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Burnt bridges are crossed.
An icy leg breaks.
The devil speaks in detail.
Rain is pouring over furry pets.
Milk or beans spill.
A missing ship takes sail.
Some system of hands to escape from!
The devil speaks in detail.

There seems to be a storm, but amongst what?


Hint 1:

Icy leg = Ice + leg

Hint 2:

If you don't answer this riddle you might just miss the boat and not get the desired $\color{green}{\checkmark}$. But don't cry over spilt milk if that happens! Besides, it hasn't yet, so we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Hint 3 (the last straw):

I don't want to beat around the bush, so I am just gonna spit it out: the answer appeared in two forms in this hint, and also in every line in the riddle. This should be more than enough.

So far so good, but I would prefer the answer posted below explains itself a bit more, but lucky it isn't barking up the wrong tree; it doesn't need to go back to the drawing board. (Also, every word in this question is deliberate, but I promise there isn't too much to wrap your head around!)

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3 Answers 3

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Every line ...

is a mixed reference to two idioms that share at least one word.

Burnt bridges are crossed.

don't burn bridges, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

An icy leg breaks.

Break the ice, break a leg.

The devil speaks in detail.

The devil is in the details, speak of the devil.

Rain is pouring over furry pets.

It's raining cats and dogs, when it rains it pours

Milk or beans spill.

don't cry over spilt milk, spill the beans.

A missing ship takes sail.

That ship has sailed, don't miss the boat.

Some system of hands to escape from!

hands off, got out of hand

So the storm is

causing idioms to mix together like bad metaphors.

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  • $\begingroup$ Yes, this was the kind of answer I was looking for! You got the "rain is pouring" part right (there is another, there) but regarding the "system of hands", I was not looking for that answer. Keep trying, though, and hang in there! :P $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Apr 18, 2019 at 15:12
  • $\begingroup$ @user477343 changed/added guesses for those two. :-) $\endgroup$
    – Hellion
    Apr 18, 2019 at 15:45
  • $\begingroup$ The last one is so close! You got the second part of it right. The first part uses the word "system" in it ;) $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Apr 18, 2019 at 16:00
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    $\begingroup$ Oh my goodness! It's raining idioms and puzzles @user477343 :) Nice puzzle; nice answer! $\endgroup$
    – Brandon_J
    Apr 19, 2019 at 3:03
  • $\begingroup$ @Brandon_J Don't let the cat out of the bag! ;) I'm kidding, thanks for your comment :P $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Apr 19, 2019 at 3:05
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The answer speaks for itself (if I may):

Burnt bridges are crossed.
An ${\color{red}I}$cy leg breaks.
The ${\color{red}D}$evil speaks in detail.
Rain ${\color{red}I}$s pouring over furry pets.
Milk ${\color{red}O}$r beans spill.
A ${\color{red}M}$issing ship takes sail.
Some ${\color{red}S}$ystem of hands to escape from!
The devil speaks in detail.

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  • $\begingroup$ Makes sense and certainly fits with the lines of the riddle. But why does the devil line appear twice? $\endgroup$
    – hexomino
    Apr 13, 2019 at 22:00
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    $\begingroup$ @hexomino I do have a feeling that there is more to it, but I didn't find more yet. $\endgroup$ Apr 13, 2019 at 22:32
  • $\begingroup$ @hexomino (ROT13) Lbh pna fnl gung ntnva! :Q $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Apr 14, 2019 at 2:34
  • $\begingroup$ There was more to it, but not much. You hit the nail on the head! I would mostly prefer that you explain every line, however, so I won't give you the tick yet; but, I don't want to bore you with writing it all in your answer, so you can perhaps reply back in Rot13 if you think you got it, and if you have, I will give you the tick in $24$ hours from then. Good job! :P $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Apr 14, 2019 at 2:40
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    $\begingroup$ @user477343 I will when I'm back, I just don't have time at all at the moment. Thanks! $\endgroup$ Apr 16, 2019 at 8:37
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Is the answer

Cats and Dogs? Or Any Ports?

As was previously noted, the following

Lines all reference idioms in the English language. Plus, @Arnaud Mortier also noticed the IDIOMS acrostic.

Burnt bridges are crossed.

“Take care not to burn your bridges” means “don’t ruin your connections”.

An icy leg breaks.

Reference to “break a leg”, means “have a good show”.

The devil speaks in detail.

The devil’s in the details

Rain is pouring over furry pets.

It’s raining cats and dogs

Milk or beans spill.

Don’t cry over spilled milk

A missing ship takes sail.

All in the same boat

Some system of hands to escape from!

Hands are tied?

The devil speaks in detail.

The devil’s in the details

So if there’s a storm amongst something, maybe it could be either

A big rainstorm, idiomatically represented as “raining cats and dogs”, or maybe it’s amongst “any port in a storm”...?

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  • $\begingroup$ No, the answer has already been stated. I just asked for it to explain itself a bit more (because although it does speak for itself, each line isn't really explained, because it's more than just that; so the answer looks like a mere observation, really). If you can explain correctly in your answer, however, I might give you a bounty :) $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Apr 18, 2019 at 14:41
  • $\begingroup$ Fair enough, @user477343. How does this look? $\endgroup$
    – El-Guest
    Apr 18, 2019 at 14:46
  • $\begingroup$ Each line is about halfway done ;) $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Apr 18, 2019 at 15:11

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