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Hidden Clue Vocabulary

Each box contains five words of increasing length which start with the same three letters.
Clues are hidden until the previous answer has been solved. Can you solve them all?
Quiz by kiwirage
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Last updated: January 28, 2022
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First submittedJanuary 22, 2022
Times taken21,852
Average score56.7%
Rating4.50
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Clue
#
Answer
Winter garment
5
Scarf
In short supply
6
Scarce
Surgical knife
7
Scalpel
Green onion
8
Scallion
Blame-bearer
9
Scapegoat
 
Clue
#
Answer
A public square
5
Plaza
Calm; serene
6
Placid
Military squad
7
Platoon
Duck-billed mammal
8
Platypus
Complainant; suer
9
Plaintiff
Clue
#
Answer
To the point; concise
5
Brief
Horse's headgear
6
Bridle
Fragile; easily broken
7
Brittle
Illuminate
8
Brighten
Sulfur
9
Brimstone
 
Clue
#
Answer
Sorcery
5
Magic
Insect larva
6
Maggot
A deep purplish red
7
Magenta
Powerfully attractive
8
Magnetic
Great size or extent
9
Magnitude
 
Clue
#
Answer
Allegation; assertion
5
Claim
Article in a contract
6
Clause
Trumpet call
7
Clarion
Collarbone
8
Clavicle
Mozart's genre
9
Classical
 
Clue
#
Answer
To permit
5
Allow
Attraction; charm
6
Allure
Hay fever, eg.
7
Allergy
Coalition; union
8
Alliance
Semiaquatic reptile
9
Alligator
+9
Level 70
Jan 22, 2022
What a fun idea! But it wasn't easy at all, I only managed to guess all all-words, I always got stuck on some word in the other boxes :D
+3
Level 84
Jan 23, 2022
Brilliant, as always. Thanks :)
+4
Level 88
Jan 23, 2022
Fun quiz! I got stuck twice - on "trumpet call" and "great size or extent" - but managed to work them out.
+3
Level 77
Jan 23, 2022
The trumpet one also got me. Never ever heard the trumpet sound called that.
+3
Level 83
Jan 23, 2022
Could 'scanty' be admitted for 'scarce'?
+1
Level 86
Jan 24, 2022
I thought this, too.
+2
Level 62
Jan 28, 2022
Scanty will now work.
+32
Level 84
Jan 23, 2022
I recommend losing "great" from the clue for magnitude. It can be used to indicate great size or extent, but it can be universally understood to mean "size or extent". (Example from Google definition: "electorates of less than average magnitude")

Also, allure is usually a noun. It can be used as a verb -- "allured" or "alluring" -- but you wouldn't say "I'm going to try to allure him" the way you would say "I'm going to try to entice him". You would say "I'm going to win him over with my allure." (Example from Google definition: "people for whom gold holds no allure"). Instead of "To entire" for the clue, how about "Attractiveness"?

+2
Level 85
Jan 23, 2022
The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary has 3 definitions for "allure" as a verb and has examples from Walter Raleigh, Joseph Conrad, P.G. Wodehouse, and Edmund Burke.
+1
Level 84
Jan 24, 2022
I acknowledged that it can be used as a verb.
+1
Level 62
Jan 28, 2022
I've adjusted the clue for 'allure', which I agree would be better defined as a noun.
+9
Level 77
Jan 29, 2022
I agree with sumguy's comments aboyt magnitude. I did not guess it and would consider that it means size or extent but that the word "great" is quite misleading.
+11
Level 70
Jan 29, 2022
"Great" through me completely off the trail of magnitude. I was circling around "magnificence" (which has too many letters). For a magnitude to be great, I feel like it needs to be implied by the context of the sentence or have an adjective come right out and say it.
+4
Level 74
Feb 1, 2022
Very much agree. Magnitude can be great or small.
+3
Level 88
Jan 23, 2022
I just loved this quiz! Thank you, @kiwirage, from across the ditch.
+1
Level 74
Jan 23, 2022
Awesome quiz, challenging.

Almost had me at 'scapegoat,' but as in 9th grade, I went back and reviewed the ones I skipped.

+15
Level 79
Jan 24, 2022
Sorry but magnitude means size or extent, and does not imply something of greater size rather than lesser. Please correct this.
+4
Level 84
Jan 24, 2022
If you Google "magnitude definition", the first definition is "great extent or magnitude", and the example is "they may feel discouraged at the magnitude of the task before them".

