In the
National Puzzlers League, flats are
wordplay puzzles (mostly) based on a relationship between two or more
words or
phrases, for instance, (
sword,
word) is a
beheadment. A flat is accompanied by a
verse into which the answer words fit, but those words are
replaced by other words, called
cue words, usually written in
all caps. The cue words should indicate the
relationship of the words, either by
order or example. In addition, an
enumeration of the length of one or all of the answer words is given; this may be accompanied by additional
tagging if the words are
capitalized or not in a common
abridged dictionary (the
Merriam-Webster dictionaries are the usual sources).
Example flat:
BEHEADMENT (5)
You can't use a BREAD
To cut off the head
Of a READ.
The cue words BREAD and READ represent the answer words "sword" and "word". The (5) indicates the length of the first answer word; the length of the second answer is not given because in a beheadment it is constrained to be 4 letters.