Someone starts a riddle or puzzle, and everyone else tries to guess what it is. The person with the right answer gets to ask the next one.  If the riddle poster does not respond, remind them.  If the riddle poster does not seem to be responding after awhile, assume that riddle is dead and move on to the next one.

(Time to start a new thread.  The old one was nearing 1000 posts.)

There is no current riddle, so anyone may post one.

EDIT: If you want to see private line guesses for previous riddles, you can look at a closed and archived riddle thread.

Once alive,
But now am dead;
Once grew and thrived,
But now am read.

The first three lines make me think of a plant

the last one makes me think this is much trickier than that.

I mean, books are read, but I don't think that makes since and it's too obvious.


Also, I've been trying to think of a good riddle to post here, since you've been doing all the work, but I'm bad at riddles lol


Those are the obvious ones (unless i missed something), so i'll put those out there for now (until someone else has an idea)

Yes, book it is. Not all of mine are tough. Sometimes I just think of something that seems fun and post it.

Although I should add another line since it could be any written paper--letter, book, etc.

What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?

A bonsai?

Just joking. I'm guessing you refer to a palm tree

Yep :)

You're first 'answer' actually makes more sense tho :)

I love bonsai trees :)

---

Name a rock group that has all four members dead.

Fossils, Limestone, Petrified rocks, minerals...

Or are you talking about music?

In which case, I would say the Grateful Dead

I won't confirm which option I'm talking about, but none of those answers are correct :)

Oh boy i finally made a difficulty(ish) one :)

Hmm...I was sure it was the Grateful Dead.

Since there are many music rock groups with all four members literally dead, what about the members of Dead or Alive?

But since it is not the Grateful Dead, I'm going with it talking about geological rocks.

Since you say "dead," that implies they must have once been alive. Most types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, etc.) have never been alive. That leaves me with fossilization or some facsimile of life.

Not really a "rock" since it's a mountain, but Mt. Rushmore has four dead people on it.

Ding-ding! correct answer :)



Good point, it's a carved mountain, which there isn't really a unique word for that I know of, I also wanted it to be harder by making it possibly a music band :)

That's it for me today, tomorrow I'll maybe post another one if nobody else does :)

Push and pull my boneless form,
Beat and roll me to deform,
Only larger will I grow;
Cover my lifeless body with a shroud,
And leave me in darkness from the crowd,
Yet I will nigh to overflow.

hmm... Bread? :)

Close, but not what I was looking for.

The answer is something Homer Simpson might say. Or what you might call the cash in your pocket.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:03, Thu 09 Apr 2020.

Stupid Flanders?

D'oh!

I have your name on my face,
But you will never know;
Your days are numbered
On my belly below;
And though I may wish you peace,
You will reap what you sow.

Oooh... this is a good one...

I mean, it sounds a bit grimdark, so maybe the answer is Assassins?


Actually looking at the words is a really good puzzle... I think the first line is the most important, but I can't really think of much (besides a username, nickname, name tag) that has someones name on it's face...

Also, none of those things have 'bellies'

The last line might be for effect or might be a hint...

Hm... can't figure it out right now. I'm not gonna google it, though, cause that ruins the fun.

Those were my 'obvious' guesses (first things I though of, at least).. i dont expect them to be right, tho.

Ha! Google away. I made this one up from scratch. I think once you hear the answer, you will go "Aha, I should have guessed that."

All lines are important except maybe the last one.

Hm... looking at it again, I'm thinking about either a body part, some sort of timekeeping or a digital thing....

I'm just gonna toss a few guesses:

 - calculator
 - calendar
 - clock
 - compass
 - watch
 - cell phone
 - computer
 - alarm clock
 - hair
 - button
 - telephone


man this is tough, i'm really excited for someone to figure it out :)

None of these things. Important is the line "you will never know"

A death certificate?

Afraid not

I think I was close.  Is it a grave?

I'll give you that, but the answer is actually, "gravestone."

I have your name on my face, [the name of the deceased is carved in]
But you will never know; [because you are dead]
Your days are numbered
On my belly below; [dates of birth and death inscribed on it]
And though I may wish you peace, [saying "rest in peace"]
You will reap what you sow.

The reference to the belly bellow threw me me a bit so I hedged.

I have eyes and a tongue,
As it could be put,
But only sometimes it's said,
Do I have a foot;
I have no soul, 'tis true,
But something close thereto,
I may just have one or two.

Is this riddle stumping you guys?

Sorry, I hadn't taken a look at it yet, I've been inactive lately for some reason. I'm losing track of the days, which isn't helping with anything, including schoolwork.

My first guess is a shoe, or a pair of shoes :)

A shoe is correct!

I have eyes and a tongue, (shoe has a tongue and eyelets for laces)
As it could be put,
But only sometimes it's said,
Do I have a foot; (if empty, no foot; if being used, has a foot)
I have no soul, 'tis true,
But something close thereto, (has a "sole," not a "soul)
I may just have one or two. (has a sole and a soul if someone is wearing it)

I rub out worlds,
And destroy equations;
I wipe out ideas,
And the written word--
          --on occasion.
I swipe away all I touch,
Of all not writ in stone--
          --of any persuasion.

An eraser?

yes!

Too easy? How about this one:

What have I got in my pocket?

Schrodinger's cat wearing the One Ring?

Yes! In other words, it was empty...as far as you know!

It's empty as far as you know.  Mwa-hahaha!

As long as I don't check, it's both in the state of knowing and not knowing.

A hammer and anvil have I,
But iron will they never shape,
A stirrup with no feet,
A drum that never beats,
And a canal never seen in landscape.

What a lovely description of some of the parts of an ear

Yes!

I only recognized the last two lines as ear-related. Do you guys have anatomy degrees or something?

