Before & After
Extremely Specific Words
Band Books
Initialisms NOT Acronyms
Where there's smoke...
...there's fire.
200

The American hip hop group who taught us what OPP means / a scientific debate that argues whether genetic inheritance or environmental conditions play a larger influence on individuals

Naughty by Nature versus Nurture

200

These are the sharp pokey parts of a fork.

Tines

200

The biography, Come As You Are, is a title lifted straight from a hit song for this grunge band.

Nirvana

200

This government agency investigates terrorism, espionage, and corruption amongst others all within the borders of the US.

FBI

200

This is the most visited National Park in the entire US.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

200

In Greek mythology, this Titan’s most famous act was stealing fire from the Gods and gifting it to humanity.

Prometheus

400

American rapper Earl Simmons’s stage name / Fox Channel’s hit paranormal FBI show

Gold Peaky Blinders

400

You may notice this smell in the air following a rain storm.

Petrichor

400

Scar Tissue, named after one of the band’s hit songs, is a memoir from lead singer Anthony Kiedis.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers

400

A hot topic in the news lately, this workplace initiative seeks to promote fair treatment and full participation from all people.

DEI

400

When a new pope is chosen by the College of Cardinals, this color smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.

White

400

A tectonic belt surrounding the Pacific Ocean dotted with nearly a thousand volcanoes.

Ring of Fire

600

A prequel series to Game of Thrones / popular action anime series by Akira Toriyama

House of the Dragon Ball Z

600

The Dennis Quaid movie, The Day After Tomorrow, could have saved space by using this archaic term.

Overmorrow

600

Riders of the Storm is John Densmore's memoir of his time with this 60s American rock band.

The Doors

600

The government recently changed this initialism to UPA to distance itself from the notion of little green men.

UFO

600

Smoke is a hidden character in the second installment of this famously violent fighting video game franchise.

Mortal Kombat

600

This form of execution is also known as fusillading.

Firing Squad

800

Stephen King's fantasy western novel series / an ancient structure from the Book of Genesis who had “its top in the sky”

Dark Tower of Babel

800

The hard plastic ends of shoe laces make it easier to thread and go by this specific word.

Aglet

800

The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Band recounts exploits straight from the band themselves: Nikki, Vince, Tommy, and Mick.

Mötley Crüe

800

If you’ve ever had a habitually late friend, you may ask them for this initialism even if you had a previously agreed on meeting time.

ETA

800

This 1977 film saw Burt Reynolds drive a now iconic Pontiac Trans Am to distract law enforcement from a bootlegging operation.

Smokey and the Bandit

800

Popular legend suggests a cow started this major US conflagration in 1871.

Great Chicago Fire

1000

Brand name of tea products / BBC television show that follows an English crime gang during the aftermath of the First World War

Gold Peaky Blinders

1000

These fixtures of any shoe store are used to measure your feet for a better fit.

Brannock Device

1000

The Last Gang in Town retells the tale of how three men in London found their calling and helped shape early British punk.

The Clash

1000

A part of the fictional Marvel universe, this global police force’s initialism stands for different words depending on whether you’re reading the comics or watching the movies.

SHIELD

1000

This Deep Purple song recounts the real events of the Montreux Casino fire of 1971 located on the edge of Lake Geneva.

Smoke on the Water

1000

Sunlight

A tradition from antiquity, the Olympic Torch is lit with this natural source.