA, TRIDENT - these are all GUM brands! - Orbit (gum) - Ice Breakers (gum/mints) - Extra (gum) - Trident (gum) 5. That would leave: GUARD, AEGIS, PROTECTION, SHIELD - things that mean defense/protection, or symbols of protection. 6. And: FLEUR-DE-LIS, HORSESHOE, LIGHTNING BOLT, BUFFALO - These could be NFL team logos or symbols! - Buffalo Bills (buffalo) - New Orleans Saints (fleur-de-lis) - ... lightning bolt could be Chargers - ... fleur-de-lis is also Saints - Hmm, let me reconsider. Actually: - **GUM BRANDS**: ORBIT, ICE BREAKERS, EXTRA, TRIDENT (very confident) - **Malware/Security threats**: TROJAN HORSE, VIRUS, WORM, BACKDOOR (very confident) - **Things that are shields/protection**: GUARD, AEGIS, PROTECTION, SHIELD - **Symbols/logos**: FLEUR-DE-LIS, HORSESHOE, LIGHTNING BOLT, BUFFALO Let me start with my most confident guess - the gum brands.

Great! The gum brands were correct. Now I have 12 words left: GUARD, WORM, TRIDENT, AEGIS, LIGHTNING BOLT, BUFFALO, FLEUR-DE-LIS, PROTECTION, HORSESHOE, TROJAN HORSE, BACKDOOR, VIRUS, SHIELD Wait, TRIDENT was in the previous answer, so it shouldn't be listed again. Let me recount the remaining words: GUARD, WORM, AEGIS, LIGHTNING BOLT, BUFFALO, FLEUR-DE-LIS, PROTECTION, HORSESHOE, TROJAN HORSE, BACKDOOR, VIRUS, SHIELD That's 12 words remaining for 3 groups. **Category 1 - Computer malware/security threats**: TROJAN HORSE, VIRUS, WORM, BACKDOOR - These are all types of malware or computer security threats. This seems very solid. **Category 2 - Words meaning protection/defense**: SHIELD, AEGIS, PROTECTION, GUARD - These all mean protection or defense. AEGIS means protection/sponsorship. This also seems strong. **Category 3 - Symbols/Logos (likely NFL teams or luck symbols)**: FLEUR-DE-LIS (New Orleans Saints) LIGHTNING BOLT (Los Angeles Chargers) BUFFALO (Buffalo Bills) HORSESHOE (Indianapolis Colts) These are all NFL team logos! This makes sense. Let me go with the malware threats next, as I'm very confident about this one.

Excellent! Two down, two to go. Now I have 8 words remaining: GUARD, AEGIS, LIGHTNING BOLT, BUFFALO, FLEUR-DE-LIS, PROTECTION, HORSESHOE, SHIELD **Category 1 - Words meaning protection/defense**: SHIELD, AEGIS, PROTECTION, GUARD - SHIELD: defensive barrier - AEGIS: protection, sponsorship (as in "under the aegis of") - PROTECTION: the act of protecting - GUARD: to protect or a protective person This seems very strong. **Category 2 - NFL Team Logos**: FLEUR-DE-LIS (New Orleans Saints) LIGHTNING BOLT (Los Angeles Chargers) BUFFALO (Buffalo Bills) HORSESHOE (Indianapolis Colts) Both categories look solid. Let me go with the NFL team logos, as this is a clever connection that fits the Connections puzzle style well.

Perfect! Three down, one to go. The remaining 4 words must form the final category: GUARD, AEGIS, PROTECTION, SHIELD These are all words/concepts related to protection and defense: - SHIELD: a protective barrier - AEGIS: protection or sponsorship (from Greek mythology, the aegis of Athena) - PROTECTION: the state of being protected - GUARD: to protect, or a person who protects This is the final group and they must all be related to protection/defense concepts.

Let me analyze these 16 words to find potential categories. Looking at the words: STAIRWAY, TRICK, BOXER, PUNK, BABA, FLOAT, FLAPPER, FOOL, BRIEF, HOTEL, CHAIN, HANDLE, PRANK, THONG, HIPSTER, BOHEMIAN Let me consider potential groupings: 1. **Types of shorts/underwear**: BOXER (boxer shorts), BRIEF (briefs), THONG (thong), HIPSTER (hipster briefs) - These are all types of underwear/shorts! 2. **Things that can be "______ shorts"**: BOXER, BRIEF, THONG, HIPSTER - all precede "shorts" 3. **Counterculture/fashion subcultures**: PUNK, FLAPPER, BOHEMIAN, HIPSTER - these are all cultural/fashion movements 4. **Words that can follow "April"**: FOOL (April Fool's), FOOLS... Let me think about other compounds. 5. **Words that might go with "to"**: HANDLE, TRICK, PRANK - things you do - TRICK, PRANK, FOOL could relate to deception/pranks - HANDLE, CHAIN could be objects 6. **Potential compound words**: - STAIRWAY to Heaven (song) - HOTEL California (song) - BOHEMIAN Rhapsody (song) - TRICK or treat? PUNK rock? Wait, let me reconsider songs: - "Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zeppelin - "Hotel California" - Eagles - "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen - Could there be a fourth song? "Float On"? "Float Your Boat"? "Punk Rock"? Actually, looking more carefully at types of underwear: - BOXER shorts - BRIEF shorts/briefs - THONG - HIPSTER briefs This seems very strong. Let me start with this category as it seems most concrete.

