# Botticelli - April 2025 **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [April 1, 2025, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476 "2025-04-01T22:19:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/1 "2025-04-01T22:19:57Z")
Continuing the discussion from [Botticelli March 2025](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-march-2025/1015443/203): Thanks @Elendil_s_Heir ! Great subject, btw. Here’s a periodic repost of the rules of the game for anyone interested in joining: **How does this work?** One person, the host, is thinking of someone and gives an initial (“I am B.”). Could be a real person, could be fictional, initial could start the first name, initial could start the last name, whatever. Everyone else is trying to figure out who it is. Players first ask indirect questions, usually three per post, about people with that initial (“Did you paint a picture of Venus on a giant clamshell?”) and the host answers them (“I am not Botticelli.”). **What if the host is correct?** Nothing happens. **What if the host doesn’t know the answer?** The player gets to ask a direct yes-or-no question (“Real?” “First name begins with B?” etc.). Note that direct questions can be reserved, and asked later. **Does a correct answer have to be who the player was thinking of?** If the host answers with a person who was _not_ who the player had in mind but who still correctly fits the question–e.g. thinking of Beethoven, asking “Were you a German classical composer,” and getting the response “I am not Bach”–the question has been correctly answered and again nothing happens. **How long does this go on?** Until twenty direct questions have been answered (usually it’s best for the host to continually post an updated list.). Then players get any other earned direct questions in and people can get in one final direct guess at who it is (“Are you…”). Whoever guesses the person correctly (whether by indirect question or final guess) gets to host the next round. **Where does the name of the game come from?** Because the person has to be reasonably notable, as least as well-known as Botticelli. That being said… **What if nobody guesses who the person is?** If it’s someone players have heard of, the host goes again. If none of the players have heard of the person, the previous host goes again. **Ooh, ooh! If I’m the host, can I go with, for example, Madonna but say “I am C” because, y’know, her last name is Ciccone…** No. We’re going by the names people are best known by to the general public, not birth names. Unless, of course, the birth name is as well-known as the stage or other current name. **What about middle names?** Middle names (and middle initials) count if the person is always referred to as such (e.g. if the letter is P then you can ask about John Philip Sousa). **How does the guy who drives the snow plow get to work?** He comes in early when the forecast is made. Got that? OK, new subject: I am # Y Bring on the IQs! ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/2 "2025-04-01T22:27:07Z")
Great guess, **SunUp**! I thought it had to do with Lech and Solidarity but couldn’t recall Poland’s leader at the time. IQs: 1. Were you one of the biggest standup comedians of the 50s and 60s? 2. Were you best known for playing opposite to Fred Gwynne? 3. Were you unable to get out of the army during WWII because of a labyrinth of arcane rules and regulations, no matter what you did or did not do? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/3 "2025-04-02T01:59:17Z")
IQs: Were you a folk singer pardoned by President Carter? Was a military spacecraft named after you in Heinlein’s _Starship Troopers_? Did you say “It is a puzzlement” many, many, many, many, many, many, many, _many_ times? ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/4 "2025-04-02T02:16:52Z")
Congrats! 1. Did you star on the TV series **Werewolf** on Fox? 2. Did you accidentally turn your king into a llama? 3. Did you play Sarah on **Chuck**? ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/5 "2025-04-02T06:42:50Z")
> [@knoodler](#): > > 1. Were you one of the biggest standup comedians of the 50s and 60s? > 2. Were you best known for playing opposite to Fred Gwynne? > 3. Were you unable to get out of the army during WWII because of a labyrinth of arcane rules and regulations, no matter what you did or did not do? I am not Henny Youngman. I am not Yvonne DeCarlo. I am not Yossarian. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Were you a folk singer pardoned by President Carter? > Was a military spacecraft named after you in Heinlein’s _Starship Troopers_? > Did you say “It is a puzzlement” many, many, many, many, many, many, many, _many_ times? I am not Peter Yarrow. I am not Rodger Young. I am puzzled. Take a DQ > [@kitap](#): > > 1. Did you star on the TV series **Werewolf** on Fox? > 2. Did you accidentally turn your king into a llama? > 3. Did you play Sarah on **Chuck**? Take a DQ. I am not Yzma. I am not Yvonne Strahovski. ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/6 "2025-04-02T14:43:03Z")
Sweep x3! 1. Were you the adopted son of Sir Guy Grand? 2. Are you a leader in your genre of music, considered by most to be unsuitable for commercial radio? 3. Are you a trusted colleague of Hari Seldon? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/7 "2025-04-02T17:28:01Z")
