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
GRAVE · COVER · PEANUT · SPINE · PREDICT · MILE · EGG · STEALTH · CORNER · MOROSE · INDEX · TACO · HAIL · CHAPTER · TURTLE · JADED
Group 1
Hint 1: A nudge
Each of these words has a well-known everyday meaning that has nothing to do with this group.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Together they describe one familiar object, from its outside to the way it is organised inside.
Hint 3: Nearly there
A librarian handles all four: the outer protection, the backbone, the numbered divisions, and the alphabetical list at the back.
Group 2
Hint 1: A nudge
None of these four is finished yet.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Add the same short word to the end of each and you get a longer compound.
Hint 3: Nearly there
The thing you add is something quarried and carved by a mason.
Group 3
Hint 1: A nudge
What these words mean is a complete distraction.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Read the letters straight through and something unrelated appears inside each one.
Hint 3: Nearly there
A painter's palette is buried in these four, one shade per word.
Group 4
Hint 1: A nudge
Four completely unrelated items that still share one feature.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
In each case the good part is on the inside, and you have to get past something first.
Hint 3: Nearly there
In every case that outer layer can be cracked, shed or stuffed.