Daily Group Grid Answer — June 16, 2026
Full answer to our original Daily Group Grid puzzle for June 16, 2026 (Puzzle #167). Want the latest day instead? Head to today's answer, or just need a nudge — try the progressive hints. Tap a blacked-out box to reveal it.
Hints (no spoilers)
- Yellow: the easiest, most literal group.
- Green: a small twist on the obvious.
- Blue: trickier — think category, not surface meaning.
- Purple: the curveball; expect wordplay or a hidden pattern.
The Answers
| Group | Theme | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 🟡 Yellow | Citrus fruits | LEMON, LIME, ORANGE, POMELO |
| 🟢 Green | Shades/colors | TEAL, OLIVE, PLUM, CORAL |
| 🔵 Blue | Reef dwellers | URCHIN, EEL, CLAM, CRAB |
| 🟣 Purple | Cars (makes) | VOLT, BEETLE, CORONA, MODEL |
The purple trap: ORANGE, PLUM and OLIVE are colors and foods; CORAL is a color and a reef dweller. CORAL stays in colors here, so the reef group leans on the clean URCHIN, EEL, CLAM, CRAB.
How the June 16, 2026 board comes apart
Start with Citrus fruits (🟡 yellow). LEMON, LIME, ORANGE and POMELO share the most literal link on the board — each one is a plain, dictionary-level example of “Citrus fruits”. Bank the safest group first: clearing four tiles early leaves every later decoy fewer places to hide.
Green is Shades/colors (🟢). TEAL and OLIVE usually surface first; the test is whether PLUM and CORAL belong to “Shades/colors” just as cleanly. If one of the four feels forced, that word probably serves another group and you are one tile off.
The blue group, Reef dwellers, tends to need a second pass. URCHIN, EEL, CLAM and CRAB only click once you stop reading each word at surface level and ask what single category could hold all four at once — here, that shared frame is “Reef dwellers”.
Purple is Cars (makes): VOLT, BEETLE, CORONA and MODEL. Do not hunt for it directly — the “Cars (makes)” link is built to stay invisible until the easier groups are gone. Solve around it and let the last four tiles confirm themselves.
Why the purple group misleads: ORANGE, PLUM and OLIVE are colors and foods; CORAL is a color and a reef dweller. CORAL stays in colors here, so the reef group leans on the clean URCHIN, EEL, CLAM, CRAB. Whenever a word seems to fit two groups, park it and finish the group that has four unambiguous members — the leftover placement resolves itself.
Want to play instead?
Play today's Daily Group Grid, see today's hints, or browse the full answer archive. New to grouping puzzles? Our word-grouping tips and puzzle glossary cover the recurring category types.
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