Daily Group Grid Answer — July 9, 2026
Full answer to our original Daily Group Grid puzzle for July 9, 2026 (Puzzle #190). 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 | Chess pieces | KNIGHT, BISHOP, PAWN, ROOK |
| 🟢 Green | Birds | RAVEN, FINCH, HERON, EGRET |
| 🔵 Blue | Colours | AMBER, IVORY, SLATE, EBONY |
| 🟣 Purple | Spices | CUMIN, NUTMEG, PAPRIKA, FENNEL |
The purple trap: ROOK looks like a bird (rook) but sits with chess; SLATE reads grey-blue but is the colour group.
How the July 9, 2026 board comes apart
The opening move is Chess pieces (🟡 yellow). Read KNIGHT, BISHOP, PAWN and ROOK side by side and the category “Chess pieces” announces itself. Lock it in before touching anything ambiguous — a solved yellow row shrinks the search space for the three harder groups.
Next comes Birds (🟢 green). The connection between RAVEN, FINCH, HERON and EGRET is still concrete, but you have to name it yourself rather than just spot it. Before committing, confirm all four genuinely fit “Birds” — not only the two that jumped out first.
Blue hides Colours (🔵). None of AMBER, IVORY, SLATE or EBONY looks special alone; the giveaway is the pattern they form together. Say the candidate label “Colours” out loud and check each word against it before you submit.
That leaves Spices (🟣 purple): CUMIN, NUTMEG, PAPRIKA and FENNEL. As usual the final group leans on wordplay or a hidden pattern, so it is safest solved by elimination — clear the other twelve tiles and take what remains.
Why the purple group misleads: ROOK looks like a bird (rook) but sits with chess; SLATE reads grey-blue but is the colour group. 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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