Glossary

Fixation

Locking onto the first reading of a word (or the first grouping you see) and being unable to let go of it, even when it stops fitting.

Avoid Being stuck, blanking, stuck staring

Defixation

The deliberate move of unsticking — loosening your grip on a reading so other meanings can surface.

Avoid Thinking harder, brainstorming

Polysemy

The property of a word having many distinct meanings (Mars: planet, god, candy bar, brand). The constructor’s raw material — and where every trap lives.

Avoid Double meaning, ambiguity

Sense

One specific meaning of a word. “Bat” has an animal sense and a baseball sense. A word is not a thing; it is a bundle of senses.

Avoid Definition, version

The Polysemy Pass

The foundational technique: before forming any group, go word by word and generate 2–4 different senses for each — deliberately resisting the first one. (Lesson 1)

Avoid Looking for connections, scanning the board

Chameleon

A word that plausibly fits several different groups at once. The board’s trap-pieces. Holding a chameleon loosely (not committing it) is the core skill.

Avoid Red herring (close, but a red herring is a whole fake group; a chameleon is one slippery word)

Meaning-mode

Reading a word for what it refers to (“what does this mean?”). The default mode, and where the Polysemy Pass operates. Cracks most groups — but goes blind on wordplay groups.

Avoid Normal reading, the obvious way

String-mode

Reading a word as a row of letters — asking “what was done to this?” rather than what it means. The key to purple/wordplay groups. The skill is noticing when meaning-mode is empty and flipping.

Avoid Looking closer, overthinking

Wordplay group

A group whose link is a transformation of the spelling/sound, not a shared meaning — usually the purple tier. Recognised by entries that share no semantic category (often near-words).

Avoid Trick group, the hard one

The Transformation Pass

The string-mode checklist run on each entry when a wordplay group is suspected: ± a letter · hidden word · homophone · anagram · add a word. Companion to the Polysemy Pass. (Lesson 2)

Avoid Decoding, solving the puzzle

Hub (hub word)

The word that binds a group but is not printed on the board. Each tile is a spoke pointing at it. A group’s category is very often a hidden hub (HEAD, MAN, SPIKE) rather than a visible shared trait. (Lesson 3)

Avoid The theme, the answer

Spoke

A single tile considered as a pointer to its hub. Tiles reach their hub by one of three routes.

Avoid Clue, item

Route (to a hub)

How a spoke points at its hub. Three kinds: synonym (the tile means it), attach (tile + a word makes a phrase/title), associate (the tile relates to it by property or action).

Avoid Connection type, method