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
NET · SALUTE · VIOLATE · FIRE · SADDLE · HOME · ART · FORTNIGHT · SHARPEN · ORGANIC · DECADE · CENTURY · BRAKE · PEDAL · MINUTE · SPOKE
Group 1
Hint 1: A nudge
Each of these would appear in a catalogue of replacement parts for the same item.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
A shop selling these would also stock helmets and bells.
Hint 3: Nearly there
Think of the two-wheeled machine these four pieces all belong to.
Group 2
Hint 1: A nudge
Some are brief, some stretch on and on.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Two of them take their names from counting words, and one doubles as an adjective meaning extremely small.
Hint 3: Nearly there
They are all spans of time, from the very short to the very long.
Group 3
Hint 1: A nudge
These short entries feel incomplete on their own.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Attach the same single noun to the end of each and you get four familiar compounds.
Hint 3: Nearly there
The shared ending is what most adults head off to do each weekday.
Group 4
Hint 1: A nudge
Ignore what these words mean and look at the letters inside them.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Each one contains a shorter word, spelled out in order and unbroken.
Hint 3: Nearly there
Something you could play in a band or an orchestra is buried in every one.