Four by Four (stolen from Only Connect)

[lexprod]

So the british super-quiz Only Connect has a round called the "Connecting Wall" where sixteen clues are scrambled up and the contestants have to sort them out into four groups of four. I thought this could be a fun puzzle type for the VSP forum. No rules, just post your own 4x4s and try to solve the posted ones.

Here's mine I just whipped up. As they say in the show, there are red herrings and false connection but (hopefully) only one perfect solution with four groups. I did names.

MAY
JAMES
FRANKLIN
MATTHEW
IVAN
THEODORE
DEACON
TOMMY
LUKE
MERCURY
TAYLOR
MARTIN
MARK
MILLARD
JOHN
APOLLO

Good luck!

[Zag]

So we are just supposed to make four groups of four? We don't have to make a 4x4 grid where there are associations for rows and columns? (That would probably be harder to construct, but easier to solve.)

[Zag]

The only group I'm sure of is
{Mercury, Deacon, Taylor, and May}

There are also first names of U.S. Presidents in there, and Books of the New Testament, but both those groups have more than 4 choices available. So far, I'm unable to come up with a fourth group that makes it all fit.

[Zag]

Got it.

{Mercury, Deacon, Taylor, and May} First names of members of Queen (I had to look up Taylor and May.)
{Apollo, James (a.k.a. Clubber), Ivan, Tommy} Rocky's opponents (I had to look up James.)
{Matthew, Luke, Mark, John} Books of the New Testament
{Franklin, Theodore, Martin, Millard} First names of U.S. Presidents.

[Quailman]

Apollo, Tommy, Ivan, JamesRocky's opponents - James "Clubber" Lang)
The four gospels
and four presidents

[Quailman]

psst... They're last names, not first.

[Zag]

That's what I meant. I had just typed "first names" on the other two, and I went back and edited that one poorly.

BTW, my edit to that note was just to clarify which ones I had to look up. I really did have it before Q's post.

[lexprod]

Yes, those are the groups. However there is one group that I had a more specific category in mind, the group of presidents were all born in the state of New York.


Since that one went down so quickly, here's one from the show's final match. It's only numbers.

0
6
Seven
8 1/2
21
28
32
147
180
273.15
300
491.67
496
1984
2010
8128

[Quailman]

32, 0, 273.15, 491.67 Freezing points of water
Seven, 1984, 2010, 300 Movie Titles
8128, 6, 28, 496 Perfect Numbers

I don't see the other two one yet...

[Scurra]

Not answering this one as I saw the show - and remember falling off my chair when that wall appeared!
_________________
_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[Lepton*]

Ah, of course! Quailman is wrong about 300 as 8 1/2 is a film also but...

300 is the best possible score in a frame of 10-pin bowling (12 straight strikes)
21 is the best possible score in a hand of blackjack
180 is the best possible score with three darts (three treble 20s)
147 is the best break in snooker (I had to look up this one)

[Lepton*]

I wonder if it would be possible to construct a 4x4 grid that Zag proposed so that each element belongs uniquely to two groups in such a way that it provides a decent puzzle.

[lexprod]

Well you could either do a bunch of names, as they can be ambiguous, or synonyms, or you could have the columns be groups by some informational link (US governors, dog breeds, astronauts, whatever) and the rows be based on more of a lexicological (that can't be a real word) connection (anagrams, letters in alphabettical order, palindromes, all use Y as a vowel).

Those are my best guesses

[Jack_Ian]

[lexprod]

Anyone else game for making more? Are these too easy to even be worth the time?


Here's one that's got a little less obvious groupings (I hope)


DELTA
BACK
DRAWER
PIN
STRESSED
MENACE
LOOTER
SIERRA
SCUBA
CLONES
DELIVER
INDIA
HOPE
LASER
EPCOT
GOLF

[Quailman]

Delta, Golf, Sierra, India - Radio alphabet
Laser, Scuba, Pin, Epcot - Acronyms
Desserts, Drawer, Looter, Deliver - Reversible words
Back, Menace, Clones, Hope - Star Wars last words of titles

[lexprod]

Correct! But you migth wanna spoiler it for others

[Quailman]

Just to keep this going, here's a new set...

