Brain Teasers
What's that You Said?
Here are some well-known expressions rewritten into "Cliff-ese". For those of you who don't know what that means, he was a very wordy person on the TV show "Cheers" and never used a small word where a larger one would work. Try to figure out the phrases in simpler terms.
1. To place a primitive agricultural conveyance in a position anterior to the animal Equus caballus.
2. It requires a number of people greater than one to perform a terpsichorean series of low dips and twisting steps on the toes.
3. To accumulate an excess of temperature beneath a circular, tight-fitting clothing component.
4. Emanating from a culinary vessel into a site of pyrogenic activity.
1. To place a primitive agricultural conveyance in a position anterior to the animal Equus caballus.
2. It requires a number of people greater than one to perform a terpsichorean series of low dips and twisting steps on the toes.
3. To accumulate an excess of temperature beneath a circular, tight-fitting clothing component.
4. Emanating from a culinary vessel into a site of pyrogenic activity.
Answer
1. Putting the cart before the horse.2. It takes two to tango.
3. Get hot under the collar.
4. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
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Comments
geezz got me with this one too rats....
Very very fun, and those last two
really had me thinking!! (got 'em wrong anyway) heehee
really had me thinking!! (got 'em wrong anyway) heehee
Good one, got me stumped a bit... Keep them coming.
Very original
YIPPPEEEEE ! I got three out of four and I love solving these. Keep 'em coming !
umm....it was good
nice
that was so hard i know it's embarassing but once i've seen the answer it was actually quite easy
Woo hoo I got all 4!! I love these you have got to keep them coming!!
Thanks! I learned a new word today: Terpischorean! These are very fun to figure out. Keep up the good work!
I also learned a new word; I thought it was terpsichorean!
Woo! I got three out of four. These are great, keep them coming. Now, must have coffee
this is a good one. Made me think. Can't belive I missed one, especially after reading the answer. Bring on more.
It was good, but I'm not really a fan of those kinds of teasers. I like the more fun and easy ones.
Those must have been more difficult to compose than they were to figure out. Good puzzle though.
I also believe these took far longer to compose than to figure out, however, It's a blast reading and translating them in your head...kind of a quickie workout for the ol' noodle.
YAY another "Cliff-ese" I am so excited!!!! Great one today, though I did have a little trouble with 1 and 3 Thanks... you rock!!!
Very nice. I found these very easy, but I love these kinds of teasers anyway! Kepp 'em coming!
igot it..igot it.. igot it...
igot it..igot it.. igot it...
igot it..igot it.. igot it...
Your translations of common word combinations into the complex style of a sit-com character's vernacular are pleasing to the son of my mother and father!!
Had fun....I've enjoyed exercising my brain with these every day and finally registered today. I thought the last one was "jumping from the kettle into the fire" - think I had that mixed up with another phrase.
Nov 11, 2005
Being a linguist, these are my favorites. More!! More!!
Surprisingly I got these with little trouble, but I failed so miserably with the previous teaser like this that I was ashamed to Rate or Comment. Tough but fun!
Keep 'em coming...lots of fun.
Very good, fun, fun, fun
until i saw the answer that was hard but after i knew what they were they were actually not that hard. i just wish i would have gotten them before i clicked on show answer
I loved this one! I didn't take the time to think about the last Cliff-ese teaser we had the other day before looking at the answer. Then I was mad at myself. Got 3 & 4 pretty quickly, got 1 after looking up the word "Equus Caballus". 2 was the hardest for me- terpsichorean through me off and then after I looked it up and figured out the expression I think it could be gotten without even knowing the meaning of that word.
Anyway I thought it was great fun!
Anyway I thought it was great fun!
this one completely stumped me got em all wrong
This is brilliant! I love these! I also love Cheers! Awsome teaser, and very fun! Great job!
Dude, that was in the back of Reader's Digest three months ago. I liked it then, too.
Loved it!!!! MAybe becasue I was able to get them all correct for a change.
Perhaps I like these due to my proclivity to Cliffese myself.
Perhaps I like these due to my proclivity to Cliffese myself.
I got them all except 4 that one was hard. but these were really cool I loved them
keep em commin'
keep em commin'
Excellent!!!
????????????????
thanks for the memories, Ienjoy the "CLIFF-ESE". Keep them coming
I love these keep them coming
Hey, I got them all, they are a lot of fun, pls keep 'em coming
Love these but again I think these would be way beyond Cliff. He knew trivia but he was basically stupid. That was the joke.
that made it onto my favorite list
I got two and four so I got it half right. Good teaser.
You would have 2 b 100 2 figure that out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I could only get parts of them... but i put it as full fun! LIKED IT A LOT
i loved it ! it was awesome !
this was very much my thing and i got them all , no problem!!!!
(mind you the ones evryone else thinks are easy i'm sure i never know)
this was very much my thing and i got them all , no problem!!!!
(mind you the ones evryone else thinks are easy i'm sure i never know)
didnt get it
Another good one! Sehr gut!
This challenge of the organ found in the skull is wont to cause extreme jubilance!
Great teaser. I love these Cliff-ese teasers.
Great teaser. I love these Cliff-ese teasers.
Enjoyable as always Fishmed. Thank for mental Tango.
BU HAO. I DON'T LIKE THESE, AND CLIFF NEVER USED SENTENCES LIKE THESE.
YOUR LITERARY LICENSE IS OVER EXTENDED.