Great! BOXER, BRIEF, THONG, HIPSTER were all types of underwear/shorts. Now with the remaining 12 words: STAIRWAY, TRICK, PUNK, BABA, FLOAT, FLAPPER, FOOL, HOTEL, CHAIN, HANDLE, PRANK, BOHEMIAN Let me look for patterns: 1. **Cultural/fashion movements**: PUNK, FLAPPER, BOHEMIAN - these are definitely counterculture movements. What could be the fourth? - Could FOOL work? Not really a fashion movement. - Could FLOAT? No. - Could BABA? Maybe "Baba Yaga" but that's not a movement. 2. **Famous songs or song titles**: - "Stairway to Heaven" (Led Zeppelin) - "Hotel California" (Eagles) - "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen) - Could there be another iconic song? "Float On"? "Punk Rock"? - Actually: could "FOOL" relate to a song? "The Fool on the Hill"? 3. **Words that can precede another word**: - CHAIN: chain link, chainsaw, chain mail - TRICK: trick question, trick shot, trick or treat - PRANK: prank call - HANDLE: handle bar 4. **April ___**: - April FOOL (April Fool's Day) - April FOOL... 5. Let me think about "Bohemian" - that goes with Queen's song. What if the category is iconic rock songs with one-word titles or artist names? - BOHEMIAN (Rhapsody) - STAIRWAY (to Heaven) - HOTEL (California) - PUNK? (not really a famous song) Actually, wait - could these be things that precede other words? - STAIRWAY to Heaven - HOTEL California - BOHEMIAN Rhapsody - Could PUNK be part of "Punk Rock"? Or is there another song? Let me try the cultural movements more carefully: - PUNK (punk rock) - FLAPPER (1920s) - BOHEMIAN (bohemians/hippies) - Could FOOL relate to something? "April Fool"? Actually, I think I should try: PUNK, FLAPPER, BOHEMIAN, and one more... Could HIPSTER work? No wait, that was used. Let me try: PUNK, FLAPPER, BOHEMIAN, HIPSTER - but HIPSTER was already guessed. What about BABA? Could this be "Baba Yaga"? Or cultural movements? Let me try the song title theory: STAIRWAY, HOTEL, BOHEMIAN, and what? FLOAT? "Float On" by Modest Mouse? FOOL? "The Fool on the Hill"? I think I'll try: STAIRWAY, HOTEL, BOHEMIAN, FOOL - these could all be the first words of famous songs.

My guess was incorrect. So STAIRWAY, HOTEL, BOHEMIAN, FOOL are not all in the same category. Let me reconsider the remaining words: STAIRWAY, TRICK, PUNK, BABA, FLOAT, FLAPPER, FOOL, HOTEL, CHAIN, HANDLE, PRANK, BOHEMIAN I know that: - STAIRWAY, HOTEL, BOHEMIAN were likely close, but FOOL doesn't fit Let me think about what else could connect three of those: - Could STAIRWAY, HOTEL, BOHEMIAN go with something other than FOOL? - FLOAT? "Float On", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Hotel California", "Stairway to Heaven" - no, that doesn't work - PUNK? "Punk Rock", not really a song - BABA? Doesn't fit What if the category is "_____ (something)" as song titles: - "Stairway to Heaven" - "Hotel California" - "Bohemian Rhapsody" - "_____ to..."? Actually, what if it's words that can precede "TO"? - STAIRWAY to - Could TRICK work? "Trick to"? No. - FLOAT? "Float to"? No. Let me think about cultural/fashion movements again: - PUNK - FLAPPER - BOHEMIAN - HIPSTER (already used) - What else? BABA? FOOL? Or maybe: - PUNK - FLAPPER - HIPSTER (already used - darn) - BOHEMIAN Wait, what about things you can do or types of actions: - TRICK, PRANK, FOOL (as in "to fool someone") - FLOAT, HANDLE, CHAIN Let me reconsider: Could there be a category of "words that can follow a word"? - APRIL FOOL - BABA could be "BABA Yaga"? Or "BABA ganoush"? - CHAIN could be many things What if BABA, PUNK, FLAPPER, BOHEMIAN are all types of people/cultural identities? - BABA - could be a spiritual figure? "Baba Yaga"? - PUNK - punk rocker - FLAPPER - 1920s style girl - BOHEMIAN - bohemian person Let me try: PUNK, FLAPPER, BOHEMIAN, BABA

