Daily Group Grid Answer — July 18, 2026
Full answer to our original Daily Group Grid puzzle for July 18, 2026 (Puzzle #199). 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 | Tropical fruits | KIWI, GUAVA, PAPAYA, LYCHEE |
| 🟢 Green | ___ berry | STRAW, BLUE, RASP, GOOSE |
| 🔵 Blue | Pie types | PECAN, PUMPKIN, KEY, BANOFFEE |
| 🟣 Purple | Apple varieties | GALA, FUJI, BRAEBURN, PINK |
The purple trap: KEY tempts toward key lime fruit but it's a pie (key lime pie); GALA reads festive but it's an apple.
How the July 18, 2026 board comes apart
Start with Tropical fruits (🟡 yellow). KIWI, GUAVA, PAPAYA and LYCHEE share the most literal link on the board — each one is a plain, dictionary-level example of “Tropical fruits”. Bank the safest group first: clearing four tiles early leaves every later decoy fewer places to hide.
Green is ___ berry (🟢). STRAW and BLUE usually surface first; the test is whether RASP and GOOSE belong to “___ berry” 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, Pie types, tends to need a second pass. PECAN, PUMPKIN, KEY and BANOFFEE 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 “Pie types”.
Purple is Apple varieties: GALA, FUJI, BRAEBURN and PINK. Do not hunt for it directly — the “Apple varieties” 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: KEY tempts toward key lime fruit but it's a pie (key lime pie); GALA reads festive but it's an apple. 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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