CAN
CUP
DAWN
HAND
JOINT
MEMORY
MOLE
ONE
PEN
PLANET
RIVER
SHOES
SPAN
STIR
TOMORROW
TONIGHT

[lexprod]

Does it matter that "TOMMOROW" is spelled wrong? (tomorrow)

[lexprod]

I think I have one

MEMORY
TOMORROW
ONE
TONIGHT

Broadway songs

The others I'm still unsure

[Quailman]

Oops!

Fixed it

[Zag]

Maybe red river, red planet, red dawn, red shoes

[Quailman]

As I look at it now, one of the sets is pretty weak, but it's too late to change it now.

[lexprod]

One half-idea... SHOES RIVER both have mouths

[Quailman]

Actually Zag nailed it.

[Lepton*]

This is certainly not it, so I won't bother setting it as invisible.
cup, can, hand, and span are all equally well known as verbs and nouns.

[lexprod]

There could be body part names....joint, hand, mole....can?

[kaich]

Another set I think:
Units of measure: cup hand mole span

[Zag]

I feel pretty good about this one
Stir, pen, joint, can: all nicknames for prison.

With the other one which Q already confirmed, plus Lex's, which he didn't confirm, but I think looks good, that leaves.

CUP
HAND
MOLE
SPAN

which is Kaich's set. So I think we're done.

Stir, pen, joint, can: all nicknames for prison. (Zag)
Units of measure: cup hand mole span (Kaich)
red river, red planet, red dawn, red shoes (Zag)
MEMORY, TOMORROW, ONE, TONIGHT: Broadway songs (lexprod)

Is that what you had planned, Q?

[lexprod]

NIGHT
PASSION
SUPERIOR
BUSINESS
CENTER
LAW
INDEPENDENT
POUND
GLORIA
HOUSE
BIRTHDAY
PILE
DIVORCE
SANTA
DAYS
FOOD

I made up a new one, might be harder, might not.

[Quailman]

[Quailman]

I'm looking at:

SUIT - Birthday, Law, Business, Santa
COURT - Night, Center, Superior, Divorce
DOG - Pound, House, Pile, Days, Food

??? - Passion, Independent, Gloria, {one from DOG}

[lexprod]

You're very close. The last group you need to figure out isn't nearly as clear as the first 3 XD

[Zag]

Well, that one is nearly done, so I wanted to jump in with mine. I hope you'll be amused.

Carter
Curse
Dijon
Dreams
Egypt
Factory
Frankenstein
Linger
Mummy
Nice
Reims
Saddles
Salvation
Streak
Tours
Zombie

[Quailman]

French cities: Nice, Tours, Reims, Dijon
Gene Wilder's last words: Frankenstein, Factory, Saddles, Streak
King Tut: Carter, Egypt, Curse, Mummy
Cranberries: Dreams, Linger, Salvation, Zombie

[Zag]

Exactly! Did you at least get stuck a little trying to find a fourth monster?

[Scurra]

From tonight's show (first in the new series)



I surprised myself by almost immediately getting the one set that the team didn't get (since if you get three of them, the last one is right by default!)
_________________
_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[Scurra]

And here's the other one from tonight's show:


_________________
_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[Mr Nigma]

For the second pic...
Roundhouse, Crescent, Butterfly, Scissor -> types of kicks in Chuck's repertoire

_________________
Freedom is not free

[Quailman]

I only see one right off in the first set Booth, Ray, Ruby, Chapman - Assassins
And perhaps - Rope, Spellbound, Topaz, ? - Hitchcock flicks
Maybe Ring, Diamond, Oval, Court (Boxing, Baseball, Skating, Hoops)