# IT A PuZZLe PoEM **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 16, 2018, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920 "2018-02-16T09:51:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/1 "2018-02-16T09:51:33Z")
Feel me in teeth, a tusk. I swooon yet Or pamper wife. What if you do it anew? He took the smoooch of tender mæd Go now gal, clean room. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/3 "2018-02-16T14:16:38Z")
Second poster reported (until I become the second poster). ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/4 "2018-02-16T14:53:40Z")
The upper-case letters in thread title are, sort of, an anagram. The poem is, sort of, a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/5 "2018-02-17T08:56:25Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > The poem is, sort of, a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. Palindrome? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/6 "2018-02-17T12:59:13Z")
I guess I forgot to mention that your task is to find the secret message embedded in my “poem”. :o > [@Ximenean](#): > > Palindrome? I intended the blanks to be filled with the sort-of anagram of part of the title. However, (and I hope this doesn’t mislead) _part_ of _palindrome_’s meaning also applies. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/7 "2018-02-17T15:31:21Z")
“swoon” and “smooch” have extra o’s, but not “took” and “room.” Intentional? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/8 "2018-02-18T01:02:38Z")
I proofread the “poem” carefully several times before clicking _New Thread_. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/9 "2018-02-18T02:12:09Z")
I’ll take that as a yes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/10 "2018-02-18T03:37:15Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > The upper-case letters in thread title are, sort of, an anagram. > The poem is, sort of, a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. Pizzle tamp! Sorry, I got nuthin’. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2018, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/11 "2018-02-18T04:01:08Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Pizzle tamp! Those are the ten letters and they do form an anagram … sort of. The encryption uses a simplified version of [the method in “Codebreakers: Help Sir Lionel Save the World!”](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=822197). If you can help Lionel, this one will be child’s play. Solve this one and, with a little extra work, you can help Lionel. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/12 "2018-02-20T10:58:33Z")
[One last hint; then I go away. Here is the BY-line for the “poem”:] Obey Us — Despottism Cuts ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/13 "2018-02-20T15:52:58Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > [One last hint; then I go away. Here is the BY-line for the “poem”:] > > Obey Us — Despottism Cuts So there’s an alternating-letter thing going on there. Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/14 "2018-04-03T00:16:22Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > The upper-case letters in thread title are, sort of, an anagram. > The poem is, sort of, a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. Placeholder, or filler text perhaps? Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/15 "2018-04-10T10:56:08Z")
**Septimus** , is the text that I put in the spoiler the answer, or is there more to this puzzle? Still curious as to what the ‘sort of’ anagram was… ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-a-puzzle-poem/808920/16 "2019-04-03T19:41:46Z")
Oops. This thread went idle for six weeks, and I missed that it was eventually solved. > [@hammos1](#): > > **Septimus** , is the text that I put in the spoiler the answer, or is there more to this puzzle? > Still curious as to what the ‘sort of’ anagram was… Kudos to **hammos1** for solving the puzzle! He also solved (which I also missed :o ) [the related puzzle.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=822197) The thread title, with lower-case letters deleted, is IT A P[del]u[/del]ZZL[del]e[/del] P[del]o[/del]EM The remaining letters rearrange to PALIMPZEZT, an alternate spelling of Palimpsest. The one sentence embedded in another reminded me of palimpsests.