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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.
●
ALPHA
BANGKOK
BOOMER
BY
HEAD
LEAD
POPSICLE
POWDER
PRIMARY
SHORT
SILENT
SOFT
STRESSED
TIMES
X
Themes
The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.
DOMINANTStraightforward
MULTIPLICATION INDICATORSModerate
PRONUNCIATION DESCRIPTORSTricky
STARTING WITH EXPLOSIVE ONOMATOPOEIADevious
One word per group
Theme name plus one word from each category.
DOMINANTStraightforward
WORDS MEANING FIRST IN COMMAND OR MOST IMPORTANT+ 3 more…
MULTIPLICATION INDICATORSModerate
SYMBOLS OR WORDS THAT SIGNAL MULTIPLYING TWO NUMBERS+ 3 more…
PRONUNCIATION DESCRIPTORSTricky
HOW A LINGUIST MIGHT DESCRIBE A VOWEL OR CONSONANT SOUND+ 3 more…
STARTING WITH EXPLOSIVE ONOMATOPOEIADevious
EACH WORD SECRETLY BEGINS WITH A BANG — LITERALLY+ 3 more…
Full solution
DOMINANTStraightforward
ALPHA,HEAD,LEAD,PRIMARY
ALPHA, HEAD, LEAD, and PRIMARY all mean dominant or first in rank, describing something or someone at the top.
MULTIPLICATION INDICATORSModerate
BY,TIMES,X,●
BY, TIMES, X, and ● are all ways to indicate multiplication in math, as in '3 times 4' or '3 × 4'.
PRONUNCIATION DESCRIPTORSTricky
SHORT,SILENT,SOFT,STRESSED
SHORT, SILENT, SOFT, and STRESSED are all terms used in phonetics and grammar to describe how a letter or syllable is pronounced.
STARTING WITH EXPLOSIVE ONOMATOPOEIADevious
BANGKOK,BOOMER,POPSICLE,POWDER
BANGKOK (BANG), BOOMER (BOOM), POPSICLE (POP), and POWDER (POW) each begin with an explosive onomatopoeia.