Doubled for Wednesday, December 4, 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 T.
Hint 3
The first phrase is 2 words, the second is 2, and they overlap on one of them.
Hint 4
Flesh spilling over a waistband, then classified information.
The answer
Stuck, or want to check? Opening this reveals the whole answer.
Reveal the answer
Muffin Secret
Muffin top and Top secret, joined on Top.
Muffin top
A muffin top is the roll of flesh that spills over the waistband of tight trousers, like a muffin over its case.
Top secret
Top secret is the highest level of classification for government information.
How players did
Across 800 plays, 8% got the whole answer in one guess, 5% solved it without a miss, 8% got there after at least one wrong guess, 36% used a hint or finished on their last chance, and 44% did not get it.
This puzzle ran on December 4, 2024 and December 4, 2025.