Two wrong guesses so far. Let me reconsider more carefully. Remaining words: STAIRWAY, TRICK, PUNK, BABA, FLOAT, FLAPPER, FOOL, HOTEL, CHAIN, HANDLE, PRANK, BOHEMIAN What I've ruled out: - BOXER, BRIEF, THONG, HIPSTER (correct - underwear types) - STAIRWAY, HOTEL, BOHEMIAN, FOOL (incorrect) - PUNK, FLAPPER, BOHEMIAN, BABA (incorrect) So some of these words must belong together in different ways than I thought. Let me think about other patterns: 1. **Things that can be "______ dog"**: - FLOAT (dog)? - PUNK (dog)? - TRICK dog? - Actually: STRAY dog? No STRAY here. - Wait: could TRICK, PUNK, FOOL, PRANK all describe types of dogs or dog actions? No, that doesn't work. 2. **Words that precede a common word**: - TRICK or treat, trick question - PUNK rock - FLOAT plane? - BABA ganoush, Baba Yaga - CHAIN letter, chain mail, chain link - HANDLE bar - PRANK call - FLAPPER... fashion? - FOOL's gold, fool's errand - HOTEL California - STAIRWAY to Heaven - BOHEMIAN rhapsody 3. **Words that can follow a common word**: - APRIL FOOL - Could others follow something? - APRIL FOOL? BABA? TRICK? 4. **Words related to deception/pranks**: - TRICK, PRANK, FOOL (to fool someone) - What would be the fourth? PUNK? Not really deception. 5. **Queen songs**: - BOHEMIAN (Rhapsody) - Could others be Queen songs? - "Another One Bites the Dust" - DUST not here - "We Will Rock You" - ROCK not here - Let me think... "Fat Bottomed Girls", "Killer Queen", "Don't Stop Me Now" - Hmm, none of these match 6. **Led Zeppelin songs**: - STAIRWAY (to Heaven) - Could others be Led Zeppelin? "Whole Lotta Love", "Black Dog", "Immigrant Song" - Hmm, no clear matches 7. **Words that can be types of "___"**: - TRICK shot, trick play - FLOAT trip, float plane - Actually, could these be poker terms? FLOAT, TRICK, HANDLE? - Or swimming/water terms? FLOAT, BABA (as in backstroke)? 8. **Words that precede "GUN"**: - TRICK gun? No. - PUNK gun? No. - CHAIN gun? YES! - HAND gun? HANDLE? No, but HAND... - Actually: Could FOOL be here? No. 9. **Words that can precede "GUN"**: - CHAIN gun - TRICK? Not really - What about just compound words or phrases that end in "GUN"? 10. **Let me think about "____ GOLD"**: - FOOL's gold - YES! - What else could precede GOLD? - POT of gold? Not here. 11. **Things that can follow "POT"**: - POT BELLY? - POT LUCK? 12. **Words that can follow "POT"**: - POT BELLY - Actually wait - could these all precede something? - Let me try: TRICK, PRANK, FOOL as things you can DO - And what's the fourth? FLOAT? HANDLE? 13. **Actually, let me reconsider song titles or phrases**: - "Stairway to Heaven" - first word STAIRWAY - "Hotel California" - first word HOTEL - "Bohemian Rhapsody" - first word BOHEMIAN - "_____ ____"? What song starts with one of the remaining? - "Float On" - FLOAT - "Fool on the Hill" - FOOL (but that's not the first word) - "Punk Rock" - PUNK (but that's not really a famous song) 14. **Wait - what if the pattern is songs where the first word is the category name?** - "Stairway to Heaven" - "Hotel California" - "Bohemian Rhapsody" - "Float On"? Let me try: STAIRWAY, HOTEL, BOHEMIAN, FLOAT

Only one guess left! I need to be very careful. Remaining words: STAIRWAY, TRICK, PUNK, BABA, FLOAT, FLAPPER, FOOL, HOTEL, CHAIN, HANDLE, PRANK, BOHEMIAN Guesses that were wrong: 1. STAIRWAY, HOTEL, BOHEMIAN, FOOL (incorrect) 2. PUNK, FLAPPER, BOHEMIAN, BABA (incorrect) 3. STAIRWAY, HOTEL, BOHEMIAN, FLOAT (incorrect) So STAIRWAY, HOTEL, BOHEMIAN cannot all be in the same group (tried with FOOL, BABA, and FLOAT - all wrong). Let me think differently: **What if they're separate?** - STAIRWAY might go with something else - HOTEL might go with something else - BOHEMIAN might go with something else **Let me try different groupings:** 1. **TRICK, PRANK, FOOL, HANDLE** - things you can do? - TRICK someone - PRANK someone - FOOL someone - HANDLE something - This could work! 2. **Or: TRICK, PRANK, FOOL, FLOAT** - No, FLOAT doesn't fit as well 3. **What about: CHAIN, HANDLE, TRICK, PRANK** - CHAIN reaction - HANDLE with care - TRICK question - PRANK call - All can precede certain words? Not sure. 4. **FLAPPER, PUNK, BOHEMIAN + one more** - These are cultural movements - Could it be BABA? (Baba Yaga isn't a movement) - Could it be FOOL? (no) - Could it be HIPSTER? (already used) - What about HOTEL? No. - What about STAIRWAY? No. 5. **Actually - let me think about "____ SKIRT"** - FLAPPER skirt? Not really, FLAPPER was a dress style - Wait - could there be clothing items? - CHAIN mail - No... 6. **Words that precede specific words:** - APRIL FOOL - CHAIN LETTER - TRICK QUESTION - PRANK CALL - These all follow the pattern "[WORD] + [COMMON WORD]" 7. **Or words that follow a specific word:** - DOG TRICK - DOG BABA? No - Could it be SEEING DOUBLE? FLOATING? 8. **Wait - what about "____ ACT"**? - PUNK rock act - FLAPPER was an act/fashion - BOHEMIAN was an act/lifestyle - FLOAT? No. - TRICK act? Maybe magic trick act? - FOOL? Court fool? 9. **Let me reconsider: Words that can precede "SHORTS"** (wait, that was already used) 10. **What if FLAPPER, BOHEMIAN, HIPSTER were the cultural ones, but HIPSTER was already used?** - Then what's the fourth cultural movement? - PUNK? Yes! PUNK is definitely a cultural movement. - So: PUNK, FLAPPER, BOHEMIAN... and we need a fourth that's NOT HIPSTER - Could BABA work? Not really. - Could FOOL work? Court fool? Jester? Not really a modern cultural movement. 11. **Actually, let me try: TRICK, PRANK, FOOL, BABA** - Can they all follow "APRIL"? - APRIL FOOL - yes - APRIL TRICK? Not common - APRIL PRANK? Not common - APRIL BABA? No - But could they all precede something? - TRICK or treat - PRANK call - FOOL's gold - BABA ganoush - Hmm, different words follow each 12. **Let me try thinking about what words CAN'T go together:** - If STAIRWAY, HOTEL, BOHEMIAN tried 3 times with different 4th words and failed - Then maybe only 2 of those 3 are together, OR none of them are together in the final category 13. **What if the pattern is "_____ YAGA"**? - BABA Yaga - YES! - What else? - No, that's the only one. 14. **Words that can follow "CHAIN"**: - CHAIN mail - CHAIN link - CHAIN reaction - Hmm, but none of our words fit that 15. **Let me try: TRICK, PRANK, FOOL, PUNK** - All can be verbs? - TRICK - to trick - PRANK - to prank - FOOL - to fool - PUNK - to punk? (not really) - Could describe people? - TRICK - a trick - PRANK - a prank - FOOL - a fool - PUNK - a punk - Yes! These could all be nouns describing people or actions Actually wait - let me reconsider the cultural movements one more time: - PUNK - yes - FLAPPER - yes (1920s style) - BOHEMIAN - yes (counterculture) - What's the 4th? Could HIPSTER be... no wait, HIPSTER was already guessed and it was the underwear category. Hmm, but what if there's a different pattern? Let me think about "____ RHAPSODY": - BOHEMIAN Rhapsody - FLOAT Rhapsody? No - STAIRWAY Rhapsody? No What about songs with the pattern "_____ TO ______": - STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN - FOOL TO ___? "Fool to Cry"? (Rolling Stones) - TRICK TO ___? - FLOAT TO ___? Actually, let me try: **TRICK, PRANK, FOOL, HANDLE** - These could all be things you can DO - Or all nouns that describe things Actually, I just realized - could FLOAT, HANDLE, TRICK, CHAIN all be about things you can do with something physical? - FLOAT something - HANDLE something - TRICK... hmm, not physical - CHAIN something What about: **FLOAT, HANDLE, CHAIN, PUNK** - No clear connection Let me go with my gut: **TRICK, PRANK, FOOL, HANDLE** - All can be verbs - All can be nouns - All relate to actions or people Actually, wait. Let me think one more time about "____ AND _____" phrases: - TRICK or TREAT - FLOAT? - PRANK? Or words that can precede "OR": - TRICK or treat - No others really fit Okay, I'm going to go with: **TRICK, PRANK, FOOL, FLOAT** All can describe something you do to someone/something? Actually no, FLOAT doesn't fit. Let me try: **TRICK, PRANK, FOOL, HANDLE** All relate to managing or doing things to someone/something

