Permanent answer & walkthrough (Pinpoint Today archive)
Pinpoint Answer Today asks: what links Chocolate, Potato, Wood, Poker, and Computer — and what story do they share? Follow the spoiler-safe hints one by one, then reveal the final connection and see how each clue fits together.
Chocolate Potato Wood Poker — What connects Chocolate, Potato, Wood, Poker?
LinkedIn Pinpoint #568 Answer:
Detailed breakdown continues just below - keep scrolling
Today's LinkedIn Pinpoint started with a seemingly delicious theme, as Chocolate and Potato immediately suggested food items. But the introduction of Wood and Poker felt like a sudden curveball, forcing a complete reconsideration of that initial culinary path. It became clear the link wasn't a category you could taste or hold, but something more structural hiding in the words themselves.
My first guess was a bit of a stretch, but I went with it anyway. I saw Chocolate and Potato and thought, "Things that can be fried or come in fries." It felt a bit silly, but sometimes the connections are odd. My confidence, already shaky, completely evaporated when Wood appeared. You can fry wood, I guess, but that’s not a common association. My theory was toast.
I moved on to a new idea. "Things that are brown or can be brown?" No, that immediately fails on Poker. My mind then jumped to abstract categories like "Things that are processed or manufactured." That seemed plausible for a moment, but it felt too broad and generic for a Pinpoint puzzle. That’s when I stopped forcing categories and just looked at the words next to each other: Chocolate... Potato.... What comes after them? What if the word itself is the clue? It felt like a classic misdirection.
I decided to test a simple, linguistic pattern. What if the connector was a word that could *follow* each clue? I tried a few common suffixes in my head. Then I thought of the word "chip." I tested it against the clues I had. Chocolate chip. Potato chip. My heart skipped a beat. Then Wood chip. It fit. When Poker chip and Computer chip came up, I wasn't even surprised anymore. I knew I had it. The pattern was there from the start, hiding in plain sight.
That was the click. It wasn't about what the items *were*, but about a simple word they all shared in a common phrase. The initial red herrings of food and color were just a distraction from this linguistic link.
Things that come in a chip form
The first two clues, Chocolate and Potato, strongly suggest common snack foods: chocolate chips and potato chips. This is a very tempting connection. However, the theme breaks on Wood, Poker, and Computer. While 'wood chip' is a perfect fit, the term 'poker chip' or 'computer chip' doesn't describe a 'form' in the same edible sense, making the logic inconsistent for all five clues.
Things that are brown
This idea starts strong with Chocolate, Potato, and Wood, which can all be brown. It's a simple visual connection. However, the logic immediately fails with Computer, and even Poker is a stretch, as poker chips and computers come in a vast array of colors. A connector must work for every single clue, and this one fails on at least two.
Things that are processed or manufactured
Chocolate, Poker chips, and Computers are clearly manufactured products. Wood is often processed (chipped), and potatoes are processed into chips. This feels plausible, but it's too broad and abstract. It lacks the clever, specific 'aha' moment typical of Pinpoint, where every clue fits the connector in an identical way.
| Word | Origin | In Context (Usage) | Meaning & Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chocolate | — | “Chocolate chip” | This refers to a small piece of chocolate, a standard ingredient in baked goods like cookies. It's the most common culinary use of the word 'chip'. |
| Potato | — | “Potato chip” | This is a thin slice of potato that has been fried or baked until crisp. It is one of the world's most popular snack foods. |
| Wood | — | “Wood chip” | A small fragment of wood, often produced as a byproduct of logging or for use in landscaping as mulch. It breaks the food theme. |
| Poker | — | “Poker chip” | A small, colored disc used as a token of currency in betting games, most notably poker. This confirms the connection is linguistic, not categorical. |
| Computer | — | “Computer chip” | An integrated circuit or microprocessor that serves as the core of a computer. This tech-based clue locks in the answer. |
Challenge Your Strongest Impulse
The 'Chocolate' and 'Potato' clues create an overwhelmingly strong food theme. The key to today's puzzle was actively challenging that first, powerful impulse rather than settling for an imperfect fit that works for only a few clues.
Test a Simple Pattern Across All Clues
When complex categories fail, try a simple linguistic or structural pattern. The solution here wasn't a deep conceptual category but a simple word that could follow each clue. Testing 'chip' against all five clues provided an immediate and perfect confirmation.
Let Outliers Guide Your Hypothesis
The clues that don't fit your initial theory are often the most important. 'Wood' and 'Poker' were the outliers that broke the 'food' theory. Instead of discarding them, I used them to pivot toward a completely new type of connection that could accommodate them all.
The connector is 'Words that come before "chip"'. For example, the phrases are Chocolate chip, Potato chip, Wood chip, Poker chip, and Computer chip.
While Chocolate (in batter), Potato, and even Wood can be fried, this theme falls apart on Poker and Computer. A valid connector must logically apply to every single clue without exception.
No, because 'cow chip' has a very different meaning (a dried piece of dung) that breaks the clean, consistent pattern established by the other clues. The solution relies on a specific, non-facetious meaning of 'chip'.
If you have a strong initial theory, immediately test it against the most unusual clue. If it fails, quickly pivot from categorical thinking (what something *is*) to linguistic or structural thinking (what a word *looks like* or what word *comes after* it).
