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
PEONY · SUBTLE · NEEDLE · DEBT · KID · IRIS · RIB · DAISY · THUMB · TAUNT · TULIP · TEAR · CLIMB · DEW · GUM · EAVES
Group 1
Hint 1: A nudge
The plainest set in the grid: this one is about what the things are, not how they are spelled.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
All four come up out of the ground, and two of them double as given names.
Hint 3: Nearly there
Each is a bloom; one rises from a bulb, and another shares its name with a coloured part of the eye.
Group 2
Hint 1: A nudge
At first glance several of these look like ordinary nouns.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Ignore the sewing kit, the skeleton and the playground; what counts is what these words do, not what they are.
Hint 3: Nearly there
Each one means to make someone the target of jokes or jabs, three in fun and one in spite.
Group 3
Hint 1: A nudge
Four words that are waiting for a partner.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
Add the same short word to each and you get four unrelated compounds, including a sweet treat and a word for listening in.
Hint 3: Nearly there
The shared ending is a tiny bead of liquid that falls.
Group 4
Hint 1: A nudge
Spelling, not meaning, is what binds these four.
Hint 2: Narrowing it down
One is about money, one is about the body, one is about going upward: their shared quirk has nothing to do with what they mean.
Hint 3: Nearly there
The second letter of the alphabet sits in each of them without ever being pronounced.