LinkedIn Pinpoint #872 Hints & Answer: Power & Open
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Pinpoint #872 opens with Power, Open, and Reliable. Compare all five clues below, then reveal the category and its connections.
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Reveal answer & analysis
Answer: Words that come before “source”. Each clue supplies a common word or phrase that naturally sits directly in front of “source,” forming familiar collocations: power source, open source, reliable source, anonymous source, and the idiom “go straight to the source.” The set is unified not by meaning (energy vs. software vs. reporting) but by consistent placement before the same target word.
5 Clues
- Clue 1Power
- Clue 2Open
- Clue 3Reliable
- Clue 4Anonymous
- Clue 5Go straight to the
Why this answer fits
A tempting alternative category is “types of sources,” focusing on what a source is (information source, energy source, funding source). That approach breaks down because the clues are not naming the source itself; they are modifiers that precede it. In particular, “Open” points strongly to the fixed phrase “open source,” which is about licensing and collaboration rather than a generic kind of source. Likewise, “Go straight to the” signals a set idiom where the missing word is exactly “source,” confirming the construction pattern.
Solving path for Pinpoint #872
- Initial reading: Start by pairing clue words with a likely shared noun; “Power” and “Open” each form a very common two-word phrase with “source,” suggesting a repeated pattern.
- Testing the connection: Use clue 3, “Reliable,” to confirm the pattern by checking that “reliable source” is a standard collocation in everyday English, reinforcing “source” as the anchor word.
- Final check: Finish with clues 4 and 5: “Anonymous” fits perfectly as “anonymous source,” and “Go straight to the” completes the idiom “go straight to the source,” locking the category as words that come before “source.”
Clue-by-clue explanation
| Clue | Connection evidence |
|---|---|
| Power | Clue “Power” points to the phrase “power source,” a common way to describe where energy or electricity comes from in context-dependent usage. |
| Open | Clue “Open” strongly indicates “open source,” a widely used fixed expression where “open” directly modifies “source” in a standard pairing. |
| Reliable | Clue “Reliable” matches “reliable source,” a frequent collocation (especially in reporting and everyday speech) describing trust in the source’s accuracy. |
| Anonymous | Clue “Anonymous” leads to “anonymous source,” another common pairing in journalism contexts where the modifier comes immediately before “source.” |
| Go straight to the | Clue “Go straight to the” completes the idiom “go straight to the source,” explicitly signaling that the repeated target word is “source.” |
Questions about Pinpoint #872
What do Power, Open, and Reliable have in common? (answer spoiler)
The shared category is Words that come before “source”.
A tempting alternative category is “types of sources,” focusing on what a source is (information source, energy source, funding source). That approach breaks down because the clues are not naming the source itself; they are modifiers that precede it. In particular, “Open” points strongly to the fixed phrase “open source,” which is about licensing and collaboration rather than a generic kind of source. Likewise, “Go straight to the” signals a set idiom where the missing word is exactly “source,” confirming the construction pattern.
What does “Power” mean in this puzzle? (answer spoiler)
Clue “Power” points to the phrase “power source,” a common way to describe where energy or electricity comes from in context-dependent usage.
What does “Open” mean in this puzzle? (answer spoiler)
Clue “Open” strongly indicates “open source,” a widely used fixed expression where “open” directly modifies “source” in a standard pairing.
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