Sure: Ear drum and ear canal

Never heard of an ear stirrups, ear hammer or ear anvil, before tho.

---

I live in the wilds and catch my prey in a net;
I'm scary and hairy, so when I appear, I cause many to fret;
There are many kinds of me, but not all are toxic;
The best way to defeat me is to try not to panic;

---

I have two answers I will accept for the riddle above. Whoever guesses both (first) gets 10 WOTS

These are what the three bones of the inner ear are called.

spider?

Yes! But there is a second answer I've thought of that works too.

Lolth, Queen of the Demonweb Pits!

Good pull but nope. Besides, that's like adding a few more descriptors to spider.

I'll give it up if nobody else wants to guess, and then we'll move on to a new riddle.

Spider was probably the better of the two, because the thing was supposed to be ambiguous and now only vaguely reflects the other choice.

Honestly, I'll just put the answer in spoiler text:

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
YOU FELL FOR IT FOOL! THUNDER CLOSS SPLIT ATTACK! --But actually my 2nd answer was trolls.

---

I lick without a tongue,
And crack without a whip;
My form is always changing,
Reaching out with pointed tip.

Are you a h'wip?

Oh, that's a good one. But, I think I got it: Is it fire?

Oops, I didn't see the word whip in the riddle.  Yeah, I agree with Froggychum.

It's actually "flame," but I guess fire is close enough. A flame "licks." (A fire "bites.")
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:28, Tue 19 May 2020.

Five oxen lead,
Driving a long tipped plough;
From mind's recesses,
Black seeds does it sow,
To see, to enlighten, to show.

No guesses on this? It's a metaphorical riddle

This is a puzzling one, I've thought about it for a few minutes twice now, and I'm positively stuck on the riddle. I can't find to fit it's pieces together. I'm trying to think of things I know have 'five of them' or something... Here's a few ideas, though I don't think any of them are right (cause they don't seem to fit)

 - Human Hands?
 - Pentagrams (dark seeds do they sow)
 - Some sort of symbol, probably. I'm really bad at imagery!

I'm trying hard for symbols, without googling the first two lines (in case i spoil it for myself)

Ugh, five-oxen-lead... A star has five points, right? Maybe specifically, the star of david... Or does that have 7 points?

I'm also thinking about the five colors of magic (in Magic TCG), and maybe even the planeswalker symbol from aforementioned game... But that seems super specific

You know, maybe it's a verb, I originally though the last line was vageuly about the thing, but maybe it's actually a synonym... or something closer than 'vague descriptor' like i'd assumed.

'From mind's recesses,' might be the hardest one for me...

I mean, maybe Santa Clause is the answer (i didn't guess that cause i'm pretty sure he has like 7 or 12 reindeer or something, dont really remember without singing the song to myself... its more than 5 tho, even without rudolph)

I've got a feeling that 'Driving a long tipped plough;' is the biggest hint in the poem, but i dunno man, all these stanzas are tough to fit together!

Black seeds could be animal droppings, but that's a bit too crude, probably.

Aghhh! Tell me if i got close :)

You are right that five oxen lead stands for human fingers/hand. But that:s not the answer to the riddle.

Hmm... a tool of some kind, then?

Maybe a pencil, a pen or some other kind of writing utensil? That fits pretty well, i think.

This isn't as long as my last post, but this is my big idea, right now.

You're getting close...the answer is an action, not a noun

Drawing, writing, painting, etc?

Hmmm... definitely something to do with hands revealing stuff... but black seeds.... hrggh

it might just be a synonym for enlighten/show...

Random guesses floating about in my head; spellcasting/rhyming/trickery/sleight

IDK, I didn't sleep tonight, i'm out of ideas, I think.

I think you got it. It's "writing with a pen." You put the black marks (seeds) with the plough (pen) led by five oxen (fingers)...


Five oxen lead, (Your fingers lead the pen)
Driving a long tipped plough; (The tipped pen)
From mind's recesses, (Thoughts from your mind...)_
Black seeds does it sow, (Making black words on paper)
To see, to enlighten, to show (The purpose of the words)
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:45, Tue 26 May 2020.

That was a really good riddle! It took me A LOT of hints to figure out, meaning it was challenging. IMO, it was also interesting, I really wanted to figure it out.

Bravo.

If I exist, you know me,
But when I don't, you don't,
But even then, you see,
You may once have known me;
And though I live always in the past,
I may be bad, neutral or even a blast.

wow. this one is tough. I'm really bad at riddles like this (don't know what I mean by that, but this sure as hell strikes me as something I'd have trouble with)

I have a single idea... My guess is memories. It seems to fit really well, but if that's not it then I'm *really* not sure.

I'm confident it's a mind thing... or maybe a metaphysical thing... something... not entirely physical, from the description. I guess it's technically a 'What am I?' riddle, which I'm confident in, but the answer isn't something like 'Penguin' or 'Tower'... yikes. Visualization isn't helping. So I got just (1) guess.

Yes, "memories" is correct

I have teeth,
But I cannot a morsel eat;
I can turn,
Without legs or even feet;
My skeleton,
When I have one,
Can be a boon
To every thief.

A lock?

A key? A comb? A lockpick?

Key is correct.

Has teeth, turns, and a "skeleton key" opens all locks.

Good riddle! I didn't actually have any idea until FourLegged said 'lock', I wasn't even paying attention to the thief part, TBH. My only idea was comb, so I didn't post anything right away.

This one was really neat. Man, skeleton keys are SO cool!

Nice to hear you are enjoying them. I try to create one or two a week.

In reply to Froggychum (msg # 70):

Glad to help

Your guess was the key to him getting the answer locked up.

