Talk:Riddle

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Geographic scope[edit]

Riddles are a global phenomenon. Riddles form a very important aspect of oral literature. You wouldn't know it if you read this article in its present state, hence the {{limitedgeographicscope}} tag. — mark ✎ 22:14, 30 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Anglo-Saxon culture[edit]

I fleshed out the function of irddles in Anglo-Saxon culture. -MadMax —Preceding unsigned comment added by MadMaxBeyondThunderdome (talk • contribs) 06:56, 5 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Boxers or Briefs?[edit]

I don't understand the Boxers or Briefs?. Why is "Depends" wrong?

In the United States, "Depends" is a brand name for a sort of adult diapers worn by those afflicted with urinary incontinence. Smerdis of Tlön 13:26, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Bible[edit]

Didn't the queen of Sheba test Solomon with riddles? And there is also another by Samson.

There is indeed a riddle by Samson. But the Queen of Sheba came to test Solomon's wisdom with "hard questions," which may not be the same. Smerdis of Tlön 16:11, 14 Aug 2004 (UTC)

The word for "hard sayings" [chiydah] is the same word as "dark sayings" and "riddle". It is used both with Samson and the Queen of Sheba. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.70.15.234 (talk) 21:51, 25 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Gay Riddles/Comments[edit]

Can we be adult enough to not joke about homosexuality being something shameful or something to hide?

It's not being joked about, the article just states the fact that it's a question which is being relatively frequently asked by certain (stupid) people... I think. (And it could really have been a worse example, too. The version the kids kept asking me when I was a kid, translated into English, was "are you a fettered derogatory word for gay people?" and if you reply "no" the next line is "help, the f@*¿t is loose!" Hilarious... not.)

Trick question[edit]

Trick question redirects to "riddle". This should not be the case, or at least the definition should be changed. A trick question is a very different thing from a riddle (not to mention a very different thing from a question designed to merely trick the one it's asked to). A riddle is a question designed to test the answerer's ability to see through confusing or disguised logic. A trick question is a question that, to be able to answer, one must automatically assume that a false statement is true, thus making the question impossible to answer correctly. Does anyone else think this way, or am I just making a fool of myself here? VolatileChemical 01:14, 17 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

External links[edit]

There's a note in a comment in the External links section that says external links are being reviewed on the discussion page, but I didn't see anything about them so went ahead and added one. Hope no one minds. --Bookgrrl 04:55, 29 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hmmm, no discussion. Well, I'll propose something. I believe that links to single puzzles or collections of puzzles don't meet the requirements of Wikipedia:External links and propose that they all be deleted. There must be thousands on the web, and Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information. Notinasnaid 13:15, 18 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
- Hmm, I think that counts as a consensus of one. Ok I will go ahead. I will leave the DMOZ link; DMOZ should contain links to any and all notable sites collecting riddles. Notinasnaid 15:59, 1 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
  - Safe to say that DMOZ doesnt get updated even close to the frequency that it did before. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.5.190.201 (talk) 03:22, 26 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Removed a broken link. Added a new riddle website (Riddle Earth) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:181:C400:4C23:EC55:14AF:973D:20EE (talk) 14:30, 22 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Riddle with no answer[edit]

The riddle on this page "A similarly deceptive riddling contest features prominently in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, in which the protagonists win by asking the difference between a truck full of bowling balls and a truck full of woodchucks." doesn't offer the answer to the riddle, which is you can't use a pitchfork to unload the bowling balls. It seems sort of unfair on the reader to present the riddle but not answer it. While I know it is meant to be a trick riddle, because the answer is not at all obvious, but the riddle does have an answer and it seems to me that on a page about riddles that the answer should be put there. What do you guys think? JayKeaton 05:08, 17 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think the argument could equally made that it is unfair to people who haven't read the work to "spoil the surprise", especially in a context where they might not expect to read this. There is a lively debate about "spoilers" today, to which this relates. It also is already too long for the context, in my view, and might be better off removing the question too. Notinasnaid 05:12, 17 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Having reread it in the article, I no longer think it is too long for the context. So let me ask: is this a "big surprise" to the reader, a major plot element? I think that knowing this will better help editors participate in the discussion of this point. The great "spoiler" debate, by the way, is on Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Policies/Wikipedia:Spoiler warning. Notinasnaid 06:05, 17 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It does not spoil the surprise, as it is now saying that the lead character outwitted the villain with a riddle spoils it more than having the answer to that riddle. Most other riddles on this page also have the answers to them also. JayKeaton 12:03, 17 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Added, In other cultures[edit]

JoshuaCruzPhilippines 12:23, 12 August 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mjcruz (talk • contribs)

Prophecy and Sensus Plenior[edit]

Both prophecy and sensus plenior are types of riddles wherein the literal meaning is not the intended meaning, where the intended meaning is hidden in double entendre and pun and where the answer must be known to discern the riddle rather than being able to solve it from the information contained in the riddle. Do you want examples? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.70.15.234 (talk) 22:02, 25 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

In the Ancestry section there is a reference to a work by Athenaeus called "epitome." This is not correct. An epitome is an abridgment of a work, in this case of a book of the Deipnosophistae. It is not a title.72.152.230.174 (talk) 13:36, 21 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion[edit]

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:

The Riddler.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 00:06, 21 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]