Doubled for Thursday, September 12, 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 6 words long, with 2, 3, 4, 2, 4 and 4 letters.
Hint 2
The shared word - the one that belongs to both phrases - has 4 letters and starts with F.
Hint 3
The first phrase is 5 words, the second is 2, and they overlap on one of them.
Hint 4
In the path of danger, then tiny red insects with a nasty sting.
The answer
Stuck, or want to check? Opening this reveals the whole answer.
Reveal the answer
In The Line Of Ants
In the line of fire and Fire ants, joined on Fire.
In the line of fire
To be in the line of fire is to be in the path of an attack or of criticism.
Fire ants
Fire ants are the aggressive red ants whose stings burn and blister, a plague of the southern United States.
How players did
Across 1,115 plays, 11% got the whole answer in one guess, 14% solved it without a miss, 35% got there after at least one wrong guess, 33% used a hint or finished on their last chance, and 7% did not get it.
This puzzle ran on September 12, 2024, September 12, 2025 and September 12, 2026.