ALERT CITIZEN - WE HAVE DETECTED A BAD PUN

REMEMBER, PUNS ARE UNFUNNY TREASON. COMMITTING PUNS IS CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.

RESULT OF YOUR TRIAL: TONGUE-MUTILATION. PLEASE DEPOSIT YOUR TONGUE IN THE TONGUE BANK AT THE CORNER OF YOUR STREET. THIS WILL AVOID YOU MAKING FUTURE BAD PUNS.

WITH GREAT LOVE, THE RETRONOMICON, YOUR LOVING NEIGHBORHOOD MACHINE OVERLORD.

Do play Paranoia, by chance? It sounds like a classic Paranoia post. I used to run a Paranoia campaign: link to another game

It's one of my favorite campaign settings/rules.

I got the idea for the post after I was on TVTropes the other day. As is tradition when I browse that website, I enter a rabbit hole of endless tabs open at once. I ended up seeing an entry about Paranoia, and it sounded like fun.

I might've heard the name before (don't remember if I have), but I didn't know what it was. I looked it up a bit and it sounds like a fun concept (though I don't know how to play at all, haven't read the rules or even a description of how it's played).

I did my best to make it sound like straight-outta-AlphaComplex because, though I know little, I thought it would sound cool, and be aesthetically pleasing (I was right! Very happy with Small Caps + Small Text + Centered Text combination, very pretty, perfect for CITIZEN ALERTs)

If the rules are as interesting as the setting, I might turn out to like it a lot :)

--Long Wall of Text is Long, apologies--

(sort of an) Edit: Actually, I looked it up, and I know the name from the video game: Happiness is Mandatory. I remember hearing about it in an advertisement on Critical Role, which I've watched it many times cause it's funny as hell. Sam Riegel is a genius promoter.

My first five,
A characteristic;
But my last two,
An alternative;
And though if may be
the middle word in life,
It is the middle one for me;
For you heed not the words of
Your friends or country,
And find that death may be
Your lasting penalty.

Need a hint..?

I think it might be a crime (guess), and it's probably seven words (unless that's interpreting it wrong)... But I don't have enough for a guess... a hint would be nice, please :)

7 letters, not words.
Not a crime but the person who commits the crime (in the case of "country").

Also, try putting "if" and "it" in quotations and see if it helps.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:44, Tue 09 June 2020.

I was super stumped; so for once I broke my rule and did a bunch of googling.

I though that 'if' was the last two words (an alternative), but decided it must be 'or'...

Also, seven is an odd number, so 2-letter-words can't be in the middle. You probably know that, but it definitely confused me on where to place 'it'... So, i ended up with 'itor'

I was pretty sure janitor wasn't a crime, so I looked up 7-letter words that end with itor.

I was about to give up, because none of the three-letter words in front of itor (3+4=7) were characteristics, except for Her in Heritor, I googled it, and as I suspected, it meant person whom inherets...

I was about to give up, and call it quits, but then I read the riddle one more time, and it said 'MY FIRST FIVE', so i figured there must be overlap between 'IT' and the other 3 letters.

I scanned my (cheat-ass) list, and saw the obvious answer: The only one that was a crime, I had ignored it before, because I was only looking for 3-letter characteristics, not 5-letter SYNONYMS FOR 'CHARACTERISTIC'...

I ended up with the word "Traitor", and I'm pretty sure that's right. If it's not, i give up lol :)

I didn't know if it was better to 'cheat' a little, or to just give up. I didn't know which one was proper forum-ettiquette, so I'm being transparent about my decision.

Anyway, that took far too long, lol.

Traitor is correct!


My first five,
A characteristic; [a "TRAIT"]
But my last two,
An alternative; ["OR"]
And though if may be
the middle word in life,
It is the middle one for me; [Traitor has "IT" in the middle]
For you heed not the words of
Your friends or country,
And find that death may be
Your lasting penalty. [you can be a traitor to your friends or country]

Face me for punishment;
But great news puts me to your ears;
After an elevator, I may be dull;
But setting something to me,
May just make your excitement more full.

Are you music?

Yes!

I can on the surface be,
Any job, any animal,
Any living thing;
Indeed, I can be,
Almost anything;
For love, for play,
Or even to fix a relationship
That may have gone astray.

You sound like a noun

Yes, but that's not the answer...

This is a pretty hard one, I don't have any good ideas.

It can be a noun or a verb. Everyone on this site should know very well what it is.

That is a really good hint, but I'm still super stuck...

Hmmm... Some thoughts about that hint:

 - Roleplay
 - Play
 - Pretend
 - Mimic
 - Mimicry
 - Writing
 - Games
 - Online
 - Fun
 - Entertainment



Yikes... maybe some of these are right answers or similar to the answer:

 - Love
 - Joy
 - Hard work
 - Attention
 - Consent
 - Talking
 - Apologizing



 - Shapeshifter
 - Changeling
 - Imagination
 - Fake
 - Unreal
 - Creation

---

Other possible answers:

 - A riddle
 - A joke
 - A noun
 - A verb
 - An adjective
 - An adverb

One of those is the right answer!

One of my 29 answers was correct? I don't actually have a super confident guess...

Okay, this is getting crazy. As much as I'd love to stay up for an hour going through each answer, mom says I have to go to bed and can't waste time on ASWOT anymore...

So, instead of guessing, I'm going to roll 1d29 and make that my 'final guess'

00:06, Today: Froggychum rolled 23 using 1d29.  guess.

My final guess: "Creation".

Actually... that can't be both a verb and noun, can it?

OH WELL. MOMS PULLING OUT THE PADDLE (not fr tho) ITS MIDNIGHT SLEEP TIME.

