# 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:** 202
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4021 "2025-11-24T14:36:00Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > I’m not familiar with the comic so this may be inappropriate and an obvious wrong guess if it was aimed at kids, but is there some sort of gag around ‘[not] putting out’? No. Newspaper gag comic strip. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4022 "2025-11-24T14:36:49Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > Does it have to do with a building component like a smokestack or chimney…or other building/industrial connection? No. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4023 "2025-11-24T15:24:46Z")
Given the date, is the gag related to WWII? ---
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4024 "2025-11-24T15:48:27Z")
This might be obvious to the point of being a stupid question, but in lateral thinking puzzles, it’s best not to assume anything: Does she do the thing with the cigar on the basis of what she overheard the boys say? Does she misunderstand what they say? Or does she understand perfectly, but then her thought process goes off in a wacky direction from there? Is there any type of wordplay involved in the gag? ---
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4025 "2025-11-24T15:52:24Z")
Is there anything else on or in the ground where she puts the cigar? Is it her version of an endless flame? ---
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4026 "2025-11-24T16:12:03Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Given the date, is the gag related to WWII? 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:** [November 24, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4027 "2025-11-24T16:14:50Z")
reply to dirtball: This might be obvious to the point of being a stupid question, but in lateral thinking puzzles, it’s best not to assume anything: Does she do the thing with the cigar on the basis of what she overheard the boys say? Yes. Does she misunderstand what they say? No. Or does she understand perfectly, but then her thought process goes off in a wacky direction from there? Yes. Is there any type of wordplay involved in the gag? 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:** [November 24, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4028 "2025-11-24T16:16:31Z")
reply to Saint\_Cad: Is there anything else on or in the ground where she puts the cigar? Yes. Is it her version of an endless flame? No. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4029 "2025-11-24T16:25:03Z")
Is she trying to lure moths in, or scare birds away, or otherwise alter the behavior of animals? ---
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4030 "2025-11-24T16:41:53Z")
In the first panel, do the boys mention any of the following: Cigars specifically? Smoking in general, or some aspect of it? Fire in any context? ---
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4031 "2025-11-24T16:42:59Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Is she trying to lure moths in, or scare birds away, or otherwise alter the behavior of animals? 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:** [November 24, 2025, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4032 "2025-11-24T16:44:55Z")
reply to dirtball: In the first panel, do the boys mention any of the following: Cigars specifically? No. Smoking in general, or some aspect of it? Yes. Fire in any context? No. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4033 "2025-11-24T18:19:00Z")
Did she do this as a money making venture? (previous Nancy posts involved a car stopping on a dime, and collecting shoes) Did it involve an idiom that she took literally (like the car ‘stopping on a dime.’)? ---
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4034 "2025-11-24T18:27:05Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Smoking in general, or some aspect of it? Yes. Were the boys talking about smoking in the sense of inhaling burning tobacco? Or smoke generated in some other way? ---
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4035 "2025-11-24T18:39:15Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > Did she do this as a money making venture? (previous Nancy posts involved a car stopping on a dime, and collecting shoes) > > Did it involve an idiom that she took literally (like the car ‘stopping on a dime.’)? No to all. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4036 "2025-11-24T18:41:03Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Were the boys talking about smoking in the sense of inhaling burning tobacco? > Or smoke generated in some other way? Talking about smoking in the sense of inhaling burning tobacco. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4037 "2025-11-24T18:59:29Z")
Was Nancy trying to stunt the growth of worms in the yard ? ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4038 "2025-11-24T19:53:25Z")
Did it have to do with smoking being unhealthy? Did it have to do with smoking cigars in celebration? ---
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4039 "2025-11-24T20:31:11Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > Was Nancy trying to stunt the growth of worms in the yard ? No. So close. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/4040 "2025-11-24T20:31:57Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > Did it have to do with smoking being unhealthy? > > Did it have to do with smoking cigars in celebration? Yes to unhealthy. No to celebration. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=201) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=203)