Four by Four hints ·
Hints for the Four by Four puzzle
Open one hint at a time for each group. Hints go from a vague nudge to nearly naming the category, and each group stays hidden until you choose to reveal it. Play this puzzle.
The sixteen words
SKATE · CHALK · SWITCH · SCURRY · DIAPER · DESSERTS · DRAWER · SPATULA · PEELER · GRATER · LAGER · SPRINT · LADLE · BOLT · SCAMPER · KEY
Group 1
Hint 1: A nudge
Each of these is something you grip by a handle.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
You would find all four stored in the same room of the house.
Hint 3: Nearly there
One shreds cheese, one lifts soup, one flips pancakes, one strips skins off potatoes.
Group 2
Hint 1: A nudge
Each of these can act as a verb about getting from one place to another.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Picture a mouse crossing an open floor, or a runner off the blocks.
Hint 3: Nearly there
Verbs for rushing off, whether on two legs or four.
Group 3
Hint 1: A nudge
None of these is finished on its own.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Each takes the same short word tacked onto the end.
Hint 3: Nearly there
One you type on, one you ride, one you write on, one routes calls.
Group 4
Hint 1: A nudge
Ignore what these mean and look at how they are built.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Each one conceals a second, unrelated word in its letters, though not in the usual order.
Hint 3: Nearly there
Flipped around, you get a prize, a payment, a kingly adjective, and a state of being under pressure.