Previous IQs: Were you a folk singer pardoned by President Carter? - Yes, Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary Was a military spacecraft named after you in Heinlein’s _Starship Troopers_? - Yes, [Rodger Young](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodger_Young) (whose grave I’ve seen in Clyde, Ohio) Did you say “It is a puzzlement” many, many, many, many, many, many, many, _many_ times? - Yul Brynner, who played the monarch in _The King and I_ onstage for decades DQ: Real? IQs: In a movie, did a disguised king have sex with you while still in a suit of armor? Did you fly aboard the space shuttle _Columbia_ on its first mission into orbit? Did the Pittsburgh Pirates liken Phil Garner to you in team promotions? ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/8 "2025-04-02T17:45:42Z")
I typed up the rules as a Google Doc for future reference [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nVLOdq6IptN1UPXz3Tu9WAVrnQPyWSZ65Tqr5TS4L40/edit?tab=t.0). ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/9 "2025-04-02T20:07:02Z")
> [@knoodler](#): > > 1. Were you the adopted son of Sir Guy Grand? > 2. Are you a leader in your genre of music, considered by most to be unsuitable for commercial radio? > 3. Are you a trusted colleague of Hari Seldon? Take a DQ. I am not… Yma Sumac? I am not Yugo Amaryl. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > In a movie, did a disguised king have sex with you while still in a suit of armor? > Did you fly aboard the space shuttle _Columbia_ on its first mission into orbit? > Did the Pittsburgh Pirates liken Phil Garner to you in team promotions? I am not Ygraine. Take 2 DQs. > [@De\_La\_Rue](#): > > I typed up the rules as a Google Doc for future reference [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nVLOdq6IptN1UPXz3Tu9WAVrnQPyWSZ65Tqr5TS4L40/edit?tab=t.0). Thanks, **D\_L\_R**! # Y 1. Real ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/10 "2025-04-03T02:24:14Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > > [@knoodler](#): > > > > 1. Were you the adopted son of Sir Guy Grand? > > 2. Are you a leader in your genre of music, considered by most to be unsuitable for commercial radio? > > 3. Are you a trusted colleague of Hari Seldon? > > Take a DQ. > I am not… Yma Sumac? > I am not Yugo Amaryl. 1. Youngman Grand (Ringo Starr, _The Magic Christian_) 2. Yanni (Yiannis Chryssomallis) although your answer could be true; I’ll leave it up to you or someone else to decide. 3. Correct ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/11 "2025-04-03T02:25:21Z")
DQs: Alive? 1 DQ reserved, pending decision ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/12 "2025-04-03T05:59:04Z")
# Y 1. Real 2. Alive Take another DQ, @knoodler. ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/13 "2025-04-03T14:14:07Z")
Thanks! DQ: Male? ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/14 "2025-04-03T14:34:45Z")
IQs: 1. Did you perform a duet with Condoleezza Rice in 2001? 2. Is your face painted on the facade of a 20-story building in Odintsovo, Russia? 3. Were you a victim of dioxin poisoning in 2004? ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/15 "2025-04-03T16:10:24Z")
> [@knoodler](#): > > 1. Did you perform a duet with Condoleezza Rice in 2001? > 2. Is your face painted on the facade of a 20-story building in Odintsovo, Russia? > 3. Were you a victim of dioxin poisoning in 2004? I am not Yitzhak Perelman. I am not… Boris Yeltsin? Take a DQ. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/16 "2025-04-03T16:10:53Z")
# Y 1. Real 2. Alive 3. Male ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/17 "2025-04-03T19:19:48Z")
Yes, thanks, **DLR**! Previous IQs: In a movie, did a disguised king have sex with you while still in a suit of armor? - Yes, Ygraine, thus ravished by King Uther Pendragon in _Excalibur_ Did you fly aboard the space shuttle _Columbia_ on its first mission into orbit? - John W. Young, mission commander Did the Pittsburgh Pirates liken Phil Garner to you in team promotions? - [Yosemite Sam](https://x.com/ToddRadom/status/1068552048654909443) DQs: American? Best known for politics/military? IQs: Does your picture hang prominently in the Taiwan legislature? Did you play Rocky’s lowlife brother-in-law? Did you star in _Witchblade_? ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/18 "2025-04-03T19:24:31Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > Congrats! > > 1. Did you star on the TV series **Werewolf** on Fox? > 2. Did you accidentally turn your king into a llama? > 3. Did you play Sarah on **Chuck**? John J. York, correct, correct. IQs: 1. Were you a French fashion designer? 2. Are you a former French male tennis player? 3. Were you an actor best know for playing Cosmo Topper? ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/19 "2025-04-03T19:55:46Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Does your picture hang prominently in the Taiwan legislature? > Did you play Rocky’s lowlife brother-in-law? > Did you star in _Witchblade_? I am not… Sun Yat-Sen? I am not Burt Young. Take a DQ. > [@kitap](#): > > 1. Were you a French fashion designer? > 2. Are you a former French male tennis player? > 3. Were you an actor best know for playing Cosmo Topper? I am not Yves Saint-Laurent. I am not Yannick Noah. Take a DQ. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/20 "2025-04-03T19:57:14Z")
# Y 1. Real 2. Alive 3. Male 4. American 5. Best known for politics/military @kitap , I believe you have 1 DQ reserved. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476.md?page=2)