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Show the word gridAll 16 words — you figure out the groups
Show the themesCategory names only, no words revealed
One word per groupTheme name + one word per category
Full solutionAll words and explanations
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Word grid
All 16 words, sorted alphabetically. Group them into four categories of four.
APHID
APPLE
BEECH
BEETLE
CEDAR
COOKIE
DECAY
EASY
EFFORT
GEO
MITE
PINE
TICK
VENDETTA
YEW
ZITI
Themes
The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.
ARTHROPODSStraightforward
TREESModerate
[LETTER] (IS) FOR ___Tricky
WORDS THAT SOUNDS LIKE TWO LETTERSDevious
One word per group
Theme name plus one word from each category.
ARTHROPODSStraightforward
TINY CRAWLING CRITTERS WITH EXOSKELETONS — GARDEN PESTS AND PARASITES+ 3 more…
TREESModerate
YOU MIGHT FIND THESE GROWING IN A FOREST OR A CEMETERY+ 3 more…
[LETTER] (IS) FOR ___Tricky
EACH COMPLETES A PHRASE '___ IS FOR ___' FROM A FAMOUS TITLE+ 3 more…
WORDS THAT SOUNDS LIKE TWO LETTERSDevious
SAY THESE WORDS ALOUD — YOU'LL HEAR TWO ALPHABET LETTERS HIDING INSIDE+ 3 more…
Full solution
ARTHROPODSStraightforward
APHID,BEETLE,MITE,TICK
APHID, BEETLE, MITE, and TICK are all arthropods — invertebrate animals with exoskeletons and jointed limbs
TREESModerate
BEECH,CEDAR,PINE,YEW
BEECH, CEDAR, PINE, and YEW are all types of trees
[LETTER] (IS) FOR ___Tricky
APPLE,COOKIE,EFFORT,VENDETTA
These words complete the pattern '[Letter] is for ___': A is for APPLE, C is for COOKIE, E is for EFFORT, V is for VENDETTA (as in the film/graphic novel)
WORDS THAT SOUNDS LIKE TWO LETTERSDevious
DECAY,EASY,GEO,ZITI
DECAY sounds like D-K, EASY sounds like E-Z, GEO sounds like G-O, and ZITI sounds like Z-T — each word phonetically contains exactly two letter names