Hit Below the Belt
What it means
Attack unfairly, aiming at something that was understood to be off limits.
Where it comes from
Boxing's Queensberry rules, drawn up in the 1860s, made a blow below the waistband a foul. The belt line is still marked on a boxer's shorts for the referee's benefit.
The puzzle it came from
Hit Below the Belt was the answer to the Phrasicle of July 12, 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 July 12, 2025 puzzle
Show the solved grid (this spoils the July 12, 2025 puzzle)
smash
hit
back
flip
phone
pitch
black
belt
loop
track
depths
below
zero
gravity
well
checker
board
meeting
room
decor
Phrasicle: Hit Below the Belt