LinkedIn Pinpoint 552: apple, banana, orange, grape

Q: What connects Boxing, May, Labor, Mother's, New Year's in Pinpoint #552?

For LinkedIn Pinpoint #552, The connector is: Words that come before ‘Day’ to form special occasions. For example, ‘Boxing’ creates Boxing Day, and ‘Mother’s’ creates Mother’s Day. This viewpoint comes directly from our walkthrough notes.

Q: Why isn't the connection 'Things related to holidays'?

For LinkedIn Pinpoint #552, While the final phrases are all holidays, the clues themselves are not. ‘May’ and ‘Labor’ are just words that, when paired with ‘Day’, form a holiday. The connection must be about the structure of the clue words themselves, not the concepts they are associated with. This viewpoint comes directly from our walkthrough notes.

Q: What if the clue was just 'New' instead of 'New Year's'?

For LinkedIn Pinpoint #552, The connector would still hold true, as ‘New’ comes before ‘Year’s Day’. However, the puzzle uses ‘New Year’s’ as a single unit to make the connection to ‘Day’ more direct and recognizable, forming the common phrase ‘New Year’s Day’. This viewpoint comes directly from our walkthrough notes.

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LinkedIn Pinpoint #552 Answer:

Detailed breakdown continues just below - keep scrolling

Pinpoint #552 Walkthrough & Analysis

Puzzle Overview

Today’s LinkedIn Pinpoint puzzle kicks off with Boxing and May, immediately suggesting a connection to holidays or the months of the year. This feels like a straightforward, almost obvious path at first. However, the third clue, Labor, introduces a subtle wrinkle that starts to challenge the ‘holiday’ idea and pushes you to look for a more consistent, underlying relationship between all the words.

How the Solution Emerged

My first instinct was that these were all U.S. federal holidays. Boxing Day isn’t one, but maybe it was a trick question? Then May and Labor (for Labor Day) fit perfectly. I was so confident I almost typed in ‘U.S. federal holidays’ right then.

But the next clues gave me serious pause. I thought about the word Labor on its own—it’s a concept, not a holiday. And then Mother’s arrived. While Mother’s Day is a major holiday, the clue is just the possessive form of ‘mother’. My holiday theory was getting stretched thin and felt like it was about to break.

Common wrong guesses

Words related to holidays

This is the most tempting wrong path. 'Labor' (Labor Day) and 'New Year's' (New Year's Day) strongly suggest holidays. However, 'Boxing' only works if you assume 'Boxing Day', and 'May' only works as 'May Day', which is less common. The theme breaks because the clues are parts of a phrase, not standalone holidays, and it fails to account for the structural relationship.

Types of work or activity

This theory starts strong. 'Boxing' and 'Labor' are both types of work or intense physical activity. The theme holds up for two clues but completely collapses with 'May', 'Mother's', and 'New Year's', which have no direct connection to a type of work. A theme breaking on three of the five clues is a clear sign to abandon it.

Things that come in a year

Driven by 'May' and 'New Year's', one might think the theme is tied to the calendar or months. While these two fit, the clue 'Boxing' has no direct relationship to the sequence of a year, and 'Mother's' only relates if you already know the answer. This theory breaks on at least three of the five clues.

Why It Works (Evidence)

Grammar & flow: pairing the connector with Apple, Banana, Orange, and Grape produces everyday English and keeps number/tense intacta strong signal that "Words that come before 'Day' to form special occasions" is the right lens for today's LinkedIn Pinpoint answer.

Coverage check: the same connector explains every clue without exceptions. Competing ideas either break on edge cases or demand awkward hyphenations, so "Words that come before 'Day' to form special occasions" wins on simplicity and reach.

Examples

Apple Day
Banana Day
Orange Day
Grape Day

How each clue fits "Words that come before 'Day' to form special occasions"

Clue words, example phrases, and brief explanations showing how each clue connects to Words that come before 'Day' to form special occasions
Word	Origin	In Context (Usage)	Meaning & Usage

Lessons Learned from Pinpoint #552

1
The Obvious Answer is a Trap
This board cleverly leads you to guess ‘holidays’. When the clues seem to fit a common category like ‘U.S. federal holidays’, test your theory rigorously. When you find a clue like ‘May’ that doesn’t fit perfectly, it’s a signal that you’re on the wrong path and need to look for a different, more structural connection.
2
Isolate the Outlier
When your theory starts to feel shaky, identify which clue is the problem. I thought about ‘Labor’ as a concept, not a holiday, and ‘Mother’s’ as a possessive noun, not a day. Isolating these oddities helped break my first assumption and guided me toward the ‘wordplay’ side of the puzzle.
3
Look for a Consistent Pairing
The solution emerged when I tested if every clue could consistently pair with the same word. If you have a working theory for one or two clues, try to apply it to the toughest one on the board. If ‘Boxing’ works with ‘Day’, immediately see if ‘May’ and ‘Labor’ do the same. This test can confirm or refute your idea very quickly.

FAQ

What connects Boxing, May, Labor, Mother's, New Year's in Pinpoint #552?

The connector is: Words that come before ‘Day’ to form special occasions. For example, ‘Boxing’ creates Boxing Day, and ‘Mother’s’ creates Mother’s Day.

Why isn't the connection 'Things related to holidays'?

While the final phrases are all holidays, the clues themselves are not. ‘May’ and ‘Labor’ are just words that, when paired with ‘Day’, form a holiday. The connection must be about the structure of the clue words themselves, not the concepts they are associated with.

What if the clue was just 'New' instead of 'New Year's'?

The connector would still hold true, as ‘New’ comes before ‘Year’s Day’. However, the puzzle uses ‘New Year’s’ as a single unit to make the connection to ‘Day’ more direct and recognizable, forming the common phrase ‘New Year’s Day’.