Even in that example, it does mean "size or extent", and we assume that, in this case, the magnitude is great because they felt discouraged. If the sentence was changed to "they may feel encouraged at the magnitude of the task before them", we would assume the magnitude is small!

Admiral Ackbar said "Our cruisers can't repel firepower of that magnitude!", not "Our cruisers can easily repel firepower of that magnitude!" Both are using magnitude to mean "size or extent", but it's used more often when the magnitude is great than when it's small.

The clue is technically correct because magnitude does mean "great size or extent" some of the time, but it means "size or extent" all of the time, so that's the better definition.

+3
Level 62
Jan 24, 2022
@sumguy, either definition is fine, though "great" is in fact the key part of the primary definition. (The latin root word is 'magnus' meaning 'great'). But aside from that, clues are not the same thing as definitions. I'm not here to write a dictionary entry with complete context. A clue is just a particular way to get you to the answer, and this clue is fine as it is.
+5
Level 84
Jan 24, 2022
One is better than other. The worse one wouldn't be good enough for me, but it's not my quiz!
+3
Level 62
Jan 24, 2022
Sure, if you're going to personally set subjective criteria by which one is better than another! I imagine you also have a problem with the clue I gave for 'scarf'? Scarves are only winter garments some of the time whereas they are just garments all of the time, so 'garment' would be the better definition, right?
+3
Level 75
Jan 29, 2022
I was stuck on it for a while too, but the clue is fine! Using the first [more common] definition rather than the second makes more sense to me.

Saying e.g. small magnitude to mean small size/importance is a bit annoying to me, like small vastness or small enormity...

+4
Level 65
Jan 29, 2022
@kiwirage

Firstly, while magnitude does come from latin ‘magnus’, the etymology of a word does not necessarily signify its meaning. The English word ‘silly’ originally meant ‘blessed’, and is cognate with German ‘selig’, which still does. While this is an extreme example, words do change meaning, even slightly, as I would say is the case with ‘magnitude’.

Though several online dictionaries do list ‘great’ as part of their first definition, there are those that don’t, and some (wiktionary) which do not list it at all. As mentioned by @person, magnitude is also used in many scientific and mathematical disciplines exclusively without the connotation of ‘great’, as is reflected in the various other definitions listed on these sites. This demonstrates that while magnitude may have a connotation of “large” or “great”, the intrinsic meaning of the word does not mandate this. 1/3

+3
Level 65
Jan 29, 2022
2/3 Take the phrases “a magnitude/number of people”. These carry the same literal meaning of some amount of people, and the slight connotation that this number is large. The phrase using magnitude, however, seems to me much more natural with the addition of the modifier ‘quite’ (quite a magnitude/number of people) which I believe demonstrates that magnitude on its own doesn’t always indicate large quantity, as it is here necessary to specify as much. Another example is “small magnitude”, which may sound slightly odd, but certainly not oxymoronic, as would “small immensity”.

While these objections could be called subjective, the clue is also clearly objectively poor, if the quiz’s answer data is any indication.

+5
Level 65
Jan 29, 2022
3/3 Magnitude is tied for the lowest percent of any 9 letter word, but more significantly, has the lowest answer rate among those who got 8 right, 50%. The second highest is with Brimstone, at 67%, and the average number of quiz takers to also get 9 if they got 8 is 86.6% for the five categories other than Magnitude. This is despite the fact that, according to the British National Corpus, Magnitude is a more common word than Alligator, Brimstone, or Scapegoat. While this data obviously can’t provide a definitive account of the vocabulary of Jetpunk users, it does make the aforementioned discrepancy even more suggestive. With this inexplicably low success rate for Magnitude, I would argue that the issue is with the clue, rather than the users.

Given that the clue is clearly less effective than the others, and the multitude of arguments and users against the inclusion of ‘great’, I would also suggest removing it.

+1
Level 62
Jan 30, 2022
@Qazwixk

The fact that words change meanings over time is complete nonsense in this case; the clue I use is still the primary definition in multiple dictionaries. It's not an archaic usage; it's current! The fact that 'magnitude' can be used in alternative contexts (including in scientific and mathematical disciplines), without the connotation of greatness is irrelevant. And the argument that magnitude being among the lowest guessed answers proves the clue is bad is comical; something will always be the lowest guessed answer!

That this answer has proven to be tricky is not justification to change a perfectly accurate clue. If you missed it and only got four points, just take the quiz again and get five!

