All 16 words, sorted alphabetically. Group them into four categories of four.
The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.
Theme name plus one word from each category.
HEEDS, MINDS, REGARDS, and RESPECTS all mean to follow or obey rules, laws, or instructions
BEST, ECLIPSE, SURPASS, and TOP all mean to outperform or go beyond someone else's achievement
CHEERS, STOOGES, STRIKES, and WISHES are all things traditionally counted in threes: Three Cheers, Three Stooges, three strikes in bowling, and three wishes from a genie
Each word contains an actor named Tom: AUTO-CRUISE (Tom Cruise), FOOL-HARDY (Tom Hardy), MULHOLLAND contains HANKS... wait — MULHOLLAND hides no Tom; but THANKS contains TOM HANKS, FOOLHARDY hides TOM HARDY, AUTOCRUISE hides TOM CRUISE, and MULHOLLAND hides TOM HOLLAND