Okay. You can do plenty of roleplaying in your dreams.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Nah, I wish. I just had a dream about beating my brother horribly and perhaps killing him, while we were at a school that doesn't exist. I followed that lovely visual up by getting stormed by police officers and one guy who might have been a police officer, maybe. He still had a gun though. For some reason I had a gun. I think I killed my brother because I saw it on Pokemon, which I don't watch, and doesn't involve people being brutally killed, to my knowledge. There was also a segment about slaying archdemons from Hell, which was less morally corrupt. I hate quarantine, and I hate sleeping from 5 AM to 2 PM and dreaming about crap everynight. Oh well, goin' nuts.

---

Yeah that was a pretty weird post, but it was mostly me trying to excuse myself from a posting 1v1 that I got involved in, 'sillily' (autocorrect says this is not a word, hence the apostrophes).

I could definitely make better guesses from my list, but I'm happy enough knowing I was ~3.45% correct, this time around [1/29x100%,rounded_up]. Also, I'll probably make the wrong guess a few times and feel dumb.

Maybe FourLegged or another user could take a shot at the answer, but I'm throwing in the hat.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:27, Wed 17 June 2020.

LOL. You missed the clue.

I must've been preoccupied with writing my post, but I don't exactly remember why I didn't mention it.

I guess we all know the answer to this one, now. It's not much of a 'clue' if it contains the literal answer within it. But, it doesn't really matter, tbf.

I didn't really like this riddle, to be honest. That's just my opinion though.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:09, Thu 18 June 2020.

They won't all be winners. It's the writing process of them that results in sometimes creating a gem.

For this one's explanation:

I can on the surface be,
Any job, any animal,
Any living thing; [YOU CAN ROLEPLAY PROFESSIONS, ANIMALS OR LIVING BEINGS BUT ONLY ON THE SURFACE, NOT FOR REAL]
Indeed, I can be,
Almost anything; [YOU CAN PRETEND TO BE ALMOST ANYTHING]
For love, for play, [IN THE BEDROOM, FOR GAMES]
Or even to fix a relationship
That may have gone astray. [ROLEPLY USED BY PSYCHOLOGISTS TO HELP RELATIONSHIPS]

I have a tail,
But not a leg;
I have a head,
And yet no neck;
I may be for luck,
Or to win a bet.

I'm guessing that the answer is 'a coin'?

I love coins!

I'll accept coin, but I was going for penny. I'm not sure if "coin" has the luck aspect.

"Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day, you'll have good luck."

The cyclops that ever burns the eyes;
The giver of life to the green,
From the face of the blue--
From the times it's born,
To the times it dies.

Hm... the sun?

Yes!

The cyclops that ever burns the eyes; [an eye in the sky]
The giver of life to the green, [photsynthesis]
From the face of the blue-- [blue sky]
From the times it's born, [morning]
To the times it dies. [every night]

Six legs have I,
Though I walk on only four;
Two arms have I,
Though they cannot touch the floor.

I want to say a chair, or centaur, but neither feel exactly right.

Nope. Neither of those. Centaur was closest, I suppose, but it is not an exotic or mythological creature. However, the answer is living.

Further hint: It is something you might see in medieval times, but also sometimes today.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:34, Thu 16 July 2020.

Ooh! Very helpful, thanks! My guess has changed to begin thinking about siege artillery...

Maybe a catapult/trebuchet/etc? Could it also be a mythological creature of some kind? I know far too many of those, but I don't really have them mentally ordered by how many legs they have, lmao!

Oh wait, I forgot about your first reply... dammit! So, it's not a trebuchet or the like, then... those aren't alive.

Hm... a creature that existed in medieval times? Well, beasts of burden (the word might be: Horse, Warhorse, Trojan Horse, Pony, Stallion, Donkey, Mule, Ass, Camel, Ox, Buffalo or Bison) for sure... maybe you mean a knight, of some kind? There's a lot of words for that, though...

Some examples of words for dudes on horses: "Knight", "Cavalier", "Jouster" when jousting, "Lancer" when lancing, "Horseman" when bringing the apocalypse...

I forgot how much fun this game is!

You are so, so close...

It is not mythological. But in the tradition of classic riddles, there is one thing that is missing from the clue. It actually consists of two living things acting like one living thing. Your last answer (Horseman) is probably technically correct since the answer is a man on a horse.

This is a really good one... I know dozens of mythological 'horsemen', but since it's not a mythological being... I just don't know.

It's a man on a horse... it's alive... two things acting as one... was seen more in medieval times, but still present in modern day...

I've tried to think about quite a bit now, and I'm just stumped. I'm pretty sure it's probably a job... but most things are, aren't they?

Maybe I wasn't clear. Reread my last sentence. The answer is "A man on a horse". That's it. Nothing more. :)

Ha! You keep pulling these sneaky things on me (right under my nose, too)! Well done :)

I have an idea for a kind of riddle I want to do, it's pretty abstract, but I don't have the specifics yet.

It may be said,
You saw me when you bled,
In every drop 'twas shed;
You saw me in the rose's thread,
And in the apple you were fed;
From shredding I've never fled,
And I'm always in bred.

The color red?

Yes!

My tines,
In a moment of time,
Doth shine,
As to their target they align.

A fork?

Nope. But glad you took the bait...

Hands on a clock?

Nope

Need a clue?

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Hint 1: The answer to this riddle is also the answer to a marginally similar riddle in Zork:Zero (or Zork:Beyond?--I forget which one, but that's where the idea came from).

---

Divining rods?

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Seeing as I last played those games when they came out in the late 1980's, I am not exactly helped by that spoiler.

---

Close, but no cigar.

OOC: Yeah, I last played them over 30 years ago too. For some reason, I still have a vague memory of this riddle, and my first line is very similar to its line.

