# Botticelli -- May 2026 **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [May 4, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772 "2026-05-04T02:47:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/1 "2026-05-04T02:47:55Z")
> [@Botticelli - April 2025](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-april-2025/1016476/1): > > 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. I am **F**. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/2 "2026-05-04T03:10:12Z")
Addition to above: **What if the host does not recognise the name for the answer to an indirect question?** They can ask if anyone else does. If no player recognises that person, that direct question is forfeited. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/3 "2026-05-04T04:20:38Z")
F it is! A good last round for both host and winner. IQs: 1. Did you write the comic strip _What’s New With Phil and Dixie_ for _Dragon_ magazine? 2. Do you often consult with the Bayport police department when they have trouble on a case? 3. Were you a U.S. Army general satirized by Mark Twain? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/4 "2026-05-04T05:21:58Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > IQs: > > 1. Did you write the comic strip _What’s New With Phil and Dixie_ for _Dragon_ magazine? > 2. Do you often consult with the Bayport police department when they have trouble on a case? > 3. Were you a U.S. Army general satirized by Mark Twain? Not Phil Foglio Neither Fenton nor Frank Hardy DQ ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/5 "2026-05-04T06:12:51Z")
IQs: 1. Did Dick Van Dyke play you in an English comedy? 2. Did you voice Karl on _The Simpsons_? 3. Are you an Olympian best remembered for a medical incident, rather than your routine? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/6 "2026-05-04T14:03:44Z")
> [@knoodler](#): > > Qs: > > 1. Did Dick Van Dyke play you in an English comedy? > 2. Did you voice Karl on _The Simpsons_? > 3. Are you an Olympian best remembered for a medical incident, rather than your routine? Not Caractacus Potts DQ DQ (All I can think of is that runner who collapsed and was picked up and assisted by spectators, and I’ve no idea what his name was.) ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/7 "2026-05-04T14:19:00Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > > [@SunUp](#): > > > > 1. Did you write the comic strip _What’s New With Phil and Dixie_ for _Dragon_ magazine? > > 2. Do you often consult with the Bayport police department when they have trouble on a case? > > 3. Were you a U.S. Army general satirized by Mark Twain? > > Not Phil Foglio > Neither Fenton nor Frank Hardy > DQ The general who attracted Mark Twain’s attention was Frederick Funston. Correct on the other two. DQ: Real? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/8 "2026-05-04T15:15:40Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Not Caractacus Potts Well, that was a dumb thing to say! Can’t think of a better answer, though. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/9 "2026-05-04T15:19:27Z")
IQs: 1. Did you direct _Bowfinger_? 2. Did you help the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl in 2018? 3. Did you run, as the title character, in _Run Lola Run_? ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/10 "2026-05-04T16:44:33Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > > [@knoodler](#): > > > > 1. Did Dick Van Dyke play you in an English comedy? > > 2. Did you voice Karl on _The Simpsons_? > > 3. Are you an Olympian best remembered for a medical incident, rather than your routine? > > Not Caractacus Potts > DQ > DQ (All I can think of is that runner who collapsed and was picked up and assisted by spectators, and I’ve no idea what his name was.) Firstly, I have no idea who CaracWhatever is, or was, but it doesn’t begin with F. 1. Claude Fitzwilliam, _Fitzwilly_ (one of my favorite Brit-Coms, and also Barbara Feldon) 2. Harvey Fierstein 3. I don’t know why I included this person, since they’re not an “F”: Karri Strugs, who injured (sprained?) her ankle while performing her routine on the balance beam, and _almost_ stuck the landing. Her coach carried her off the mat. DQs: 1. Male? 2. First name starts with F? ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/11 "2026-05-04T18:57:00Z")
1. Are you a main character in a book that starts by observing that “It is a truth universally as acknowledged that a single man in possession of a great fortune must be in want of a wife”? 2. Are you a bull who prefers flowers to bullfighting? 3. Were you Miss America before you married the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky? ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/12 "2026-05-04T19:25:13Z")
