Drop the Act
What it means
Stop pretending, on the understanding that nobody was convinced anyway.
Where it comes from
Act meaning a pretence and act meaning a division of a play are the same word, from Latin. The theatre has supplied most of English's vocabulary for insincerity, from playing a part to putting on a show.
The puzzle it came from
Drop the Act was the answer to the Phrasicle of November 15, 2025. The clue read ____ the ____, and the words came out of a grid where every neighbouring pair makes a two-word phrase.
Play today's Phrasicle Play the November 15, 2025 puzzle
Show the solved grid (this spoils the November 15, 2025 puzzle)
final
act
out
break
through
petting
zoo
animal
cage
match
pitch
black
eye
drop
kick
palm
tree
house
boat
ride
Phrasicle: Drop the Act