+1
Level 82
Dec 26, 2023
Don't be glib. Qazwixk clearly was not implying that no answer should be the lowest, but that the amount by which it is among the lowest-guessed answers, combined with the commonness of the word compared to some of the more frequently-guessed answers, is telling.

That, in combination with the large magnitude of people telling you this clue was far worse for them than the others, should tell you that there's a communication problem here.

I know you're really buried in here and will never walk it back now, but I add my voice to the others: the clue ought to be changed.

+1
Level 62
Dec 26, 2023
"I know you're really buried in here and will never walk it back now".

Since you're implying that stubbornness is preventing me from changing the clue, you're right: the English language is stubborn. You and others are simply not prepared to look at a dictionary. There you'll find that - contrary to what you thought - greatness is a specific part of the primary definition of magnitude in multiple dictionaries. I will not change the clue because the clue requires no change. It is absolutely correct as it is.

Google "magnitude definition", clean the wax out of your mind, and expand your knowledge.

+6
Level 83
Jan 29, 2022
I agree that the word “great” should be dropped. Magnitude generally refers simply to size, particularly in scientific literature, eg magnitude of a force or vector, and may be small or even zero.
+1
Level 87
Mar 1, 2023
Seconded
+1
Level 62
Dec 26, 2023
"Particularly in scientific literature."

But not in its primary definition.

+2
Level 65
Jan 30, 2022
"Please correct this" Listen to yourself. On here 4+ years but contributes bugger all in terms of quizzes. How about contributing something back instead of just taking and criticsing
+2
Level 77
Jan 24, 2022
More of thee, please!
+1
Level 84
Jan 24, 2022
Wait, so all insect larva = maggots? I thought only fly larva were maggots. That threw me off big time.
+1
Level 60
Jun 14, 2023
I don't know, but keep in mind these clues are clues, not perfect definitions.
+2
Level 82
Jan 25, 2022
For some reason I kept reading "blame bearer" as "flame bearer" and was incredibly baffled when the answer popped up
+3
Level 71
Jan 29, 2022
Fun quiz, will look for more like that
+1
Level 68
Jan 29, 2022
Thanks, that was a great quiz! Finished it in just under 2 minutes using my phone keyboard - maybe reduce the time...?
+3
Level 65
Jan 29, 2022
The brilliant Kiwirage strikes again......thank you.
+1
Level 69
Jan 29, 2022
Very nice quiz!
+2
Level 60
Jan 29, 2022
Excellent idea and a fun quiz - thanks.
+2
Level 61
Jan 29, 2022
got them all but had to think about some so challenging thank you
+1
Level 67
Jan 29, 2022
That was really easy for me and also fun
+1
Level 67
Jan 30, 2022
Never heard of clarion, but I did throw out a random lucky guess for clavicle being the 8 letter word despite not being able to see the hint, so I got 29/30.
+3
Level 27
Jan 30, 2022
“Fire and Brimstone”

I never knew that brimstone meant sulfur. I never gave any thought to what it meant, it was just an expression. So of course I had to look up “brimstone” and get some more information as to why sulfur is such a bad thing. I swallow it every day as a supplement and it’s in a lot of foods too, for goodness sake. I don’t remember everything I read about it but in the Bible they were referring to “brimstone” as an extremely inflammable substance found around volcanoes, and simply gave “sulfur” as another name for the exact same thing. Fascinating. I love learning new stuff.

+1
Level 61
Jan 30, 2022
'Bridle' ruined me but great quiz!
+1
Level 58
Jan 31, 2022
The least guessed answer is the genre of music Mozart is famous for…
+3
Level 65
Feb 1, 2022
It's curious that "clarion" is less guessed than "clavicle". Many lucky guesses?
+1
Level 69
Feb 6, 2022
Fantastic quiz! Took a while to puzzle out, but very enjoyable. Hope you will make a series of these in future.
+2
Level 57
Apr 18, 2022
Great Quiz! I'm going to hop on the magnitude bandwagon though, you should lose the word "great."

Magnitude is a measure of degree, not referring to a particular size. You wouldn't say "extremely loud" as a clue for "volume" or "very light" as a clue for "brightness."

Overall very fun and good clues!

+1
Level 74
Nov 8, 2022
Love this quiz! Please make more word ones -- you are excellent at it!!
+1
Level 78
Nov 8, 2023
Nitpicky/subjective maybe, but feels strange to put red for magenta to me. I feel like I would've gotten it with pink instead of red in the clue
+1
Level 78
Jan 22, 2024
Great quiz Kiwi. I got them all, which I think is a feat of some magnitude.