Discern

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Thanks for joining us. I’m sorry my team couldn’t explain more on the chopper before you got here. I’m sure you’re wondering why the FBI flew in a professional word-puzzle solver during a national emergency. It’s because we need your help. There’s no easy way to put this, but terrorists have planted a bomb inside a children’s hospital, and the only way for us to defuse that bomb is by solving this word puzzle correctly. If we fail, thousands of innocent children will die.

We brought you in because you’ve got PhDs in linguistics, creative writing, and logic from Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. They say you’re the best at New York Times connections puzzles. For the sake of us all, I hope they’re right. You seem cool as a cucumber. Good. We needed someone who could keep their wits about them under pressure.

This puzzle is just like a New York Times connections puzzle. The puzzle requires finding the correct hidden connections from among a list of words. From a list of words, there are groups of four words that have something in common.

Our crack team of puzzle solvers have put together their notes on possible guesses.

Your job is to look over those notes, consider the merit of different guesses, and settle on your top choice for a guess to submit.

Some things to keep in mind:

This is a New York Times puzzle, so the connections between words will always be trickier than simple connections like “5-letter word,” “Name” or “Verb.” Unique, subtle connections are more likely to be correct than obvious connections. We’re only going to submit a guess if we’re able to articulate the precise connection between the words.

Connections usually conform to the following patterns:

Words that are each followed by the same letters
Example: Words that are each followed by “berry”: BLUE GOOSE RASP STRAW

Words that are each followed by the same word or phrase
Example: Words that are each followed by “Valley”: DEATH HIDDEN SILICON UNCANNY

Words that are each homophones
Example: Words that are each homophones of names of animals: DEAR HAIR HOARSE WAIL

Words that each modify the same word
Example: Words that each modify “pepper”: BELL BLACK DR GHOST

Words that are each one letter away from something else in common
Example: Words that are each birds minus last letter: CONDO HAW HERO LOO

Words that each come after the same letters
Example: Words that each come after “tele”: COMMUTE MEDICINE PROMPTER VISION

Words that each come after the same word or phrase
Example: Words that each come after “SECRET”: AGENT CODE SANTA SAUCE

Words that each share the same unique characteristic.
Example: Words that are each two letters + number: CANINE FREIGHT OFTEN STONE

Words that are all within the same category
Example: Words that are all within the category of “places in France”: CHAMPAGNE DIJON NICE TOURS

Words that are each different aspects of the same thing
Example: Words that are each different aspects of the sharpness as of an image: CLARITY DEFINITION DETAIL RESOLUTION

Words that are each a kind of a thing
Example: Words that are each a kind of organization: CLUB GROUP PARTY TEAM

Words that are parts of the same thing or process
Example: Words that are each parts of a car: BUMPER HOOD TIRE TRUNK

Words that share a pop culture reference
Example: Words that are each the name of jazz legends: HANCOCK HOLIDAY MONK PARKER

Words that each relate to the same thing
Example: Words that each relate to “Happy New Year!”: BALL COUNTDOWN FIREWORKS KISS

Words that are each a way to do the same thing.
Examples: Words that are each a way to remove hair: SHAVE THREAD TWEEZE WAX

Words that are each a type of the same thing.
Example: Words that are each a type of name prefix: GEN MS PROF REV

Words that can be synonymous adjectives.
Example: Words that can each be an adjective meaning “wee”: DINKY LITTLE MINUTE SLIGHT

Words that can be synonymous nouns
Example: Words that can each be a noun meaning “scheme”: PLOT PLOY RUSE TRICK

Words that can be synonymous verbs.
Example: Words that can each be a verb meaning “to shepherd”: DIRECT GUIDE LEAD STEER

Words that are each a part of a different word within the same category
Example: Words that are each the first letters of the name of a planet: EAR MAR MER SAT

Words that connect to different meanings of the same word.
Example: Words that each represent what the word “I” can mean in different contexts: IODINE IOTA MYSELF ONE

Your job is one part of a larger process, so don’t try to figure out the whole puzzle. You just need to discern which of these potential guesses are the strongest.

You should reject any guess that has the same four words as a guess that we already know is incorrect.

{bad_guesses}

Notes on possible guesses:

{notes}

Let’s think this through step by step. Share every thought that comes to mind. At the end, write down your very top choice for a guess to submit. Good luck, godspeed, and God bless America. We’re all counting on you.

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