LinkedIn Pinpoint 529 Answer & Analysis
From a stray “Bottle” to a clean verb through-line
The Hook. Today’s Pinpoint didn’t look scary, but it didn’t volunteer its secret either. Bottle showed up first—wide open, almost too open. Then Survey arrived and snapped me out of object-mode. This wasn’t about things as labels; it was about what we do with them.
The Obvious Trap.
With Bottle you can chase brands, beverages, even recycling. I started there. It felt plausible for five seconds—until Survey refused to play along. No drink, no label, no product line. Time to switch questions from “What is it?” to “What do we say with it?”
The Breakthrough Moment.
“Fill a bottle.” “Fill out a survey.” The phrasing clicked. I tested it fast, looking for counterexamples instead of confirmations. If the next clues didn’t take the same verb naturally, drop the theory. But they did. Pool? You fill it. Bucket? Same. The pattern held in both literal and idiomatic speech. By the time Tooth cavity appeared, it felt like the puzzle was politely tapping me on the shoulder.
The Evidence Cascade.
- Bottle → You fill a bottle with liquid.
- Survey → You fill out a survey (the default collocation).
- Pool → You fill a pool with water; also “fill the pool” of candidates.
- Bucket → You fill a bucket with sand, water, anything.
- Tooth cavity → Dentists fill cavities with restorative material.
The Reveal.
🏆 Answer: Things you can fill.
A Quick Deep Dive.
What I like about this set is how it hides in plain sight. Four clues are containers you can picture. One clue is a form you “fill out,” which nudges you to hear the language, not just see the object. And Tooth cavity bridges physical repair with everyday talk—still the same verb, just a different domain. The elegance is in echo: five ordinary phrases that share a single spine.
Closing Thought.
When your nouns won’t line up, try swapping lenses: chase the verb. Ask, “What’s the stock phrase people use with this word?” Collocations are like breadcrumb trails—follow enough of them, and the category stops being a guess and starts feeling inevitable.