Bard and Rebus Puzzles

My previous post on 11th November was titled More Rebus Puzzles and featured 24 puzzles. I solved most of them, often after a fair bit of thought, so I though I'd see how Google Bard performed when attempting to solve a couple of them.

I presented it with the easiest one of all which as FA ST and the solution is BREAKFAST but Bard was clueless. Here is the interchange. 

I found this rebus puzzle: FA ST. The first two letters are separated by a space from the last two letters. What could the solution to this puzzle be?

The solution to the rebus puzzle "FA ST" is "fast". The space between the first two letters and the last two letters is meant to represent the separation between the "fa" sound and the "st" sound in the word "fast".

Not so impressive. Next I tried a slightly more difficult one and not surprisingly Bard once again came up short.

Here is another REBUS puzzle (the two lines below):

     COD

H2        O

Can you find a common phrase that represents a solution to this puzzle?

Yes, there are two common phrases that could be the solution to the rebus puzzle:

COD H20: This phrase represents the phrase "caught in the rain." The rebus symbols represent the following:

COD: The fish cod. This represents the word "caught."

H20: The chemical formula for water. This represents the word "rain."

 

COD H2 O: This phrase represents the phrase "caught in the flow." The rebus symbols represent the following:

COD: The fish cod. This represents the word "caught."

H2: The chemical formula for hydrogen. This represents the word "flow."

O: The letter O. This represents the preposition "in." 

Well, I guess an E for Effort should be awarded but the solutions are nonsensical and it is apparent that, even though these puzzles are language-based, Bard still has a long way to go before it will be able to make sense of most rebus puzzles. 

More Rebus Puzzles

 I came across these 24 rebus puzzles in an email from this website:

Here are the answers together with some comments of my own:

1. Herbaceous border: I got the herbaceous part but didn't realise that the letters formed a border.
   
   
2. Just around the corner: got this one which is perhaps the easiest of them all.
   
   
3. Gross injustice: this took me a while to get this until I realised that 144 is a gross.
   
   
4. Fish out of water: got this one.
   
   
5. West Indies: got this one.
   
   
6. Two peas in a pod: got this one.
   
   
7. Blast from the past: got this one.
   
   
8. Cutting corners: got this one.
   
   
9. Handsome: I came up with hand calculator for this which is perhaps acceptable but I missed the some/sum homophone.
   
   
10. Mother-in-law: I came up with "silent cop" for this one based on keeping mom about something meaning to keep quiet about it which is perhaps a bit of a stretch.
    
    
11. Grandmother: I came up with "a single mother" for this one which I think is preferable to the answer given.
    
    
12. A splitting migraine: I came with "a big headache" for this one which is not too bad. 
    
    
13. In the middle of nowhere: I could only come up with "nowhere" which was a bit lame.
    
    
14. Breakfast: got this one quickly as it's one of the easiest.
    
    
15. Middle-age spread: I came up with "triage" which I think is quite creative but the answer given is clearly the more appropriate.
     
16. 26 letters in the alphabet: got this one.
    
    
17. Banana split: I came up with "half a banana" which is acceptable.
    
    
18. Right angle: got this one.
    
    
19. Overworked and underpaid: I got the "underpaid" bit but missed the "overworked" bit.
    
    
20. Polar opposites: I came up with "poles apart" which is more or less the same idea.
    
    
21. Afternoon tea: I knew that "noon" was involved but the "tea" part didn't click.
    
    
22. Absentee: I could see the "e" was missing but couldn't come up with anything sensible.
    
    
23. Out of touch: I came up with "a touch below you" or "a touch above you" but the answer given is clearly superior.
    
    
24. Going in circles: I came up with "going around in circles" which is basically the same.

All in all quite an interesting challenge and keeps the neurons firing. I certainly didn't come up with the answers instantly and most of them required me to look and hard. See my earlier post titled Rebus Puzzles from April 1st 2023.