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
WALL · FLY · NEWS · DOUGH · GUMBO · BROTH · GLEAM · SPARKLE · GLOW · CHOWDER · TEA · SAND · SHIMMER · BISQUE · SEW · RAY
Group 1
Hint 1: A nudge
A long simmer on the stove can produce many different results.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
You would reach for a spoon rather than a fork with any of these.
Hint 3: Nearly there
Thick or thin, creamy or clear, all four are names for the same kind of first course.
Group 2
Hint 1: A nudge
Light can behave in many different ways.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
It's what polished metal and still water do in the sun.
Hint 3: Nearly there
Four verbs for giving off a soft or twinkling brightness.
Group 3
Hint 1: A nudge
These four feel unfinished on their own.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Each one joins with the very same everyday noun to form a compound word.
Hint 3: Nearly there
Headlines, decorated rooms, smoothing wood, and trapping insects all rely on the same material.
Group 4
Hint 1: A nudge
Say these out loud instead of reading them.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Spoken aloud, they'd slot into a familiar rising order.
Hint 3: Nearly there
They are homophones of the syllables singers use to climb a scale.