Daily Group Grid Answer — July 16, 2026
Full answer to our original Daily Group Grid puzzle for July 16, 2026 (Puzzle #197). 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 | Olympic sports | JUDO, FENCING, ROWING, ARCHERY |
| 🟢 Green | Pasta sauces | PESTO, ALFREDO, RAGU, CARBONARA |
| 🔵 Blue | Mythical creatures | GRIFFIN, KRAKEN, SPHINX, HYDRA |
| 🟣 Purple | Hairstyles | BRAID, BUN, MULLET, PERM |
The purple trap: MULLET is also a fish but here it's the hairstyle; SPHINX is a creature, not the cat breed.
How the July 16, 2026 board comes apart
Start with Olympic sports (🟡 yellow). JUDO, FENCING, ROWING and ARCHERY share the most literal link on the board — each one is a plain, dictionary-level example of “Olympic sports”. Bank the safest group first: clearing four tiles early leaves every later decoy fewer places to hide.
Green is Pasta sauces (🟢). PESTO and ALFREDO usually surface first; the test is whether RAGU and CARBONARA belong to “Pasta sauces” 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, Mythical creatures, tends to need a second pass. GRIFFIN, KRAKEN, SPHINX and HYDRA 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 “Mythical creatures”.
Purple is Hairstyles: BRAID, BUN, MULLET and PERM. Do not hunt for it directly — the “Hairstyles” 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: MULLET is also a fish but here it's the hairstyle; SPHINX is a creature, not the cat breed. 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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