Doubled for Saturday, October 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 4 words long, with 6, 3, 5 and 5 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 3 words, the second is 2, and they overlap on one of them.
Hint 4
Reward and punishment, then driving a manual.
The answer
Stuck, or want to check? Opening this reveals the whole answer.
Reveal the answer
Carrot And Shift
Carrot and stick and Stick shift, joined on Stick.
Carrot and stick
Carrot and stick is the combination of reward and punishment used to make someone do something, as with a donkey.
Stick shift
A stick shift is a car with a manual gearbox, changed with a lever.
How players did
Across 834 plays, 21% got the whole answer in one guess, 11% solved it without a miss, 15% got there after at least one wrong guess, 30% used a hint or finished on their last chance, and 24% did not get it.
This puzzle ran on October 12, 2024 and October 12, 2025.