Doubled for Sunday, June 9, 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 4, 8 and 4 letters.
Hint 2
The shared word - the one that belongs to both phrases - has 8 letters and starts with B.
Hint 3
The first phrase is 2 words, the second is 2, and they overlap on one of them.
Hint 4
Exhausting physical labour, then a bulletin that interrupts the programme.
The answer
Stuck, or want to check? Opening this reveals the whole answer.
Reveal the answer
Back- News
Back-breaking and Breaking news, joined on Breaking.
Back-breaking
Back-breaking work is physically exhausting labour, the kind that leaves you aching.
Breaking news
Breaking news is a story so new and important that it interrupts scheduled programming.
How players did
Across 2,007 plays, 47% got the whole answer in one guess, 19% solved it without a miss, 14% got there after at least one wrong guess, 15% used a hint or finished on their last chance, and 4% did not get it.
This puzzle ran on June 9, 2024, June 9, 2025 and June 9, 2026.