Doubled for Friday, June 14, 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, 5 and 3 letters.
Hint 2
The shared word - the one that belongs to both phrases - has 5 letters and starts with S.
Hint 3
The first phrase is 2 words, the second is 2, and they overlap on one of them.
Hint 4
A self-defence canister, then a bottled bronze glow.
The answer
Stuck, or want to check? Opening this reveals the whole answer.
Reveal the answer
Pepper Tan
Pepper spray and Spray tan, joined on Spray.
Pepper spray
Pepper spray is the self-defence aerosol that causes burning pain and streaming eyes, carried by police and civilians.
Spray tan
A spray tan is an artificial tan applied by misting tanning solution over the skin.
How players did
Across 1,555 plays, 48% got the whole answer in one guess, 12% solved it without a miss, 17% got there after at least one wrong guess, 18% used a hint or finished on their last chance, and 6% did not get it.
This puzzle ran on June 14, 2024, June 14, 2025 and June 14, 2026.