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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.
ABBREVIATION
ALKYLAMIDE
BEAR
CALAMARI
CONDITION
CONTRACTION
ELISION
HANDLE
MANDARIN
MELAMINE
NICKNAME
SHAPE
SITUATION
STAND
STATE
WEATHER
Themes
The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.
STATUSStraightforward
TOLERATEModerate
WORD SHORTENINGS, OFTENTricky
WORDS MADE USING U.S. POSTAL ABBREVIATIONSDevious
One word per group
Theme name plus one word from each category.
STATUSStraightforward
HOW THINGS ARE GOING, IN A WORD+ 3 more…
TOLERATEModerate
ENDURE OR PUT UP WITH SOMETHING DIFFICULT+ 3 more…
WORD SHORTENINGS, OFTENTricky
WAYS LANGUAGE GETS TRIMMED OR TRANSFORMED+ 3 more…
WORDS MADE USING U.S. POSTAL ABBREVIATIONSDevious
THESE WORDS SECRETLY CONTAIN TWO-LETTER STATE CODES BACK TO BACK+ 3 more…
Full solution
STATUSStraightforward
CONDITION,SHAPE,SITUATION,STATE
CONDITION, SHAPE, SITUATION, and STATE all mean the current status or state of affairs of something.
TOLERATEModerate
BEAR,HANDLE,STAND,WEATHER
BEAR, HANDLE, STAND, and WEATHER all mean to tolerate or endure something unpleasant.
WORD SHORTENINGS, OFTENTricky
ABBREVIATION,CONTRACTION,ELISION,NICKNAME
ABBREVIATION, CONTRACTION, ELISION, and NICKNAME are all terms for shortened or altered forms of words or names.
WORDS MADE USING U.S. POSTAL ABBREVIATIONSDevious
ALKYLAMIDE,CALAMARI,MANDARIN,MELAMINE
Each word can be built from U.S. postal abbreviations: e.g., ALKYLAMIDE contains AL-KY-LA-MI-DE (Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Delaware), CALAMARI contains CA-LA-MA-RI, MANDARIN contains MA-ND-AR-IN, and MELAMINE contains ME-LA-MI-NE.