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 groups of 4 related words each. First, let me look for patterns: 1. **Types of balls**: RUBBER (ball), BOUNCY (ball), BEACH (ball)... hmm, BEACH isn't here. Let me reconsider. 2. **Types of bags/luggage**: DUFFEL (bag), CARRY-ON (bag), HARD-SHELL (bag), ROLLER (bag) - these all describe types of luggage! This seems very strong. 3. **Famous characters/people with nicknames**: - PEE-WEE (Herman) - INDIANA (Jones) - BUMPER (could this be a character?) - Let me think of "GO-GO" references or other names... 4. **Amusement park rides**: FERRIS (wheel), BUMPER (cars), ROLLER (coaster), MERRY (go-round) - this looks promising! 5. **Adjectives that can describe weather or mood**: BRIGHT, SUNNY, BOUNCY... Let me reconsider: - ROLLER could be: roller bag (luggage) OR roller coaster (ride) - BUMPER could be: bumper cars (ride) OR bumper pool (game) Looking more carefully: - **Luggage types**: DUFFEL, CARRY-ON, HARD-SHELL, ROLLER (roller bag) - **Amusement park rides**: FERRIS (wheel), BUMPER (cars), MERRY (go-round), and... BABY (ride)? Wait, let me think about "____ BUGGY": - BEACH BUGGY - BABY BUGGY - DUNE BUGGY - BUMPER... no Actually, let me reconsider "BUGGY": - BABY BUGGY, BEACH BUGGY, DUNE BUGGY... Hmm, what about "things that can come before GO-ROUND or other carnival rides"? Let me try another angle - words that can precede "GO-ROUND": - MERRY-go-round - ROUND-about... Or words that describe characteristics: - BRIGHT, SUNNY, BOUNCY, HEATHER (purple)... no that doesn't work. Let me start with what I'm most confident about: **LUGGAGE TYPES**: DUFFEL, CARRY-ON, HARD-SHELL, ROLLER This seems very solid - these are all specific types of luggage/bags for travel.

Great! DUFFEL, CARRY-ON, HARD-SHELL, ROLLER were all luggage types. Remaining words: BABY, BRIGHT, SUNNY, PEE-WEE, RUBBER, BOUNCY, INDIANA, FERRIS, MERRY, BUGGY, BUMPER, HEATHER Now let me identify the remaining 3 groups: 1. **Amusement park rides**: - FERRIS (wheel) - BUMPER (cars) - MERRY (go-round) - What's the fourth? Could BABY be a ride? Or BOUNCY? A "bouncy ride"? Not typical. What about RUBBER? No... 2. **Famous characters/celebrities with first names**: - PEE-WEE (Herman) - INDIANA (Jones) - BUMPER (could this fit here instead of rides?) - Let me think... SUNNY? HEATHER? BUGGY? - Wait - could these be "famous people named ___"? - PEE-WEE Herman - INDIANA Jones - What about BUMPER? BUMPER ROBINSON is an actor... - SUNNY (Leone? Anderson?) - HEATHER (Graham, Locklear, etc.) 3. **Words that can precede "BUGGY"**: - BABY buggy - BEACH buggy - DUNE buggy - But what about the remaining words? Let me think differently. What if these are all "_____ BUGGY": - BABY BUGGY - BUGGY (golf buggy, beach buggy, dune buggy) - Or what precedes BUGGY? Actually, let me reconsider: BOUNCY, SUNNY, BRIGHT, HEATHER - could these all be positive descriptors or characteristics? Wait - could BUGGY, BOUNCY, SUNNY, BRIGHT be words that describe personality traits or things that can be adjectives? Let me try: **Amusement park/carnival rides**: - FERRIS wheel - BUMPER cars - MERRY-go-round - BABY ride? Or could BUGGY be a baby carriage ride? No... Actually, what about rides at a fair/carnival that are preceded by specific words: - FERRIS wheel - BUMPER cars - MERRY-go-round - BABY... hmm, not standard. Let me try the celebrity angle: PEE-WEE, INDIANA, and two others could be famous people's first names or nicknames. I'll go with the amusement ride category I'm most confident about:

Okay, so FERRIS, BUMPER, MERRY, BABY is incorrect. Let me reconsider. Remaining words: BABY, BRIGHT, SUNNY, PEE-WEE, RUBBER, BOUNCY, INDIANA, FERRIS, MERRY, BUGGY, BUMPER, HEATHER So my carnival rides theory was wrong. Let me think differently: What if the pattern is: - PEE-WEE (Herman) - character/person - INDIANA (Jones) - character/person - BUMPER (?) - could this be a character? Bumper Robinson? - HEATHER (?) - could this be a character? Or famous people with those first names: - PEE-WEE Herman - INDIANA Jones - SUNNY Leone - HEATHER Graham/Locklear That could be 4 famous people! Then what about the carnival rides? - FERRIS wheel - MERRY-go-round - BUMPER cars - What's the 4th? RUBBER... BOUNCY... BUGGY... Wait! Could "BUGGY" rides be a thing? Or is there a pattern with: - FERRIS - MERRY - What else describes amusement park rides? Let me think about words that can precede another word: - SUNNY side up? BRIGHT side? - RUBBER ducky? BOUNCY ball? - BUGGY whip? What about "____ BALL": - RUBBER ball - BOUNCY ball - BEACH ball (but BEACH isn't here) - BUMPER pool... no Or things that are characteristics: - BRIGHT, SUNNY, BOUNCY, HEATHER (purple, a color?) Actually, wait - could these be types of personality traits or words describing mood/demeanor: - SUNNY (disposition) - BRIGHT (personality) - BOUNCY (personality) - HEATHER (? not sure) Let me try: SUNNY, BRIGHT, BOUNCY, and one more positive descriptor... Or could BABY, BUGGY, RUBBER, BOUNCY all relate to toys/children's items? - BABY carriage (buggy) - RUBBER ducky - BOUNCY ball - BABY... something? Let me try: BABY, BUGGY, RUBBER, BOUNCY as children's toys/items

Two incorrect guesses remain. Let me reconsider more carefully. Remaining words: BABY, BRIGHT, SUNNY, PEE-WEE, RUBBER, BOUNCY, INDIANA, FERRIS, MERRY, BUGGY, BUMPER, HEATHER Let me think about what connects 4 of these words: **Famous people with these as first names:** - PEE-WEE Herman - INDIANA Jones - SUNNY Leone - HEATHER Graham/Locklear This seems plausible! **Remaining after that**: BABY, BRIGHT, BOUNCY, RUBBER, FERRIS, MERRY, BUGGY, BUMPER Could these be amusement park rides or carnival features? - FERRIS wheel - BUMPER cars - MERRY-go-round - What's the 4th? None of the remaining really fit perfectly... Wait, let me think about "____ WHEEL": - FERRIS wheel - BUMPER... no - MERRY... no - BUMPY wheel? No... What about things that can be "BABY ___": - BABY buggy - BABY carriage - But this doesn't help... Let me reconsider: Could some of these be types of something else? "___ BALL": - BOUNCY ball - RUBBER ball - BUMPER pool (has bumper balls?) - Hmm... Actually, what if I'm overthinking? Let me consider: - BRIGHT, SUNNY, BOUNCY, MERRY - these are all positive/cheerful adjectives! That leaves: BABY, RUBBER, INDIANA, FERRIS, BUGGY, BUMPER, PEE-WEE, HEATHER Hmm, but then what would be another group? Let me try: **BRIGHT, SUNNY, BOUNCY, MERRY** as positive/cheerful descriptors

Excellent! BRIGHT, SUNNY, BOUNCY, MERRY were all positive/cheerful adjectives. Remaining words: BABY, PEE-WEE, RUBBER, INDIANA, FERRIS, BUGGY, BUMPER, HEATHER Now I need to find 2 groups of 4 from these 8 words. **Famous people with these as first names:** - PEE-WEE Herman - INDIANA Jones - HEATHER Graham or HEATHER Locklear - What about BABY? BABY Face Nelson? Not really a common reference... - Or BUMPER Robinson (actor)? - RUBBER... doesn't fit Let me reconsider. What if these are all characters or famous people: - PEE-WEE (Herman) - INDIANA (Jones) - BUMPER (Robinson - actor, or a character?) - HEATHER (Graham, Locklear, or a character name) Or what about amusement park rides? - FERRIS wheel - BUMPER cars - BABY... ride? - BUGGY... ride? Hmm, what if they're things you can ride in? - FERRIS wheel - BUMPER cars - BABY carriage/buggy - RUBBER... raft? dinghy? Or "____ DUCKY": - RUBBER ducky - But what else? Wait, let me think about "____ BAND": - RUBBER band - But what else? What about famous people or characters: - PEE-WEE Herman (actor/comedian) - INDIANA Jones (movie character) - HEATHER (Graham - actress, or Heather Chandler - character?) - BUMPER (could be from Gilmore Girls - Bumper cars reference? Or Bumper Robinson?) Actually, could these be characters from TV shows or movies? - PEE-WEE (from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Pee-Wee's Playhouse) - INDIANA (Jones - movie character) - HEATHER (from Heathers movie) - BUMPER (from Glee - Bumper Allen!) That could be it! Or: - BABY (from Dirty Dancing - "Nobody puts Baby in a corner") - INDIANA (Jones) - PEE-WEE (Herman) - BUMPER (Allen from Glee) Let me try: **PEE-WEE, INDIANA, HEATHER, BUMPER** as famous characters or people

