GC SF Sp WH BV YL BT CP SA CB CC Back to puzzle

Cactus Canyon

The Horse Whisperer

by Todd Etter, David Andre. Special thanks to Josie Andre for the artwork and Wei-Hwa Huang for running scripts on the IPA dictionary.
Answer: HOKEY POKEY

This puzzle is based on the fact that certain voiced sounds, when pronounced unvoiced become different sounds. https://www.lawlessenglish.com/learn-english/pronunciation/consonants-voiced-unvoiced/

So, a B sound becomes a P sound when unvoiced, or whispered, as the puzzle title hints.

The horse drawings represent voiced phrases and the child is hinting at the corresponding unvoiced phrases.

Horse Child
BEACH GRUNGE sound… PEACH CRUNCH H P
ONE-EYED DOG SHOW TV program… ONE-NIGHT TALK SHOW E L
JUGGLING BEERS laughing… CHUCKLING PIERCE R U
BORG DOZED Meat-flavored… PORK TOAST O S
GRATE JOB violent… CRATE CHOP O O
BULB GARDEN fleshy… PULP CARTON R N
BEDROCK GUIDE airborne… PET ROCK KITE G E
DIRK DRIBBLES west-Asian… TURK TRIPLES R I
BRUISED ANDRE repas… PROUST ENTREE I N
DYED BANDS tailor's… TIGHT PANTS N G
VAN GOGH HOSED groupie… FAN CO-HOST D O
ABE LUBE primate… APE LOOP E L
VLAD'S GREEN HDTV… FLAT SCREEN R F

Each transformation can uniquely fit into the blanks at the bottom. This generates the phrases HERO OR GRINDER and PLUS ONE IN GOLF. This solves to HOAGIE and BOGEY, which when unvoiced becomes the answer HOKEY POKEY.