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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.
ASIAGO
DEVOTE
EDUCATED
FLANK
HISTORICAL
LITERARY
MOTHER
MY
NEIGHBOR
PULP
SCIENCE
SKIRT
TOTORO
TOUCH
VERY
WHAMMY
Themes
The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.
BORDERStraightforward
KINDS OF FICTIONModerate
WORDS IN A PLANETARY MNEMONICTricky
STARTING WITH FOUR-LETTER '80S BANDSDevious
One word per group
Theme name plus one word from each category.
BORDERStraightforward
THESE WORDS ALL MEAN TO BE ADJACENT TO OR ALONG THE EDGE OF SOMETHING+ 3 more…
KINDS OF FICTIONModerate
EACH OF THESE WORDS CAN PRECEDE 'FICTION' TO NAME A GENRE+ 3 more…
WORDS IN A PLANETARY MNEMONICTricky
THESE WORDS APPEAR IN THE CLASSIC SENTENCE USED TO REMEMBER THE ORDER OF THE PLANETS+ 3 more…
STARTING WITH FOUR-LETTER '80S BANDSDevious
EACH WORD SECRETLY BEGINS WITH THE NAME OF A FOUR-LETTER BAND FROM THE 1980S+ 3 more…
Full solution
BORDERStraightforward
FLANK,NEIGHBOR,SKIRT,TOUCH
FLANK, NEIGHBOR, SKIRT, and TOUCH all mean to border or be at the boundary of something
KINDS OF FICTIONModerate
HISTORICAL,LITERARY,PULP,SCIENCE
HISTORICAL fiction, LITERARY fiction, PULP fiction, and SCIENCE fiction are all established genres of fiction
WORDS IN A PLANETARY MNEMONICTricky
EDUCATED,MOTHER,MY,VERY
MY VERY EDUCATED MOTHER — from 'My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos' — is a mnemonic for the planets' order
STARTING WITH FOUR-LETTER '80S BANDSDevious
ASIAGO,DEVOTE,TOTORO,WHAMMY
ASIAGO starts with ASIA, DEVOTE starts with DEVO, TOTORO starts with TOTO, and WHAMMY starts with WHAM — all popular '80s bands