# Lateral Thinking Puzzles - third time is best! **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214 "2023-07-18T13:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 193
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3841 "2025-10-20T15:44:14Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Does the answer have anything to do with actor availability? No. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3842 "2025-10-20T19:58:57Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Are Nancy and Dorothy both characters in _related_ fictional works? I define “related” here as directly related BTW. I mean Dante’s Inferno and Dante’s Peak have a relationship, but I would not say they are related. Cheers and Frasier are related, but Cheers and Three’s Company are not. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3843 "2025-10-20T20:25:45Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Cheers and Frasier are related Yeah, that’s what I had in mind. Thank you for clarifying. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3844 "2025-10-20T20:42:31Z")
Is the fictional work: movies? tv shows? books? mix-and-match (like one in a book and one in a movie)? I feel this question about related fiances does not cover this question. Were the fiance & potential fiance the same man/character? Is this a situation involving norms like Dorothy was the younger sister and got engaged so due to social convention Nancy, the older sister, now could not? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3845 "2025-10-20T20:49:49Z")
Does this involve a character in one fictional work reading or watching an earlier fictional work? And then altering their behaviour based on what they saw? Is this real specific published fiction? Or just a hypothetical puzzle? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3846 "2025-10-20T20:55:10Z")
Wait! I just realized they are in unrelated works. Do Nancy and Dorothy know each other? Did one read/watched/listened to/etc. the other in their respective work? (expanding on Peter\_Morris’ question). Should we recognize the names without reference to the underlying work like oh yeah, Dorothy Gale (Wizard of Oz) and Nancy from that comic strip or Nancy Drew. ---
**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 20, 2025, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3847 "2025-10-20T21:12:35Z")
Were the works they were in created by the same author (or other artist)? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3848 "2025-10-20T22:12:39Z")
reply toSaint\_Cad: Is the fictional work: movies? tv shows? books? Yes mix-and-match (like one in a book and one in a movie)? I feel this question about related fiances does not cover this question. Were the fiance & potential fiance the same man/character? Not the same. Is this a situation involving norms like Dorothy was the younger sister and got engaged so due to social convention Nancy, the older sister, now could not?No. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3849 "2025-10-20T22:14:44Z")
reply to Peter\_Morris: Does this involve a character in one fictional work reading or watching an earlier fictional work? No And then altering their behaviour based on what they saw? No Is this real specific published fiction? Or just a hypothetical puzzle? real. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3850 "2025-10-20T22:18:17Z")
reply to Saint\_Cad: Wait! I just realized they are in unrelated works. Do Nancy and Dorothy know each other? No. Did one read/watched/listened to/etc. the other in their respective work? (expanding on Peter\_Morris’ question). No. Should we recognize the names without reference to the underlying work like oh yeah, Dorothy Gale (Wizard of Oz) and Nancy from that comic strip or Nancy Drew. Maybe… ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3851 "2025-10-20T22:19:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Were the works they were in created by the same author (or other artist)? No. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3852 "2025-10-20T22:30:52Z")
Do both characters live in a real-world setting in their respective stories, or something reasonably close to one? Did their authors work at more or less the same time, such that they might have communicated with each other? Does “could not get engaged” rule out the possibility that Nancy might get married without being engaged first? Like, maybe a drunken impulse wedding at a Las Vegas wedding chapel, such as those that so many sitcom characters have fallen victim to? (That is, assuming you don’t count the time between “Hey, we should get married!” “Great idea!” and “I now pronounce you…” as an official engagement.) ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3853 "2025-10-20T22:32:51Z")
Are the books in the same genre? Same expected target audience? Did audiences react negatively to the decision to have Dorothy get engaged? Would Nancy’s book have been viewed as too similar / derivative if she had also become engaged? WAG: is Nancy in _Oliver Twist?_ Does this have anything to do with Dickens (or another author) publishing novels in serial installments? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3854 "2025-10-20T22:45:50Z")
reply to dirtball: Do both characters live in a real-world setting in their respective stories, or something reasonably close to one? Yes. Did their authors work at more or less the same time, such that they might have communicated with each other? Yes, though I am unaware of any communivation. Does “could not get engaged” rule out the possibility that Nancy might get married without being engaged first? Like, maybe a drunken impulse wedding at a Las Vegas wedding chapel, such as those that so many sitcom characters have fallen victim to? (That is, assuming you don’t count the time between “Hey, we should get married!” “Great idea!” and “I now pronounce you…” as an official engagement.) That is all ruled out. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3855 "2025-10-20T22:54:16Z")
reply to Fretful\_Porpentine: Are the books in the same genre? Same expected target audience? Yes to both Did audiences react negatively to the decision to have Dorothy get engaged? Yes\*. Would Nancy’s book have been viewed as too similar / derivative if she had also become engaged? No WAG: is Nancy in _Oliver Twist?_ Does this have anything to do with Dickens (or another author) publishing novels in serial installments? No. \*[b]This pretty solves the puzzle! CONGRATS! Dorothy’s Dales’s engagement was so disliked by fans that her very popular book series immediately failed and never recovered. Which is why there was explicit instructions that never was ever going to be a real serious romance, thirteen years later for for Nancy…[b] ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3856 "2025-10-20T23:36:51Z")
Nancy Drew, of course. The Stratemeyer Syndicate was surprised at the rejection of Dorothy Dale and realized maybe their young female readers might not want their hero characters to be more interested in boys than their exciting lives. Thus future girls adventure series from the Syndicate explicily told their series authors to minimize relationshops with boys and instead focus on the adventure story instead. Nancy Drew must never get engaged. Mildred Wirt, the author of most of the early and mid Nancy Drew books was more than happy to comply. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3857 "2025-10-20T23:39:58Z")
Well then. Finding out that Nancy was Nancy Drew puts a different tint on my drunken Vegas wedding scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3858 "2025-10-21T16:39:24Z")
This one is probably too easy but… In 1956 Nancy (not her real name) entered an amateur ice skating exhibition as a last minute competitor. Because of this she ended up in jail. Why? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3859 "2025-10-21T16:51:58Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > In 1956 Nancy (not her real name) entered an amateur ice skating exhibition as a last minute competitor. Because of this she ended up in jail. Why? Was she the wrong gender? Dressed up as a man or woman and tried to enter the oppositte gender competition? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3860 "2025-10-21T16:52:56Z")
- > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Was she the wrong gender? Dressed up as a man or woman and tried to enter the oppositte gender competition? No. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=192) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=194)