The Braingle teaser “O_er_t_o_” is a neat little rebus that hides a common phrase in plain sight, and it’s a fun one to share with puzzle lovers.
The puzzle
“O_er_t_o_” Find the missing letters.
Quick hint
Look at which letters are missing from the full word “OPERATION,” because in many rebuses the trick is about what’s removed or how it’s arranged. [1][3]
Answer
The answer is: PAINLESS OPERATION, because the missing letters p, a, i, n spell “pain,” meaning the word OPERATION is shown without pain.
Why it works
Rebus puzzles often use visual wordplay—letters added, removed, stacked, or spaced—to represent a phrase, and removing “PAIN” from OPERATION cleanly conveys the idea of an operation without pain.