One guess remaining! I need to get this right. Remaining words: BABY, PEE-WEE, RUBBER, INDIANA, FERRIS, BUGGY, BUMPER, HEATHER I was wrong about PEE-WEE, INDIANA, HEATHER, BUMPER as a group. Let me reconsider what could connect 4 of these 8 words: **Possibility 1 - Amusement park/carnival rides:** - FERRIS wheel - BUMPER cars - BABY ride? (not typical) - BUGGY ride? (not typical) **Possibility 2 - Things that can be preceded by a word:** - BABY buggy - RUBBER ducky/band - BUGGY whip **Possibility 3 - Famous people/characters:** - PEE-WEE Herman - INDIANA Jones - BABY (could be a nickname - Baby Face Nelson, or "Baby" from Dirty Dancing) - BUMPER (from Glee) - HEATHER (Graham or from Heathers) - FERRIS (Bueller! From Ferris Bueller's Day Off!) Wait! FERRIS Bueller! That's a famous character! So maybe: - PEE-WEE (Herman) - INDIANA (Jones) - FERRIS (Bueller) - BABY (from Dirty Dancing) Or with HEATHER or BUMPER? Let me try: **PEE-WEE, INDIANA, FERRIS, BABY** - these could all be famous movie/TV characters! - PEE-WEE Herman - INDIANA Jones - FERRIS Bueller - BABY (from Dirty Dancing - "Nobody puts Baby in a corner") That would leave: RUBBER, BUGGY, BUMPER, HEATHER What connects those 4? - RUBBER... - BUGGY... - BUMPER... - HEATHER (purple color? No...) Hmm, could they be types of something? - RUBBER band/ball/ducky - BUGGY whip/vehicle - BUMPER car/pool - HEATHER... doesn't fit Wait, could HEATHER be part of the character group instead? Let me reconsider... Actually, my best guess for the last group is: PEE-WEE, INDIANA, FERRIS, BABY

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 related groups. Looking at the words: SUIT, MELT, COPPER, SOMEDAY, HONEY, SHRINK, ALTERNATE, VAPORIZE, HERO, FANTASY, CONDENSE, HACK, COVER, BACKUP, FREEZE, SUB Let me identify potential categories: 1. **States of matter/Phase changes**: MELT, VAPORIZE, CONDENSE, FREEZE - These are all phase transitions! MELT (solid→liquid), VAPORIZE (liquid→gas), CONDENSE (gas→liquid), FREEZE (liquid→solid). This seems very strong. 2. **Types of sandwiches**: HERO, SUB, CLUB... wait, I need 4. Let me think: HERO (hero sandwich), SUB (submarine sandwich), BACKUP... no. COVER... Could SUIT be involved? No. Let me reconsider. 3. **Words that can follow a common word**: - BACKUP PLAN, BACKUP DANCER, BACKUP SINGER - COVER SONG, COVER BAND - ALTERNATE ROUTE - HACK JOB Looking for what connects these... 4. **Words associated with "plan"**: BACKUP (backup plan), ALTERNATE (alternate plan)... 5. **TV/Movie genres or things ending in a genre**: SITCOM alternatives? - FANTASY (genre) - SOMEDAY (wait... or is this "Some Day" as in a show?) 6. **Things that can be "old"**: - OLD SUIT - OLD HONEY - Hmm, not quite 7. **Words that can precede "man"**: - HONEY man? No. - COPPER (cop) - COPPER man? No. - HACK man? - Wait: BACKUP (backup man?), SUIT (suitman?), COVER (cover man?) 8. **Alternative names for people/things**: - COPPER = cop/police officer - HACK = taxi driver or writer - SUIT = businessman - HERO = hero/brave person Hmm, could these be slang terms? Let me reconsider HERO, SUB - sandwich types: - HERO sandwich - SUB sandwich - What else? CLUB sandwich... but CLUB isn't here. - Could COPPER be corned beef? Or HONEY? Actually, let me think about "Plan ___": - PLAN B (not here) - Could these go BEFORE a word? Like "___ PLAN"? - BACKUP PLAN - ALTERNATE PLAN - CONTINGENCY PLAN - HONEY... no Wait! Words that can precede a common word: - SUIT, COVER, BACKUP, ALTERNATE - could these all precede "STORY"? - COVER STORY (yes!) - ALTERNATE STORY (maybe?) - BACKUP STORY? (no) - SUIT STORY? (no) Let me try: Words that go with "B": - BACKUP, SUIT... no clear pattern I'm most confident about **MELT, VAPORIZE, CONDENSE, FREEZE** - these are phase change verbs. Let me go with this strong category first.

Great! The phase change words were correct. Now I have 12 remaining words: SUIT, COPPER, SOMEDAY, HONEY, SHRINK, ALTERNATE, HERO, FANTASY, HACK, COVER, BACKUP, SUB Let me identify new categories: 1. **Types of sandwiches**: - HERO (hero sandwich) - SUB (submarine sandwich) - What else could be sandwiches? - CLUB sandwich... no CLUB - Could COPPER be something? No. - Hmm, only 2 clear sandwich types 2. **Things that can precede a common word**: - COVER STORY, COVER SONG, COVER BAND - BACKUP PLAN, BACKUP SINGER, BACKUP DANCER - ALTERNATE ROUTE, ALTERNATE ENDING - FANTASY FOOTBALL, FANTASY LEAGUE - HONEY BADGER, HONEY BEE (but these feel weak) - Could these all precede something? 3. **Slang terms for professions/people**: - COPPER = police officer - HACK = taxi driver or journalist - SUIT = businessman - What's the 4th? HERO? SUB? 4. **Words that can follow "Plan"**: - PLAN B (BACKUP) - Doesn't seem to work 5. **Rebus or compound possibilities**: - HONEYSUCKLE - SUBNORMAL - HERO... 6. **"___ Talk" or "___ Song"**: - PILLOW TALK (PILLOW isn't here) - COVER SONG - Wait, could multiple words go with SONG or TALK? Let me focus on **slang for people/types**: - COPPER (cop/police) - HACK (journalist/taxi driver) - SUIT (businessman) - Could HERO work? Or HONEY? "That honey" (attractive person)? Actually, thinking about professions in slang: - COPPER, HACK, SUIT, SUB (submarine captain/submariner?) Or thinking "TV show/character types": - FANTASY (genre) - HERO (character type) - COVER (cover band?) - SHRINK (TV character - psychiatrist!) Wait! **TV character archetypes or occupations**: - SHRINK (psychiatrist on TV) - HERO (superhero/protagonist) - HACK (journalist, like "Murphy Brown") - COPPER (police officer) This feels strong! Let me try this.