Hint #2:

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
What has multiple tines like a fork, but only for an instant (a "moment of time"), and the tines actually, literally "shine" and literally target and hit something?

---

Oh! Is it like a weapon of some kind? Well... that might be obvious, though.

I've never heard of this game before, but if people were playing it 30 years ago, that might make sense since I lacked an existence at the time, lmao.

My guesses are:

A laser gun, a laser sword or some other type of glowing weapon. That last one might be too vague to count as an answer, but it's purpose is to let you know I am thinking of 'plasma trident', 'flame rifle' and any combination thereof, but I don't want to make a 6000 item list that might just be in the wrong vein anyway, lel.

Thinking aloud

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
It flashes and tines brightly, or rather bright flashing forklike tines...

---

And divining rods are close.  Hmmm...

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
I may have to go back to Zork.

---

It's a normal, every day thing.

And you are making me feel very old if you don't know what Zork is. it was a super popular text adventure series in the 80s (at least for us nerds). Worth a look.

This is a walkthrough of Beyond Zork, which is where it is from. It does not have the text of the riddle but has its answer: http://www.eristic.net/games/infocom/beyondzork.html

Here is the Beyond Zork riddle:

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
My tines be long,
My tines be short,
My tines end ere,
My first report.,
What am I?

---

Is it a flashlight? Is it lightning or some other form of electricity?

It’s not a snake tongue, is it?

Lightning is correct!

My tines, [Tines of lightning]
In a moment of time, [Only last for a moment]
Doth shine, [flash of lightning]
As to their target they align. [target something like a lightning rod, tree, etc.]

The dead upon me rest their flesh,
Some burnt up and some yet fresh;
I too alive once stood tall,
Until by axe did I fall.

Trees, or more specifically, wood?

good guess, but no

The first half sounds like a cutting board, the second half implies that it is made of wood.
Hmmm...

Very close...

HINT:

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Would it help if I added a line about it having four legs?

---

Table?

Yes!

The dead upon me rest their flesh, [meat]
Some burnt up and some yet fresh; [cooked, raw or otherwise prepared]
I too alive once stood tall, [wood table made from a tree]
Until by axe did I fall.

The cyclops stabs,
A tiny foil
Weaving left and right,
Poking and coiling,
But with ne'er the spark of life.

Need a hint?

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
The answer is an inanimate object.

---

Needle?

Yes!

The cyclops stabs, [needles have one eye]
A tiny foil [like a "foil" sword for sparring]
Weaving left and right, [sewing]
Poking and coiling,
But with ne'er the spark of life. [inanimate]

Crafting skills FTW! Haha

Yep! Post one if you want.

I e been trying to think of one but haven’t been successful yet.

Heath has always been our Riddle Master.

Maybe my real name is Edward Nigma. :)

I have one hand with which to clap,
One head that but one sound intones;
I have a yoke yet pull no carts,
A crown, yet no land to roam.
I have a mouth and when I call,
Many gather, one and all.

A bell?

Yes!

Here's the solution for those who were interested:

I have one hand with which to clap, (the "clapper" of a bell)
One head that but one sound intones; (the head of the bell)
I have a yoke yet pull no carts, (the top of the head that holds the bell in place is called the "yoke")
A crown, yet no land to roam. (the top part that connects it to the yoke is called the crown)
I have a mouth and when I call, (the open bottom is the "mouth")
Many gather, one and all. (when it rings, it often brings townspeople together or for church or whatever meeting)

Sometimes I point up and sometimes down;
Sometimes I wear a crown;
My pulp comes not from an orange,
Nor does my root e'er reach the ground.

Wowie, that's a toughie!

For my first guess, I'll go with a compass or a potato, just because I'm not sure what the connections between the lines are yet.

Nope. Not correct yet.

A tooth?

Yes!

It’s Carrot Top remaking Saturday Night Fever.

Definitely the most creative guess!

As strong as seven men;
As tall as seven men;
Yet seven men with all their strength,
Cannot stand me on end;
But a young boy
Can carry me to his friend.

This reminds me of the story of excalibur...

Is it excalibur/sword in the stone/king arthur's blade?

Or perhaps the metaphor has to do with youth and not purity, so perhaps it's 'imagination' or 'innocence'?

The 'bring me to his friend' part is a bit odd... maybe his friend is also a metaphor...

I've only been to one funeral (it might have been called something else, but it was basically a funeral, I think) kind of reminds me of being a pallbearer? But, I dunno what the answer from that would be, maybe 'bravery' or 'dealing with grief'

Maybe there's significance to seven, or it may have been chosen due to sounding nice.

'Cannot stand me on end' to stick with the funeral theme, maybe it's a sort of monument, like an obelisk, a pyre, a gravestone, et cetera?

Could also again be non-literal, and instead describe the inability to be surprised...

As tall and strong as seven men... A hecatoncheires doesn't really fit... but maybe 'giant' in general does?

Or, sticking with a folklore theme, it could be that friendly giant character, since IIRC he likes kids... maybe it's a big plant, instead?

I can't really think of a great answer to this. Maybe if I had more friends as a young boy this would be easier to answer lol

Oh no! Now, I wonder what the answer is!

None of those are accurate. It is a physical object, and a common one. Every adventurer should have it.

An Immovable Rod?

A mundane weapon of some kind? Like a sword, a hammer, or an axe?

A backpack, satchel, component pouch, coin bag, or another type of container?

A lantern, a torch, a match box, a chamber pot, rope, a bedroll, a tent, a flask or canteen, or even some other kind of survival gear?

Hmm... Maybe some sort of messaging device or a map?

You're going through a lot of answers there by posting standard equipment in a shotgun approach. Give me an answer and a logical reason for it.

Imagination?

Nice try, but no. The answer is a physical object.

One of Froggychum's answers is actually correct, but he didn't explain which one or why.