IQs: 1. Did you write **Little Lord Fauntleroy**? 2. Are you a detective created by John Dickson Carr? 3. Do you have a mini-drag named Pip? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/13 "2026-05-04T19:38:44Z")
IQs: 1. Did you write **Kent Montana and the Really Ugly Thing from Mars**? 2. Did you play Crazy Guggenheim on Jackie Gleason’s TV show? 3. Are you secretly Captain Marvel Jr.? ---
**Author:** ![knoodler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@knoodler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knoodler)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/14 "2026-05-04T20:05:20Z")
IQs: 1. Were you an NBA player with the nickname “Downtown?” 2. Were you an NBA player with the nickname “World”? 3. Were you an NBA player who signed with the Portland Trailblazers in 2016, only to be released a year later without having played a game for them? ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/15 "2026-05-04T21:45:16Z")
IQs: 1. Did you write _Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe_? 2. Did you write “To God Be The Glory”? 3. Did you star in _Rididule_? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/16 "2026-05-05T04:45:59Z")
> [@De\_La\_Rue](#): > > IQs: > > 1. Did you direct _Bowfinger_? > 2. Did you help the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl in 2018? > 3. Did you run, as the title character, in _Run Lola Run_? DQ x3 > [@Eureka](#): > > 1. Are you a main character in a book that starts by observing that “It is a truth universally as acknowledged that a single man in possession of a great fortune must be in want of a wife”? > 2. Are you a bull who prefers flowers to bullfighting? > 3. Were you Miss America before you married the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky? DQ Not Ferdinand DQ > [@kitap](#): > > IQs: > > 1. Did you write **Little Lord Fauntleroy**? > 2. Are you a detective created by John Dickson Carr? > 3. Do you have a mini-drag named Pip? DQ DQ Not Flinx > [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > - Did you write **Kent Montana and the Really Ugly Thing from Mars**? > - Did you play Crazy Guggenheim on Jackie Gleason’s TV show? > - Are you secretly Captain Marvel Jr.? 3 DQs > [@knoodler](#): > > IQs: > > 1. Were you an NBA player with the nickname “Downtown?” > 2. Were you an NBA player with the nickname “World”? > 3. Were you an NBA player who signed with the Portland Trailblazers in 2016, only to be released a year later without having played a game for them? 3 DQs > [@SunUp](#): > > IQs: > > 1. Did you write _Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe_? > 2. Did you write “To God Be The Glory”? > 3. Did you star in _Rididule_? 3 DQs **F** 1. Real 2. Female 3. Last name starts with F Wow – nineteen DQs already! ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/17 "2026-05-05T04:53:14Z")
> [@knoodler](#): > > Firstly, I have no idea who CaracWhatever is, or was, [_Chitty Chitty Bang Bang_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitty_Chitty_Bang_Bang#Cast) > [@knoodler](#): > > but it doesn’t begin with F. As I pointed out: > [@SCAdian](#): > > > [@SCAdian](#): > > > > Not Caractacus Potts > > Well, that was a dumb thing to say! ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/18 "2026-05-05T06:13:32Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > > [@SunUp](#): > > > > IQs: > > > > 1. Did you write _Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe_? > > 2. Did you write “To God Be The Glory”? > > 3. Did you star in _Rididule_? > > 3 DQs Fannie Flagg, Fanny Crosby, and Fanny Ardant, respectively. Fann(ie/y) x 3! Known for the arts? Living? 1 DQ reserved. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/19 "2026-05-05T09:56:33Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > - Are you a main character in a book that starts by observing that “It is a truth universally as acknowledged that a single man in possession of a great fortune must be in want of a wife”? > - Are you a bull who prefers flowers to bullfighting? > - Were you Miss America before you married the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky? 1. Fitzwilliam Darcy in Jane Austen’s _Pride and Predjudice_ 2. correct 3. Heather Renee French Henry ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772/20 "2026-05-05T10:13:20Z")
1. Did you sing “Respect”? 2. Did you invent the glass armonica? 3. Were you involved in research that shaped our understanding of DNA? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/botticelli-may-2026/1029772.md?page=2)