Doubled for Saturday, April 27, 2024
One picture, one hidden three-word chain. The first two words make a familiar phrase, the last two make another, and the middle word belongs to both. New to the game? Read how to play first.
Hints
Open them one at a time. Each one gives away a little more than the last.
Hint 1
The answer is 3 words long, with 6, 3 and 6 letters.
Hint 2
The shared word - the one that belongs to both phrases - has 3 letters and starts with I.
Hint 3
The first phrase is 2 words, the second is 2, and they overlap on one of them.
Hint 4
A plant that leaves you itching, then a group of old, expensive American universities.
The answer
Stuck, or want to check? Opening this reveals the whole answer.
Reveal the answer
Poison League
Poison ivy and Ivy league, joined on Ivy.
Poison ivy
Poison ivy is the North American plant whose oil causes an itchy, blistering rash on contact; 'leaves of three, let it be'.
Ivy league
The Ivy League is the group of eight old private universities in the north-eastern United States, including Harvard, Yale and Princeton.
How players did
Across 1,415 plays, 22% got the whole answer in one guess, 2% solved it without a miss, 10% got there after at least one wrong guess, 55% used a hint or finished on their last chance, and 12% did not get it.
This puzzle ran on April 27, 2024, April 27, 2025 and April 27, 2026.