A tent? Because it's durable (strong as 7 men) and generally tall enough for a man to stand up in (as tall as 7 men), but the "end" (i'm seeing the top) usually comes to a point and if someone were to try to stand it up that way, it would just tip over (cannot stand me on end). But a tent can be rolled up and put in a pack, so even a boy could carry it..

Nice try, but still not right.

Darn! It fit so well! lol

The answer fits better. Believe me. And you will slap your head that you didn't get it. :)

It's rope. :) That's fantastic.

YES!


As strong as seven men; [Rope is very strong]
As tall as seven men; ]lay it out and it is very long]
Yet seven men with all their strength,
Cannot stand me on end; [Because it is not firm and cannot stand]
But a young boy
Can carry me to his friend. [It does not weigh much]

.......you’re right. I am kicking myself.....

I am in every writing,
And in every vision;
Wisdom has me,
While tomfoolery does not;
I abound in witticism,
But never in any cleverness.

There is no 'i' in team

Haha! Yes, you got it

I was originally going to write it grammatically different, but it would be too easy:

"I is in every..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:35, Wed 07 Oct 2020.

The Romans used me in 549,
I topped their casks,
Their ale and wine.

5, 4, 9 in roman numerals is V, IV, IX; or "Vivix"

Though, 549 would be DXLIX

So, I think the date must just be for the rhyme... or, I'm not as much of a history buff as I wish I were.

I suppose if the romans used it for their alcohols, it would be something related to brewery, which I'm not very learned of (I've been researching it lately for my OC world setting, but I don't understand it to this extent).

So... maybe a tap? Or is that what they use(d) for kegs? I remember hearing about stuff being 'on-tap'... as for topping ale and wine, that's maybe a bit of a guessing game for me... 'cause I know the flavor of wine and ale are super different. I could see someone topping their wine with a garnish, but the same can't really be said for ale...

I think the crux of this riddle is something I'm missing tat has to do with Romans 549...

Actually, wasn't romans a chapter in the bible? Maybe I should actually do some research for my answers to these riddles? nahh (lol)

You're not too far off with one track of thought above, but if I give you a hint, it will be too easy.

Arghh...I think I messed this one up. Since you almost got it, let me share with you what it is since I think I am in error.

The answer is LID. I thought LID was a way to do Roman Numerals for 549. See here: https://www.bing.com/search?q=...49B6AD65CDE3010B08C8

But then I doublechecked and it might not be right, so I will give this to you as a win due to my error and you were on the right track of thinking.

Carving tools?

Nevermind, it was already solved. Today has been a day. lol
This message was last edited by the player at 02:21, Thu 08 Oct 2020.

I feel bad for you that you messed up your own riddle, dude :(

However, on the bright side I think this riddle was pretty good , it required some out of the box thinking which I mercifully realized (lol for once)...

I figured it had something to do with that number lol.



Haha I feel ya :D

Also, this is why I never use the accursed search engine known as 'Bing'

Not to be condescending, but here's an article on why 'LID' doesn't work: https://www.numere-romane.ro/r...mber=549&lang=en

To continue expressing how much I hate bing, let me just tell y'all that I followed the link and typed '549' in the decimal slot myself and it came back with the proper (totally different) answer... stoopid calculator.

What a way to start my day lol. I'll try and come back later in the day to update some more threads, but I'm real busy lately (ugh)

LOL. Thanks for the laugh. Your turn to write one...or anyone else who wants to step up and try their hand at it.

What haves four feets and its non-alive

A chair?

Maybe, a table?

Its! My dog... :"(

OH NO

Just kidding HAHAHA!!!

As the Dr. Demento song goes:

Dead puppies aren't much fun
They don't come when you call
They don't chase squirrels at all
Dead puppies aren't much fun

My puppy died late last fall
He's still rotting in the hall
Dead puppies aren't much fun
Mom says puppy's days are through
She's gonna throw him in the stew
Dead puppies aren't much fun

This makes me feel many things...

BRB, googlin' Dr. Demento

In reply to Heath (msg # 192):

That's awkward and funny at the same time.

Is it bad that this week’s got me like huh... the dog must be from my county if he’s joining the current rash of people dropping like flies.

And it’s not even been Covid related!!

EMS crews out here are not okay. Lol

Back in the 70s-80s, Dr. Demento was the king of funny radio. That's where Weird Al got his start. Dead Puppies is one of the famous songs. You should listen to the song; it's funnier that way.

Love me some Dr. Demento!

Without you I have six legs,
Yet with you I have but two.

Man that's really hard... probably some sort mechanics thing I don't visualize well (by mechanics I mean the ideas (science?) of motion and structures, not specifically engineering)

Doesn't help that I didn't sleep this night... fuuuu-

Not mechanics. Very common. Everyone who speaks any English will understand the answer

Oh man, if it's a common word, there's a lot of lists I could copypaste... But, that's probably unfair to just shoot blindly and hope something sticks... I'm thinking 'legs' means serifs, while 'you' means the homonymous letter...

Possibly, this is a more complex word that references a common concept... Such as 'grammar' or 'orthography'

I think I'm out of ideas for this riddle (I think it's really good by the way), so someone else may want to take a shot at it.

Clue:

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

The answer is really two words that are homonyms.

---

Is it two and to? The legs referring to the points on the letters?

Good guess! But not the answer. :(

Made me think of the song: "The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:06, Fri 16 Oct 2020.

This one must be harder than I thought. The word that is the answer is in one of the five posts above. Also, "you" can be changed to "u" in the riddle.

It's freaking me out that I don't remember where I've heard that song from...? Is it a camp song, I went to a few summer camps when I was little...

