Permanent answer & walkthrough (Pinpoint Today archive)
Pinpoint Answer Today asks: what links Basketball Courts, Running Tracks, Olympic Swimming Pools, Highways, and Bowling Alleys — 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.
Basketball Courts Running Tracks Olympic Swimming Pools Highways — What connects Basketball Courts, Running Tracks, Olympic Swimming Pools, Highways?
LinkedIn Pinpoint #569 Answer:
Detailed breakdown continues just below - keep scrolling
Today's LinkedIn Pinpoint puzzle #569 begins with 'Basketball Courts' and 'Running Tracks,' immediately suggesting a theme of athletic venues. My mind went straight to 'Olympic Sports.' But then the third clue, 'Olympic Swimming Pools,' while fitting the Olympics theme, started to feel too on-the-nose. The puzzle was clearly pushing me down an obvious path. The arrival of 'Highways' shattered the sports theory entirely, forcing a hard pivot. It became clear the connection wasn't about the activity or the location type, but about a shared physical feature found in these seemingly disparate places.
When I saw 'Basketball Courts' and then 'Running Tracks,' my brain immediately latched onto 'Olympic Sports.' It felt so perfect; both are classic Olympic events. I was so confident that I didn't even really consider other options for the first two clues. The third clue, 'Olympic Swimming Pools,' felt like confirmation. I was already mentally congratulating myself on a quick solve. *Wait...* a thought nagged at me. The clue wasn't just 'Swimming Pools,' it was 'Olympic' Swimming Pools. Adding 'Olympic' to three clues in a row felt less like a pattern and more like a deliberate misdirect.
Then 'Highways' appeared. My beautiful sports theory disintegrated. There was no way to fit a highway into the Olympics theme. I was back at square one, my mind completely blank. I started scanning the words again, looking for any possible link. Athletic? No. Large spaces? Maybe, but too broad. I focused on the visual image of each clue. Basketball courts... they have those painted lines for the key and three-point line. Running tracks... they are defined by their multiple lanes. *Hold on... lanes.*
That's when it clicked. It was a physical, structural connection. I quickly tested my new theory. Olympic Swimming Pools are famously divided into lanes. Highways have multiple traffic lanes. Bowling Alleys have lanes for the balls to roll down. Every single clue fit. It wasn't about purpose, but about parallel pathways within a larger area.
After the 'Highways' crash, finding a simple, structural connector that worked for all five clues was incredibly satisfying. The puzzle used a clever misdirection with 'Olympic' to hide a much more visual and obvious link hiding in plain sight.
Olympic Venues
This feels like a strong start because 'Basketball Courts' and 'Running Tracks' are core Olympic sports, and 'Olympic Swimming Pools' explicitly contains the word 'Olympic.' However, the theme breaks completely on the final two clues, as 'Highways' and 'Bowling Alleys' have no connection to the Olympic Games.
Places for Competition
This is a plausible, broader theory. Basketball courts, tracks, and pools are all intense competition venues. The problem is that while highways can have competitive racing, their primary purpose is transportation, and bowling alleys, while competitive, are primarily recreational. The theme is too generic and doesn't fit the specific nature of all five clues.
Locations with Marked Lines
This is very close and fits 'Basketball Courts,' 'Running Tracks,' and 'Highways' perfectly. The issue is that swimming pool lanes are often separated by floating ropes, not painted lines on the bottom, and bowling alleys have gutters and dots but not the same kind of 'marked lines.' The theme fails on the specific implementation for two of the five clues.
| Word | Origin | In Context (Usage) | Meaning & Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basketball Courts | — | “Places with lanes” | The court is marked with lines that define lanes for inbound plays and boundaries like the key and three-point line, creating structured paths for play. |
| Running Tracks | — | “Places with lanes” | This is the most direct example, as tracks are fundamentally composed of multiple concentric lanes, each designated for a single runner in a sprint race. |
| Olympic Swimming Pools | — | “Places with lanes” | Competitive pools are specifically designed with a fixed number of lanes, typically separated by lane lines (ropes or buoys) to ensure swimmers stay in their path. |
| Highways | — | “Places with lanes” | Major highways are systematically divided into multiple traffic lanes that guide vehicles and organize the flow of high-speed traffic. |
| Bowling Alleys | — | “Places with lanes” | The venue's name is synonymous with its main feature; it is a collection of long, narrow lanes where the bowling ball is rolled towards the pins. |
Test the Outliers
The clues 'Basketball Courts' and 'Running Tracks' will lead many solvers to a sports-themed dead end. The real breakthrough comes from focusing on how the outlier, 'Highways,' fits. Stress-testing your theory against the clue that feels most different is the fastest way to invalidate a wrong answer and find the right path.
Look for Structure, Not Just Subject
This puzzle uses words from the worlds of sports and infrastructure to hide a common physical attribute. If the subjects of the clues don't connect, shift your perspective to their visual or structural components. The shared element is often a physical object or feature, like the 'lanes' in this puzzle.
Beware of Deliberate Misdirection
The puzzle designer used the word 'Olympic' three times to intentionally push solvers down an incorrect path. Recognizing when a word or theme feels repeated *too* perfectly can be a signal that you're being led astray and should look for a less obvious connection.
The connection is that they are all Places with lanes. For example, Running Tracks have lanes for sprinters, and Bowling Alleys are defined by their individual lanes for rolling the ball.
While 'Olympic Venues' fits the first three clues very well, it fails on the last two. 'Highways' and 'Bowling Alleys' are not Olympic venues, so the connector must fit all five clues to be correct.
Yes, absolutely. While it uses different terminology (singles and doubles sidelines), a tennis court is also a structured playing area with marked boundaries that function as lanes for play, fitting the 'Places with lanes' theme perfectly.
When your first strong theory is broken by a new clue, immediately look for a physical or structural attribute that all the clues share. Shifting from 'what is it?' to 'what does it look like?' can unlock the correct answer.
