Daily Group Grid Answer — August 15, 2026
Full answer to our original Daily Group Grid puzzle for August 15, 2026 (Puzzle #227). 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 | Herbs | BASIL, SAGE, THYME, MINT |
| 🟢 Green | Homophones of nouns | WURST, MOOSE, FLOUR, BERRY |
| 🔵 Blue | Coin condition | WORN, CRISP, FADED, PROOF |
| 🟣 Purple | Wise advisor | GURU, ORACLE, SEER, MENTOR |
The purple trap: THYME (time), MINT (condition) and SAGE (wise) all double as everyday words, but here all four herbs stay together. The other groups use unambiguous members (e.g. WORN, CRISP for coins; GURU, SEER for advisors).
How the August 15, 2026 board comes apart
Start with Herbs (🟡 yellow). BASIL, SAGE, THYME and MINT share the most literal link on the board — each one is a plain, dictionary-level example of “Herbs”. Bank the safest group first: clearing four tiles early leaves every later decoy fewer places to hide.
Green is Homophones of nouns (🟢). WURST and MOOSE usually surface first; the test is whether FLOUR and BERRY belong to “Homophones of nouns” 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, Coin condition, tends to need a second pass. WORN, CRISP, FADED and PROOF 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 “Coin condition”.
Purple is Wise advisor: GURU, ORACLE, SEER and MENTOR. Do not hunt for it directly — the “Wise advisor” 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: THYME (time), MINT (condition) and SAGE (wise) all double as everyday words, but here all four herbs stay together. The other groups use unambiguous members (e.g. WORN, CRISP for coins; GURU, SEER for advisors). 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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