I feel like I've sufficiently scanned the posts from #200 to #205 ITT, but I can't seem to find anything viable... I mean, I didn't put a 'u' into every word, but that would consume more time than I have, I'm afraid.

Oh, also, I triple checked to make sure you didn't do another "The answer is..." like many times b4, lol...

IDK, I'm gonna hate myself when someone figures it out or you tell us -_-

I'm seriously tempted to just look up lists of homonyms, but I feel like that's sort of cheating, and I don't like it.

It's kind of like the song "Go Tell Aunt Rhody." You can't get it out of your head.

Do you guys want the answer?

I've got no other guesses.

Original riddle:

Without you I have six legs,
Yet with you I have but two.

Now think of it like this:


Without "u" I have six legs,
Yet with "u" I have but two.

What has six legs but only two if you add the letter "u"?

Answer below:

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

ant
aunt

---

I did give some clues above. Guess they weren't clear enough.

....... I knew I would kick myself as soon as I saw the answer too. I just couldn't for the life of me make it work out in my head. >.<

Clue 1 was:
"The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah..."

Clue 2 was:
"Go Tell Aunt Rhody."

Those were CLUES?!

I thought they were just comments on a song I made you think of! Haha It's been a week...clearly. Lol

I like to build clues into comments for pending riddles. If you read back, you will see I did it on many occasions.  Fourlegged often picks up on them

I'll have to watch for them now.

A battle royale--
Men pull against men,
With a line between them;
Just a step too far,
And it comes to an end.

A gay orgy?

A game of tug-of-war... with the rope and people on each side pulling to get the flag over a line to win..?

Hahahaha :)



That's my guess, as well.

Yes! Tug o' war is correct

I was kind of rooting for the gay orgy to be right after Pluckyribbons suggested it. Haha

That would not have even crossed my mind.

What has four eyes but cannot see,
And uses pi without a circle?

Me wearing my glasses when I'm shoving a pie in my son's face in the morning when I'm still stumbling into things? :P

And I'm gonna let others guess because I looked up the answer inadvertently..

Ah, yes. I took this from a riddle book and added the second line. So it is not entirely original.

Any takers?

If non one else is gonna guess, I'm saying Mississippi

Yes, that is correct!

I may raise you up
Or take you down,
But those who fear me,
Take steps to avoid me.

Elevators!

Yes!

Though I have neither legs nor feet,
I have hands that speak
To tell you what you want to know.

Clock?

Yes. I was looking for watch, but clock also works.

We are two brothers,
Who carry great burdens when pressed;
Yet while full all the day,
We are empty when we rest.

Eyeballs?

Good guess. In the same vein, I'll go with 'feet/legs' and 'hands/arms'

Also, this question may be discriminatory to amputees. Twitter, can we preemptively #cancel ASWoT on RPoL?

I really like Grant's answer! It's not the answer I had in mind, but it totally makes sense.

The key word here is "empty." It's literal.

Buckets?

Nope.

As Grant guessed, "two brothers" refers to a pair of something.

I googled the answer yesterday 'cause I thought you were giving it to Grant.

I will say that I like Grant's answer more than the real one, because his has a sort of poetry to it... idk if that makes sense tho

Lungs? Am I even close? Lol

No. Not lungs. It's not a body part, but it has a relationship to the body.

Pants?

It's shoes isn't it...

Shoes wasn't quite the answer I got (different kind of footwear), but it seems like a nearly perfect answer to the riddle, lol.

I honestly was hoping that the answer would be something a bit more abstract, poetic and intense then a clothing item. I mean, as soon as I heard that the 'emptiness' was literal, I probably should have expected a more mundane answer, but I still really wish the answer was different and more invocative :shrug:

Shoes is correct!

My head may be red,
And my body white,
Yet the longer I live,
The shorter my height.

A pencil matches the latter two lines, but not the former two.

A caucasian ginger matches the former two, but not the latter two.

A caucasian ginger pencil person?

I'm tired. didn't sleep again

I think you already said the answer, at least in plural form.

Aha! Matches! I knew it was something like that :)

Actually, matches is a really good answer.

However, it is not the answer I had in mind. But it is pretty close. The answer is something that existed before matches.

I couldn't hold a candle to that match answer

You got it! It was candle. But I do like "match" as an answer too, yet I should not wax poetic about it.

Though summer has heat,
More clothing I wear,
'Til fall I do shed,
And winter be bare.

A tree.. The clothing is leaves.

Yes!

I thought that one might be pretty easy, but the rhyme just came to me and I liked it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:45, Thu 19 Nov 2020.

I really like the imagery of it!

I can but be cracked,
Not twisted or bended;
And if I break,
My body cannot e'er be mended.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:53, Thu 19 Nov 2020.

Humpty Dumpty

(an egg)

Not what I had in mind, but good guess.

I added another two lines. Hopefully, it points only to the correct answer now.

Feel my bite,
If summer hath not it ended;
Though I can but be cracked,
Not twisted or bended,
If I break,
My body cannot e'er be mended.

Uh oh. Too hard? This is something that naturally occurs in nature. It is not alive and does not come from a living thing.

Ice? Like that found on a lake or pond in the winter?

Yes!

Ah! I was sitting there before you gave the hint wondering if that was it but had talked myself out of guessing. Haha

You can technically fix ice, you just need hot water in a freezing cold atmosphere. Just like a zamboni. But I digress. ;)

Maybe, but technically then you are not mending the broken pieces; you are actually adding new ice. This is a variation I made from a classic riddle dating back a few hundred years...

The original goes like this:

As I was going over London Bridge,
I heard something crack;
Not a man in all Enlgand
Can mend that!

(Circa 1729)
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:51, Sat 21 Nov 2020.

My prisoner comes out
When hands go up;
And day or night,
While others sleep,
Emerges to sing with delight.

