# Common Knowledge **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 6, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237 "2010-10-06T11:48:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/1 "2010-10-06T11:48:43Z")
[http://www.puzzability.com/cgi-bin/commonknowledge.pl](http://www.puzzability.com/cgi-bin/commonknowledge.pl) What is the common theme? \_ \_ \_ \_ == \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ \_ CHRIS TUCKER ROSIE PEREZ JAY LENO BERNADETTE PETERS BETTY BOOP FRANKIE VALLI MICKEY MOUSE ======================== I know I’ll hate myself for not being able to figure it out for myself. Nevertheless, I gots to know! ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/2 "2010-10-06T13:37:11Z")
Celebrities? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/3 "2010-10-06T13:46:38Z")
None of them have ever been in my kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/4 "2010-10-06T13:54:29Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Celebrities? At least that much, for sure. But the 4-letter + 6-letter answer has me stumped. I can easily imagine there’s some way to phrase “face peculiarities” but not one that has fit yet. What’s hanging me up the most is trying to find a phrase that incorporates: CHRIS TUCKER – prominent to bulging eyes ROSIE PEREZ – prominent cheek dimples JAY LENO – prominent to exaggerated chin BERNADETTE PETERS – tiny mouth (bow-shaped lips) BETTY BOOP – funny-shaped head (heart-shaped even) and Bernadette Peters mouth FRANKIE VALLI – traingular shaped head MICKEY MOUSE – ears, weird head shape ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/5 "2010-10-06T14:25:44Z")
None of them have a grant of nobility, and they’re therefore all commoners? OK, that’s pretty weak. Maybe each of them has had a movie with the word “common” in the title? Unlikely… I don’t think it can be funny-looking faces, because that doesn’t work in “common”. And besides, you can find a facial peculiarity in just about anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Chipacabra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Chipacabra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chipacabra)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/6 "2010-10-06T14:28:33Z")
I got it. Hint: None of those traits are relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/7 "2010-10-06T14:35:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > None of them have a grant of nobility, and they’re therefore all commoners? OK, that’s pretty weak. > > Maybe each of them has had a movie with the word “common” in the title? Unlikely… > > I don’t think it can be funny-looking faces, because that doesn’t work in “common”. And besides, you can find a facial peculiarity in just about anyone. “Common Knowledge” is the name of the daily (weekdays) puzzle where you work a Hangman-styled puzzle for the clue words and then try to find what they have in common. Today’s “common” theme is a 4-letter/6-letter phrase. Since two of the clues are cartoon characters I ruled out human connections beyond appearance features. That could be a wrong tack. But I have yet to get the answer that solves the puzzle. So I posted it here for help. I’m not meaning to dispute your “And besides, you can find a facial peculiarity in just about anyone” statement, and it could be something else I haven’t thought of that they share. I just went into the facial features as something that appears noteworthy in several of them (Frankie Valli the least). ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/8 "2010-10-06T14:36:06Z")
I assume it’s a word puzzle, and has something to do with the number of letters/consonants/vowels/whatever in the words. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/9 "2010-10-06T14:36:34Z")
> [@Chipacabra](#): > > I got it. > Hint: None of those traits are relevant. No big surprise! Can you give another hint? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/10 "2010-10-06T14:36:49Z")
High pitched voice. ETA: To fit your format… high voices. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/11 "2010-10-06T14:41:01Z")
The same venereal disease? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/12 "2010-10-06T14:42:44Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > High pitched voice. > > ETA: To fit your format… high voices. You Da Man! That’s it! ---
**Author:** ![WayneT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/41988e/32.png) [@WayneT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WayneT)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/13 "2010-10-06T16:52:55Z")
It took a while…but answer is… HIGH VOICES ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/14 "2010-10-06T19:08:46Z")
> [@](#): > > “Common Knowledge” is the name of the daily (weekdays) puzzle where you work a Hangman-styled puzzle for the clue words and then try to find what they have in common. Today’s “common” theme is a 4-letter/6-letter phrase. Oh, OK, I hadn’t checked the link, and was assuming that “common knowledge” was a crossword puzzle theme. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/15 "2010-10-06T20:56:11Z")
i thought it was “Walt Disney”. ---
**Author:** ![yoshiben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/eb8c5e/32.png) [@yoshiben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoshiben)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/16 "2010-10-06T21:20:47Z")
Answer is High Voices ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/17 "2010-10-07T14:44:47Z")
I don’t think that RosiePerez has a high voice. It’s certainly distinctive, but not high for an adult female. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/18 "2010-10-07T14:54:25Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > I assume it’s a word puzzle, and has something to do with the number of letters/consonants/vowels/whatever in the words. And I was wrong about that… guess I’ve seen too many puzzles where they try to fake you out by giving you a list of members of some broad category but what they’re really looking for is related to the words’ structures, or puns related to the word, or whatever and the category is just a distraction. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/19 "2010-10-07T14:59:04Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I don’t think that RosiePerez has a high voice. It’s certainly distinctive, but not high for an adult female. All I can say is that I think of dimples and some crazy dance moves (in [Do the Right Thing (1989)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097216/)) before I think of her voice! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-knowledge/556237/20 "2010-10-07T15:03:20Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > > [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > > > I assume it’s a word puzzle, and has something to do with the number of letters/consonants/vowels/whatever in the words. > > And I was wrong about that… guess I’ve seen too many puzzles where they try to fake you out by giving you a list of members of some broad category but what they’re really looking for is related to the words’ structures, or puns related to the word, or whatever and the category is just a distraction. The “Common Knowledge” format is rarely outright tricky like that, but it’s not out of the question. I rarely have to go further than my wife for help, but this one was too tough for her, too. Thanks to all for contributing. Think of this thread if you run into trouble on one of your own. It’s often the case that I can get the “common theme” answer without all the clue words. But once I have that I go back until I solve all the clue words, too. Today’s is an example of that!