1+7=8

Hint:

All of the categories for today’s puzzle have the format “words than can come after ___”, so the four categories are four different words that can come before the mystery word.

i’m guessing 6

Answers:

The mystery word was… ash!

Wood fire byproducts: carbon dioxide, particulates

Hardwood trees: cherry, maple

Preindustrial fertilizers: fish, manure

Minced oaths: fudge, heck

Answers:

The mystery word was… pea!

Things that are green: dollar, grass

Edible seeds: corn, sesame

“Snow ___”: ball, leopard

Rearranged federal agency acronyms: fib, sir

fair, i was thinking “words for members of fraternal organizations.” one caveat being that they are *historically* fraternal, since some groups of modern freemasons do permit women. also, i’m learning that knighthood is a lot more complicated than i originally thought, and doesn’t fit very well

with regard to your answers, the first and third are 100% correct, the second is really close though i was aiming for “names which originated from professions.” do you want me to tell you the fourth or let you keep thinking about it? it’s definitely the most difficult of the four

i want you to know that you absolutely just made my day. it’s really nice to know you took time from your day to solve one of my puzzles, and i hope you had lots of fun thinking about it!

my guess would be A

Answers:

The mystery word was… hog!

Synonyms for swine: pig, sow

Synonyms for hoard: gather, take

“Ground ___”: beef, water

“___ wash”: hand, power

goodness, i had to screenshot and zoom in on that last thing so i could make sure is was actually different, very subtle. this was a good puzzle, thank you!

I was searching etymonline.com for things that could go in the last category, and that’s when I discovered that matrix is in fact etymologically related to womb. I wanted to include it so bad, but thought it would make it next to impossible to get that category.

Answers:

Today’s mystery word was… hysteria!

Synonyms for panic: alarm, frenzy

“Mass ___”: extinction, produce

Defunct psychological diagnoses: psychopathy, vapors

Etymologically related to “womb” or “uterus”: endometriosis, uterine

Answers:

Today’s mystery word was… afloat!

Ship status: anchored, sinking

“Stay ___”: alive, put

Starting with common internet acronyms: free, lollygagging

Ending in words for primitive data types: hamstring, restraint