A four word puzzle (see this and this) is basically a 4x4 grid containing 4 4-letter words, and reads the same top to bottom or left to right. For example,
A B C D
B E F G
C F H I
D G I J
Here are some puzzles with hints (not necessarily in the same order):
Sample puzzle
a shape
an identity
a valley
an audio track
Answer
S O N G
O V A L
N A M E
G L E N
Puzzle 1
a flower
a plant
a stage in life
a fraction of a whole
Puzzle 2
a medium of writing
an examination
a mark joining two points
a narrow cut
Puzzle 3
a kind of footwear
a kind of sensation
obedience
squashing things together
Puzzle 4
stack
volume
termination
a metal
Possible bounty
I know it's quite unlikely, but if a single person manages to be the first one to solve 3 of the 4 puzzles, you will get a bounty of 100 rep (plus up-votes from many people).
