Fourfold guide
A growing taxonomy of quartets
Connection types are raw material, not recipes. Browse a few broad families, reveal the examples at your own pace, and invent the next one.
Semantic connections depend mainly on what clues mean. Wordplay connections depend on the clues as written or spoken objects. Mixed connections ask the solver to cross that boundary—for example, finding a synonym and then noticing its spelling.
Difficulty is wonderfully unreliable.
These labels describe a loose tendency, not a rule. Familiarity, clue choice, obscurity, overlap, and the rest of the board can make a simple mechanism difficult—or an elaborate one easy.
Browse connection types
Semantic
StraightforwardMembers of a set#
CEDARFIRPINESPRUCE
Semantic
StraightforwardSynonyms#
CREEPSNEAKSLINKTIPTOE
Semantic
ApproachableShared context#
DEUCELOVESERVEVOLLEY
Semantic
ApproachableShared role#
ANTENNACABLERELAYTOWER
Wordplay
ApproachableAnagrams#
EASTEATSSEATTEAS
Wordplay
TrickyCapitalization shift#
marchpolishturkeychina
Wordplay
TrickyCommon neighbor#
BEDRADIOSHOWERTECH
Wordplay
TrickyHomophones#
EWEUYEWYOU
Wordplay
TrickySilent beginnings#
GNOMEKNEEPSALMWRIST
Wordplay
TrickySpoken letter names#
AREQUEUEWHYYOU
Wordplay
TrickyWord ladder#
COLDCORDCARDWARD
Wordplay
Very trickyAlphabetical spelling#
ALMOSTBILLOWYBIOPSYCHINTZ
Mixed
Very trickyNamesake plus word formation#
TENNESSEEFRANCENEPTUNEPROMETHEUS
Mixed
DevilishDefinition plus spelling#
UNCLEARSNOWSTORMPURLOINJIGSAW
Mixed
DevilishReferent plus namesake#
FRUITFORESTINVENTORNUMBER
Mixed
DevilishTranslation plus sound#
HUNGERMANSHOULDERFEMALE