A cuckoo clock?

Yes!

Wow, I wouldn't have guessed that, haha

It's one of those times when I have no clue what the answer might be, but once someone says it, I'm smacking my forehead because it was pretty obvious. lol

I didn't get it right away at first, I had to realize it was talking about clock hands before the cuckoo bird came to me.

I am drawn,
Not by pen,
Nor by horse or cart;
And I fly,
Not by wing,
Nor by engine nor art.

A breath?

Good guess and it works with the clues! But not what I had in mind.

Added a couple words to rule out breath being the right answer:

I am drawn by hand,
But not by pen,
Nor by horse or cart;
And I fly by the wind,
Not by wing,
Nor by engine or art.

An arrow?

Yep, that sounds right!

Yes, it is an arrow

The less I am,
The feared I am more;
From tree or hemp or stone,
Else it be not dryly crossed o'er.

Food? As in, going hungry is a scary concept.



Um... you can't eat wood nor stone. Hemp can be smoked, and made into rope... but not eaten. In fact, it makes you more hungry (or so I've heard...)

Some stuff that comes from trees can be eaten.

Anyway, I'm guessing it's not food.

The last line makes me think of a bridge. But, it's a pretty bad answer to the other three lines.

I dunno, maybe this post will help someone else get the answer. I'll try to pick this back up tomorrow if nobody gets it by then.

The answer is bridge!

The less I am,
The feared I am more; [a narrow bridge is scarier than a wide one]
From tree or hemp or stone, [can be built from rope, wood, or stone]
Else it be not dryly crossed o'er. [cross over or fall into a river]

Oh! Sick :DDD

Grab my arms but I make no sound;
And get me going forward bound;
Yet as we go,
My feet do never touch the ground,
Though my head spins round and round.

Is it one of those whirly-gig things? The little handheld helicopter?

No, afraid not.

But it is an object.
A somewhat everyday type of object that has existed for at least hundreds of years.
It is used outdoors, not indoors.

Further clue...

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Construction workers and gardeners might use this.

---

Still too hard? Another clue:

The "head" refers to a wheel.

My wheel barrel needs to be oiled.  It definitely makes sounds

Yes, "wheelbarrow"

When used as I should,
I can be anybody;
But peer upon my back,
And all that I lack.

A portrait?

A mirror?

Mirror, yes!

Damn, well done!

Cut me,
Split me,
Yet I come to no harm;
And my king,
And my queen,
Will raise no alarm.

What about your Jack or your Deuce or your Ace?

You mean Sparrow, Bigelow and Ventura?

I think you guessed it. I almost left out the last three lines since they might make it kind of easy.

Huh. I don't get this one, is it a reference to something?

OOHHH!!! Now I get it. whispers to Froggychum It's a deck of cards..

Fourlegged is quite the joker.

Answer:

Cut me, (cut a deck of card)
Split me, (split a deck of cards)
Yet I come to no harm; (part of shuffling)
And my king,
And my queen, (has a king and queen in the deck)
Will raise no alarm. (because they're cards)
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:55, Mon 14 Dec 2020.

From the tree am I born,
With three feet,
Yet ne'er a thorn.

A sapling?

That seems too easy though..

Nope

Leaves? As in 3-pronged ones?

Or, maybe branches? As in 3 ft long, but not thorny?

Could be an animal like a bird/squirrel, I guess, if 'born' refers to 'born in a nest on the branch / inside a hole of'

Nope

Ha! A wooden yard stick?

3 feet = a yard...born from a tree = made from wood..

Yes!

Two legs on three legs,
Pulling on one with four legs
For ivory sustenance
In his kegs.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:40, Thu 14 Jan 2021.

Slight tweaks

A farmer milking a cow?

Yes!

I was stuck on ivory being literal for a while but as soon as I figured out the three legs was a stool I got the rest of it.

At first, I only did the first two lines but then decided it was too vague and added two more

Green skin, red blood,
And hundreds of black children
Waiting to be sprung.

I usually have seedless watermelon

Yes!

Clothed in bright armor,
My hands on the move;
My face reveals all,
That for my purpose you must prove.

A wristwatch?

Hmmm...that's not quite right but super close, which is my fault. The answer is a pocket watch. The "armor" is the metal they are made out of. I could have made that one a little better.

I can fill a house,
And make your nerves unhinge;
I can fill the forest,
And make it cringe;
But if I fill you,
Your breath will I singe.

Fire?

I was thinking smoke

Yes, smoke it is

I fly high without wings,
And body thin,
Without guts within,
Yet have a tail that never stings.

Meteor!

I hadn't thought of that. Good guess, but not what I had in mind--and doesn't fit the "body thin" part. The answer is something much more common.

Hm... an airplane, rocket, or missile?

Nope. Nothing mechanical.

An arrow?

good guess, but not it.

Think of something with a flat body flying in the sky with a tail

A gliding squirrel?

A kite?

Yes. Kite it is!

A father had five children,
Each born of day,
And then two more he had,
At the end they do say,
And each was bright,
Yet each was dark,
But the father he had
No strength to play.

No takers on this one? Too hard? Need a clue?

It’s not a hand, is it?

Nope

Hmm... my only other guess would be a week, but it feels like a weak guess.

Week is right!

A father had five children,
Each born of day, (weekdays)
And then two more he had,
At the end they do say, (weekends)
And each was bright,
Yet each was dark, (day and night)
But the father he had
No strength to play. (because he was "weak")

Those last two lines had me doubting the guess. LOL

Though I never breathed,
You drink my white milk,
And devour my pearly flesh,
But only if within you reach,
By hammer or stone,
To yourself refresh.

Coconut.

...without the lime or shaking it up.

Yes!