My Underground Enigma Puzzles



I had some flats published in the Underground Enigma, where no word, theme, or subject matter is considered out of bounds.


July 2003 (UE3), 89. REPEATED-LETTER CHANGE (5 3) (THING = NI3 Addenda, DEALIE = not MW)

The biker leans back on his THING
When starting to pop up a wheelie.
The stripper wears barely a string
When doing her dance at the DEALIE.
=/dev/joe, Winthrop MA

sissy bar, titty bar

This flat was first inspired when I learned the term "sissy bar" (the inverted-U-shaped bar at the back of some motorcycle seats) from the They Might Be Giants song "Wicked Little Critta." After discovering (initially from the electronic NI3, and later in the Addenda of my print copy) what the term meant, it lingered in my mind for a while and eventually turned into this flat, at such a time when the UE3 was an upcoming event but not yet ready to take submissions. Since it seemed unlikely that a titty bar would make it into the pages of the regular Enigma, I kept it around for the UE.

2011 (UE4), 22. BIGRAM BEHEADMENT (7) (ITing parts of July 2006 Enigma #23)

God said, "Don't covet, lie, or kill."
But this creep doesn't give a fuck.
Adultery and swearing will
Be practiced by this muck-a-muck.
But one sin is his favorite caper.
He thinks he never has enough
Gold, money, gems, or toilet paper.
This SHIT is always ITing stuff.
=/dev/joe, Salem MA

Note: The flat cited in the tag started a chain of (cleaner) response flats with verses similar to this.)

asswipe, swipe

The version of the original flat which this one was most directly in response to had the solution "atheist, heist." But unlike the character in that one, who didn't believe in God, this guy just doesn't care.

2019 (UE5), 35. HOMONYM (7, 4 4)

Being a gymnast takes very fine POISE.
Just look at her POIS on the mat near the boys.
=/dev/joe, Salem MA

control, cunt roll


Thanks to the editors, Wrybosh, G Natural, and Firetruck, for helping me fix verses so they flow better than my original submissions.