LinkedIn Pinpoint Answer for August 18, 2025
LINKEDIN PINPOINT CLUES
August 18, 2025
May
Mar
Oct
Jan
Dec
Clue Meanings Explained
May
This is the fifth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. Interestingly, it is the only month in this list that is naturally three letters long without needing to be shortened, which can often act as a clever "decoy" for players looking for a pattern of abbreviations right off the bat.
Mar
This is the standard three-letter abbreviation for March, the third month of the year. While "mar" is also a verb meaning to spoil or damage something, in the context of this puzzle, it serves as a temporal marker.
Oct
This is the shortened form of October, the tenth month of the year. It comes from the Latin "octo," meaning eight, because it was originally the eighth month in the Roman calendar before January and February were added.
Jan
This represents January, the very first month of our modern calendar year. It is named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions, who is often depicted with two faces looking toward the past and the future.
Dec
This is the abbreviation for December, the twelfth and final month of the year. Like October, its name is rooted in Latin ("decem" meaning ten), reflecting its original position in the older Roman calendar system.
The Solve: A Tale of Wrong Turns
When I first sat down to tackle this Pinpoint, the first clue I saw was "May." To be honest, my brain went in a few different directions. Since "May" is a full word, a name, and a modal verb, I wasn't immediately convinced we were talking about the calendar. I thought maybe we were looking for "Girls' Names" or perhaps "Verbs that are also Nouns." I didn't want to burn a guess too early, so I moved on to the next clue.
Then "Mar" popped up. This is where the puzzle started to reveal its teeth. "Mar" and "May" together are tricky. If you think of "Mar" as a verb (to ruin), it doesn't fit with "May" as a month. But then I realized that if "Mar" is an abbreviation for March, then "May" is just... May. I suspected the theme might be "Months," but I hesitated because "May" isn't an abbreviation—it’s the whole word. I briefly considered "Three-Letter Words," but that felt too broad for a world-class puzzle.
The third clue, "Oct," was the absolute clincher for me. Once you see "Oct," you can't ignore the calendar connection. October is almost never referred to as "Oct" unless you are looking at a calendar, a programming string, or a datebook. At this point, the pattern was undeniable: we were looking at the three-letter shorthand used for months.
By the time "Jan" and "Dec" appeared, I was just looking for confirmation. These two are the bookends of the year, and seeing them alongside "Mar" and "Oct" solidified the logic. The trickiest part of this specific puzzle was the inclusion of "May," which follows the three-letter rule but isn't technically "shortened." However, once you group them all together, "Month abbreviations" becomes the most precise and logical answer to tie all five clues into a neat bow.
Lessons Learned From Today's Pinpoint Solution
Beware of the "Natural" Fit: Sometimes a clue fits a pattern perfectly (like May being three letters) but for a different reason than the others (it’s a full word, not an abbreviation). Always look for the common denominator that applies to the *entire* set, even if one clue is a bit of an outlier.
Contextualize Abbreviations: When you see three-letter strings that don't make sense as standalone words (like Oct or Dec), immediately pivot your thinking toward common shorthand systems, such as months, days of the week, or even airport codes.
Don't Overthink the Simple Stuff: It’s easy to assume a puzzle will be incredibly complex, but often the answer is staring you in the face. If the clues look like a calendar, they probably are a calendar.
Look for the "Anchor" Clue: In every Pinpoint, there is usually one clue that eliminates all other possibilities. In this set, "Oct" was the anchor. While "May" and "Mar" could be other things, "Oct" is almost exclusively used for the month.
Expert Q&A
Why is "May" included if it isn't technically an abbreviation like the others?
This is a classic Pinpoint tactic used to create a slight "hitch" in your logic. While May is a full word, it is treated as a three-letter abbreviation in almost every digital and physical calendar system to maintain visual consistency with months like Jan, Feb, and Mar. In the context of a "set," it functions as an abbreviation.
Could the answer have simply been "Months"?
While "Months" is close, "Month abbreviations" or "Three-letter months" is more accurate because of the specific way the clues are presented. Pinpoint often rewards the player for identifying the specific format of the clues, not just the general category.
Does "Mar" ever mean anything else in these puzzles?
In a different puzzle, "Mar" could be paired with "Spoil," "Damage," or "Taint" to represent verbs meaning to ruin something. The beauty of Pinpoint is that the meaning changes based on the surrounding clues.
Are these clues always presented in chronological order?
Not necessarily. In this puzzle, we saw May, then March, then October. The randomized order is designed to prevent you from guessing the sequence too easily. You have to find the thematic link rather than just following a timeline.
What is the best strategy if the first two clues are ambiguous?
The best strategy is to wait for the third clue. Most Pinpoint puzzles have a "pivot" at clue three that clarifies the relationship between the first two. If you guess too early based on an ambiguous clue like "May," you might lose your