plasmid Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 As we face off, the white and black I stand beside my twin See sunbeams fall through patterned cracks That lie above this den Of diamond, sir, my heart's composed It makes me who I am Across that heart I keep exposed The mark of Superman If in the end our paths should meet Then head o'er heels let's go Should safeguards fail, there's no retreat As I bring forth the snow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 plasmid Posted July 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 It's been a long time since I last posted a riddle, and since most of the people have changed I should probably explain my peculiarly. I write riddles in such a way that they sound kind of like they're describing one thing, but are actually describing something else completely unrelated, and title them "I'm not a..." whatever the distraction thing is. In this case, the answer has absolutely nothing to do with anything even close to a chess piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 DudleyDude Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Heya Plasmid. No guess yet, just wanted to say hi. a pawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 the snow queen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 EDM Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 a cloud....??? hi plasmid..... cool riddle..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 plasmid Posted July 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Heya Plasmid. No guess yet, just wanted to say hi. a pawn Hi DD, nice to see a familiar face in the riddles section. No pwnage on this one, I'm genuinely staying away from anything having to do with chess. the snow queen I'm afraid I've never read The Snow Queen before and had to Wikipedia it to see what it's about. (So obviously it's not the answer I had in mind.) Perhaps Kay and Gerda could represent the twins in the riddle, and the shattered mirror could be the riddle's diamond in the heart. But there are other clues like the sunbeam through the cracks and Superman reference where I can't see an analogy with the story, at least based on what I could find readily. a cloud....??? hi plasmid..... cool riddle..... Hi EDM, and thanks! That answer works really well for the first stanza and a half, but the Superman clue is an important one to be incorporated into the answer, and the bit about going head over heels is also a reference to an aspect of the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 EDM Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 the yin and the yang....??? or day and night....??? if the answer is the name of a comic character, then I got nothing...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 plainglazed Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 hey plasmid - great to see you, and a riddle to boot! I'm not a confident riddle guesser yet but... magnets? still working on a verse worthy response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Television, or computer screen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 andromeda Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 WARNING: Funny answer! Peter Pan and his shadow... I just don't know how he brings the snow? I couldn't fit him in in that part of the riddle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Does this require a lot of prior knowledge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 plasmid Posted July 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 the yin and the yang....??? or day and night....??? if the answer is the name of a comic character, then I got nothing...... It isn't anything esoteric, I always make my riddles about something that >99% of people know about and will recognize. And they're almost always about a concrete object unless I say otherwise. It seems like those tend to make for the most satisfying, slap-your-head-when-you've-got-it type of riddles. The yin-yang symbol has a lot going for it, but leaves open the clues about sunbeams through the cracks and about the snow. hey plasmid - great to see you, and a riddle to boot! I'm not a confident riddle guesser yet but... magnets? still working on a verse worthy response. Hi plainglazed, nice to see that a lot of the old crew is still around. Not a magnet, the clues about sunbeams and diamond would still be hanging. But this one ought to be enough of an "OMG that's got to be it" riddle that whoever solves it will know that it's their chance to give a poetic response unraveling the clues and giving the answer. Television, or computer screen? Thanks, hambone. A TV/monitor really fits well with a lot of the clues, especially the sunbeams and the snow (back in the analog days) that have been pretty elusive so far. But the twin in line 2 and the part about going head over heels are left open. WARNING: Funny answer! Peter Pan and his shadow... I just don't know how he brings the snow? I couldn't fit him in in that part of the riddle He he, sounds like you have a little one around, or else a very vivid memory. I vaguely remember that little skirmish. As your hunch suggests though, I can't find any way that he'd fit with the snow clue. Does this require a lot of prior knowledge? Nope, no specialized knowledge required for this one. Anyone ought to be able to come up with the answer, and if they're given the answer then they should definitely be able to go back over the riddle and read it couplet-by-couplet and recognize what each of the clues is referring to without needing much if any further explanation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Molly Mae Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Two trees. Probably tall ones. Maybe in a forest, but I don't see how that could be important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 A Soccer ball? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 andromeda Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 OK, another try... A photo and it's negative. P.S. I don't have a kid, but I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid, hence my English knowledge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 EDM Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 a suit....??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 avalanche Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 plasmid Posted July 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Two trees. Probably tall ones. Maybe in a forest, but I don't see how that could be important. Not a pair of trees, there aren't any famous white-and-black combos that I know of for the opening clue A Soccer ball? Neither a soccer ball. I'd like to have seen more bicycle kicks in the world cup for the head-over-heel clue, but it has no heart of diamond OK, another try... A photo and it's negative. P.S. I don't have a kid, but I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid, hence my English knowledge That's a really good answer. It fits the first stanza perfectly. The head-over-heels could refer to image inversion when a picture's taken, and snow if safeguards fail might be a completely white film or maybe blurry image if the process is fouled up. The diamond could refer to an enlarging lens used in the film-to-paper exposure process. If there's a good way that it could fit the clue about the mark of Superman I'd call it an acceptable alternate answer, completely unrelated to what I have in mind. a suit....??? It gets some of the clues, but leaves things like sunbeams and diamonds unexplained. Unless you mean a suit of cards which would explain the diamonds, but would call for red and black instead of white and black. avalanche Definitely fits the last stanza, but I'm not sure what the black part of the white and black clue would be or how it would refer to twins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 andromeda Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Hm... let's try with... penguins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 dms172 Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 A saltshaker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 A saltshaker Yes I agree, been pondering this one for a while. That must be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 plasmid Posted July 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 A saltshaker dms nailed this one. Always a good sign when other people see the answer and say "that's just got to be it". And it's also a little bit humorous that plainglazed and I simultaneously came up with riddles on almost the exact same thing but couldn't figure each other's out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 andromeda Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 (edited) THAT'S IT! That's what I said when I read dms's solution. The riddle is awesome and beautifully worded BUT what's with the Superman?! edit Edited July 12, 2010 by andromeda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 DudleyDude Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 THAT'S IT! That's what I said when I read dms's solution. The riddle is awesome and beautifully worded BUT what's with the Superman?! edit I think Plasmid was referring to the big S on Superman's chest. And many salt shakers will also have an S on the outside to help distinguish the salt shaker from an identical pepper shaker/mill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 andromeda Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 I think Plasmid was referring to the big S on Superman's chest. And many salt shakers will also have an S on the outside to help distinguish the salt shaker from an identical pepper shaker/mill. I figured that he meant the S on Superman's chest, but I have never seen a saltshaker in Serbia with an S on it. In Serbian SALT is SO, so they do start with the same letter, as for PEPPER we call it BIBER. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 plainglazed Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Man, another great one, plasmid. Count me among the many headslappers . So obvious after the answer was revealed, ughhhh, I love that . Like you said, quite funny our topics were so similar. Hope work lightens up for you (not totally for selfish reasons). Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Question
plasmid
As we face off, the white and black
I stand beside my twin
See sunbeams fall through patterned cracks
That lie above this den
Of diamond, sir, my heart's composed
It makes me who I am
Across that heart I keep exposed
The mark of Superman
If in the end our paths should meet
Then head o'er heels let's go
Should safeguards fail, there's no retreat
As I bring forth the snow
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