YOUR LITERARY LICENSE IS OVER EXTENDED.
wow.that was a stinker..i just couldnt get it.. when i saw the answers .it was like one of those times if it had been a snake it would have bit me...
Easy for me, but still fun.
Thanks for morning fun.
Thanks for morning fun.
These were a slight bit easy, but they were entertaining. A marvelously laid out teaser. WTG! Fish Keep up the good work.
I liked'em
I'm not sure who Clift is, but I liked these. They gave my brain a good workout today. Thanks.
Still no Imurray teasers, can't you do any thing but mouth off all the time. Totally Rude.
Still no Imurray teasers, can't you do any thing but mouth off all the time. Totally Rude.
I got them all so I'd have to sy I liked this teaser. They were relatively easy, so that was good, since it's Sunday morning and I'm just getting started on the day.
Ditto my comment of a year ago!
those are waaayyyyyyy cool
Too many big words!!!!!
I got them all
I got them all
I got them all
Yeah!!!!!!
I got them all
I got them all
Yeah!!!!!!
i got #'s 1 and 4 right away....didn't have the patience to figure out the other two... not my favorite teaser types, but they are still fun. Godd Job!
OOPS! I meant GOOD JOB!
Nicely worded. Thanks for keeping our brain cells ticking.
This one's nice. I couldn't get the first; If I heard it before, then I sure didn't remember it!
Thank you SO MUCH, Fish!!
I got them all immediately, but I LOVED every second of the effort!
MORE! MORE! MORE!!!
I got them all immediately, but I LOVED every second of the effort!
MORE! MORE! MORE!!!
I like these. They make you think, but they're solvable with a little thought. By the way, lmurry takes everything much too literally. Just no sense of humor, that one.
uh i'm going to have to say i didnt like this one very much at all. It was boring and difficult. I didn't get the same trill doing this one as did I other puzzles. I do not think this particular teaser deserves a high rating. please try to jazz up the puzzles!!
i thought it was weird. didn't like it much. love the emoticons though
im not good with big words!! got confused but they make me think
That was fun. ot them all but # 3. Great job.
hehehe. I liked that. I could actally get a little! Gj!
Nice job Fish. I got all four. One only has to understand part of the elaboration to disect the structure, concentrate, and solve. Many more please?
Good one. I got #1. By the way, imurray,STOP THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I totally agree with nu rob roy about imurray.TOTALLY.
And musikman212.
lotsa fun. got 1 and 4
Yay, I got 4/4 this time (just got done doing #II in this series, with less luck).
Cheers on some good teasers fishmed!
Cheers on some good teasers fishmed!
very nice fishmed!
great teaser! definitely tricky but fun!
N.C.O.T.S.T.
Woo! I got all of them right - guess I was channeling my inner Cliff. Great teaser!
I got them all! I love these! Thanks fishmed!
I REALLY DO LIKE THESE. I'D LIKE TO SEE THEM MORE OFTEN.
NICE!!!
got 3 out of 4 so pretty happy with that. I like these.
I had to think about #3, but got them all. Fun.
I had to think about #3, but got them all. Fun.
This was great! There's a list out there somewhere with Christmas carol titles written out like this and it's really funny---makes you think. Here's a good phrase: Eschew obfuscation!
I only got two, but they are fun to do! Some are confusing as someone else said also, but keep trying!!
I agree w/doehead.
I'm not sure if I agree with Doehead or not, not sure what she said. I must say I miss Doehead's unique take on things out here though.
Personally, I enjoyed the teaser. All four of the questions were quite solvable but actually took some thought to do so. I don't like teasers that the answers are so obvious a brain-dead monkey could get them, but then I don't want one so hard that it can't be solved in a reasonable amount of time. They are supposed to be fun, not at a graduate level (have already put in my time there).
Personally, I enjoyed the teaser. All four of the questions were quite solvable but actually took some thought to do so. I don't like teasers that the answers are so obvious a brain-dead monkey could get them, but then I don't want one so hard that it can't be solved in a reasonable amount of time. They are supposed to be fun, not at a graduate level (have already put in my time there).
These are not my favorite, but thanks for posting!
Glad you guys liked them. I try to be challenging w/o being too difficult.
Since someone said it actually came from a Reader's Digest, I do not feel so bad about getting only two. I thought the author was trying to show off with the big words. It was fun trying to figure it out though!
Nice one! Am adding to my favourites!
fairly easy with a little bit of pondering
Agreed, not too hard, just about right imo.
I am glad you like it. And yes, this was originally back from a very old Reader's Digest and I asked if it could be added and it got in. I am trying to create more like it, but it's not as easy as Cliff made it seem. He had writers.
I enjoy reding hrough these, but they are not my favorite puzzles. However, I'm intrigued by Fishmed's comment. I figured it would be very easy to create these. I may be underestimating the work and clever thought that went into this. I should try some myself to see.
Fun and entertaining teaser; I got three and a half out of four. I was thinking pot instead of frying pan. This type of teaser is very challenging for me and I usually do not do very well, but I am very pleased with my results on this one.
Not too difficult, however I don't ever remember "Cliff" coming up with such creative phrases?
He had more of a propensity to slot in long words out of place, in his conversation.
It was a fun teaser anyway, thanks!
He had more of a propensity to slot in long words out of place, in his conversation.
It was a fun teaser anyway, thanks!
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