Excellent! So COPPER, HACK, SUIT, SHRINK were all slang terms for professions/people. Now I have 8 remaining words: SOMEDAY, HONEY, ALTERNATE, HERO, FANTASY, COVER, BACKUP, SUB Let me identify the final 2 categories: 1. **Types of sandwiches**: - HERO (hero sandwich) - SUB (submarine sandwich) - What else? - COVER? No. - BACKUP? No. - Hmm, only 2 sandwiches visible 2. **Words that can precede a common word**: - COVER STORY, COVER SONG - BACKUP PLAN, BACKUP DANCER, BACKUP SINGER - ALTERNATE ROUTE, ALTERNATE ENDING - FANTASY FOOTBALL, FANTASY LEAGUE - Could these all go before "ROUTE" or "PLAN" or something? - COVER... COVER BAND? - Wait, could they all precede "BAND"? - COVER BAND (yes!) - BACKUP BAND (yes!) - ALTERNATE... band? (maybe) - FANTASY... band? (not common) 3. **Words that go with a specific pattern**: - Could "___BACK" be a thing? COMEBACK, FALLBACK, SETBACK, CUTBACK... - SOMEDAY... no - HONEY... no 4. **"Queen ___" songs or albums**: - "ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST" - hmm - Could these be song titles or artist references? - Wait: Could HONEY, SOMEDAY relate to songs? - "Honey Honey" (ABBA) - "Someday at Christmas" - "Fantasy" (Mariah Carey) - "Cover" (Mariah Carey has songs) 5. **Actually, thinking Mariah Carey**: - "FANTASY" (famous Mariah song) - "HERO" (famous Mariah song) - "SOMEDAY" (not sure) - "HONEY" (not sure) Wait! Could these be **Mariah Carey songs**? - FANTASY (yes, huge hit) - HERO (yes, huge hit) - SOMEDAY (possibly) - HONEY (possibly - "Honey Drip") Or could the pattern be **words that can follow "LIKE"**? - Like a HERO - Like a FANTASY - Like HONEY - Hmm, not quite Let me reconsider: The remaining 8 are: SOMEDAY, HONEY, ALTERNATE, HERO, FANTASY, COVER, BACKUP, SUB Two groups of 4: - Group A likely: HERO, FANTASY, and 2 others (possibly song titles or movie titles) - Group B likely: SOMEDAY, HONEY, ALTERNATE, COVER, BACKUP, SUB (6 words, need to split) Wait! Could these be **words that precede "LOVER"**? - FANTASY LOVER - BACKUP LOVER? (no) - Hmm Or **words that can precede "PLAN"**? - BACKUP PLAN (yes) - ALTERNATE PLAN (yes) - COVER PLAN? (no) - Hmm, only 2 Let me try **Mariah Carey songs**: - FANTASY - HERO - HONEY (is there a Mariah Carey song? Yes, various songs with honey) - SOMEDAY (not as famous) Actually, let me think about **"We Are" songs or "____ We Are" songs**: - Could these precede "WE ARE"? Or **words that can be preceded by a common word**? - BACKUP DANCER, COVER BAND - Wait, could they all follow the same word? - "___ BAND": COVER BAND, BACKUP BAND, ALTERNATE BAND? (no) - "___ PLAN": BACKUP PLAN, ALTERNATE PLAN (yes), HERO PLAN? (no) Let me try a different approach. Could these be: - HONEY, SOMEDAY, ALTERNATE, SUB - words that can follow "SWEET"? - SWEET HONEY (no) - SWEET SOMEDAY (no) - SWEET SUB (no) What about **Madonna songs or album names**? - Or **famous pop songs**? Actually, I think I should try: **HERO, FANTASY, COVER, BACKUP** These could all precede "BAND" or follow a common word. Or my best guess: The sandwich group is HERO and SUB... so maybe: **HERO, SUB, and two sandwich-type words**? Wait! Could these be types of **roles in a band or group**? - BACKUP (backup vocals, backup band member) - COVER (cover band) - HERO? FANTASY? Let me try: **BACKUP, COVER, ALTERNATE, SUB** - BACKUP PLAN, BACKUP BAND - COVER BAND, COVER SONG - ALTERNATE ROUTE, ALTERNATE REALITY - SUB... SUBMARINE, SUBSTITUTE These could all be words meaning "replacement" or "second/alternative": - BACKUP (backup/substitute) - COVER (cover/fill in) - ALTERNATE (alternate/replacement) - SUB (substitute/submarine sandwich filler?) Actually, I think this is strong. Let me go with this.

Perfect! BACKUP, COVER, ALTERNATE, SUB were correct. These were likely all words meaning "substitute" or "replacement" or "secondary." Now I have the final 4 remaining words: SOMEDAY, HONEY, HERO, FANTASY These must be the last group. Let me think about what connects them: 1. **Mariah Carey songs**: - FANTASY (yes, huge hit) - HERO (yes, huge hit) - HONEY (possibly) - SOMEDAY (possibly - maybe "Someday") 2. **Movie or song titles**: - FANTASY (genre/movie) - HERO (movie/character) - HONEY (movie - "Honey" with Jessica Alba) - SOMEDAY (could be a movie or song) 3. **Words that can precede a common word**: - All could precede "LAND" perhaps? - FANTASYLAND (yes! Disney park) - HONEY... HONEYLAND? - HERO... HEROLAND? - SOMEDAY... SOMEDAY LAND? - Hmm, probably not all 4. **Could these be related to a specific artist or album**? - Mariah Carey has FANTASY, HERO... - Or could they be Beyoncé songs? - Or could they be words from song titles? 5. **Words that can follow "DREAM"**? - DREAM FANTASY? (no) - Hmm 6. **Words associated with wishes/aspirations**? - FANTASY (imaginary desire) - HERO (someone to aspire to) - SOMEDAY (future aspiration - "someday I will...") - HONEY (term of endearment, could relate to love/aspiration) 7. **Or could they all precede or follow "LAND"**? - FANTASYLAND (yes!) - HONEYLAND? (possibly) - HEROLAND? (no) - SOMEDAY LAND? (no) Since these are the last 4, they must form a group. The most likely connections are either: - Mariah Carey songs - Disney/theme park related - Movie titles - Words related to wishes/dreams I'm confident these are the final 4, so I'll just guess them.

Let me analyze these 16 words to find 4 related groups. Looking at the words: WALL, MAIN, BEST, SCALE, HATCH, TOP, PORTAL, DOOR, FLEET, BETTER, COMPASS, DOWNING, BEAT, INSET, KEY, GATE Let me identify potential categories: 1. **Things that can be "STREET"**: WALL (Wall Street), MAIN (Main Street), DOWNING (Downing Street), FLEET (Fleet Street) - these are all famous streets! 2. **Words that come before "COMPASS"**: GATE (Gate compass?), KEY (Key compass?)... Actually, let me think differently. Could these be parts of "___COMPASS"? Or words that precede COMPASS? 3. **Entries/Openings**: DOOR, GATE, PORTAL, HATCH - these could all be ways to enter or exit 4. **Comparison words**: BEST, BETTER, TOP... BEAT? These could relate to superiority or comparisons 5. **Words that can follow "___" or precede something**: Let me think about SCALE, INSET, KEY, COMPASS... Wait, let me reconsider the "STREET" connection: - WALL Street (famous financial street in NYC) - MAIN Street (common street name) - DOWNING Street (famous street in London, UK Prime Minister's residence) - FLEET Street (famous street in London, historically associated with newspapers) This seems very strong! Remaining after that guess: BEST, SCALE, HATCH, TOP, PORTAL, DOOR, BETTER, COMPASS, BEAT, INSET, KEY, GATE 6. **Entry/Exit points**: DOOR, GATE, PORTAL, HATCH - all ways to enter/exit a space 7. **Superiority/Competition**: BEST, BETTER, TOP, BEAT - all convey excellence or winning 8. **Navigation/Measurement**: SCALE, COMPASS, KEY, INSET - these could be map elements! KEY (legend), COMPASS (direction), SCALE (distance), INSET (detailed section) Let me go with the strongest connection first: WALL, MAIN, DOWNING, FLEET (all ___ STREET)

Great! So WALL, MAIN, DOWNING, FLEET were all famous streets (___STREET). Remaining words: BEST, SCALE, HATCH, TOP, PORTAL, DOOR, BETTER, COMPASS, BEAT, INSET, KEY, GATE Now let me look for the next category: 1. **Entry/Exit points**: DOOR, GATE, PORTAL, HATCH - all are openings or ways to enter/exit 2. **Superiority/Winning**: BEST, BETTER, TOP, BEAT - all convey being superior or winning 3. **Map elements**: SCALE, COMPASS, KEY, INSET - these are all elements found on maps! - SCALE: shows distance/measurement on maps - COMPASS: shows direction (north arrow) - KEY/LEGEND: explains symbols on maps - INSET: a smaller detailed map within a larger map Let me verify the "entries/openings" category: - DOOR: obvious entrance - GATE: entrance/barrier - PORTAL: entrance/doorway - HATCH: opening/entrance (like a hatch on a ship) This seems very strong. All four are ways to enter or exit something. I'll go with the entry/exit points next since I'm very confident: DOOR, GATE, PORTAL, HATCH

Excellent! DOOR, GATE, PORTAL, HATCH were all entries/openings/ways to enter or exit. Remaining words: BEST, SCALE, TOP, BETTER, COMPASS, BEAT, INSET, KEY Now with 8 words left, I need to find 2 more groups of 4. Let me analyze: 1. **Map elements**: SCALE, COMPASS, KEY, INSET - SCALE: shows distance measurements on maps - COMPASS: shows direction (north arrow) on maps - KEY: legend that explains symbols on maps - INSET: a smaller detailed map section within a larger map This seems very strong! 2. **Superiority/Winning/Excellence**: BEST, BETTER, TOP, BEAT - BEST: superlative of good - BETTER: comparative of good - TOP: highest/best - BEAT: to defeat/surpass These all convey winning, excellence, or superiority. The map elements category feels very cohesive and specific. I'll go with that next.

Perfect! SCALE, COMPASS, KEY, INSET were all map elements. Remaining words: BEST, TOP, BETTER, BEAT These are the last 4 words, so they must form the final category. Let me verify: BEST, TOP, BETTER, BEAT - all convey superiority, winning, or excellence: - BEST: superlative form, the highest quality - TOP: highest position, superior - BETTER: comparative form, superior to another - BEAT: to defeat, to surpass, to win against This makes sense as a category about superiority or comparison words.