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I knew George Michael liked pickles, but I have never heard him cover Lady Marmalade. Back in the '70s (when the song was popular), Labelle was the group I remember covering the music and making it their own. In this video LaBelle - Lady Marmalade (1975), the girls appear to be decked out as exotic birds, although the girl in black reminds me more of one of those black goldfish with the bulging eyes than a bird. The medals stuck on her head look like scales for some reason.

Narv, you have hit on something in line 3.

House Riddle

Drifa wrote: ↑Sat Mar 26, 2022 9:15 am Middle-earth Related

It I started with a positive
outcome and an unlockable lock.
I was the first of the first to hatch,
then there was one other;
a symbolic red patch.
Long it lasted till finally, alas, I was
the last of the last.
Who am I?

Does anyone have a riddle to challenge us and pass the lazy summer days?

@Afird Splitax positive, unlockable, first, hatch, another, red patch

I am lost, I think it has been too long

Greetings, @Periantar! Yes, it has been a while. That riddle became the house riddle sometime back. Please feel free to post a new one and motivate us again. Welcome back!

Okay, I stink at riddles, so here's one I made up whilst puffing my pipe by the front porch of my most well appointed hobbit hole. Not specifically Middle-Earth mind you...
"We're there when someone says "Goodbye."
We're there when you see the wind.
We're there when you read a book.
What are we? Head outside and have a look..."

@Periantar, good riddle!
I have no clue but will keep thinking...
In the meanwhile, keep the dwarf squirming! And do not give up the answer without an equal return - the dwarf knows the answer to the house riddle, but will not tell.

He is going to have to do more than simply squirm, and act all, short and beardy, not even so much as a guess from him and he's already fallen over!

The trouble is, while I can now watch the dwarft stumble and fall the riddle has now got into my brain too. I have avoided this thread of late because this is what tends to happen. The riddle is very difficult to get a handle on. I keep thinking...

@Chrysophylax Dives
Maybe you could head outside with the riddle.

Out of curiosity, what time zone would you be in - simply as I've noticed you're actually on here around the same time as me?

It is now 8.30 am in the morning. I live in Israel.

Yeah, I guessed that the last line is sort of the clue to the whole - but so far that has not helped!

Ahh, totally different time zone. Australia here. Good luck with the riddle

It is now 8.30 pm, my time.

Eyes?

Ohh, I definitely *see* what you're thinking, but nope, not eyes...

hoi @Afird Splitax! You not even going to try one guess?
Grumbles about decadent Dwarves

Periantar looks across the floor, removes the gently smoking pipe from between his lips and eyes the sprawled dwarf suspiciously.
"You see @Chrysophylax Dives , here we have the perfect example of the problem with dwarves these days;
if that tangle of fuzz there
on @Afird Splitax 's chin
were, rather, atop his toes,
and the axe in his hand
were, rather, po-tay-toes
were that chin, rather, bare -
no fur tickling his nose -
he might even guess and win

My good Hobbit, the Dwarf has gone on holiday! Skulking on some Dwarvish thread with other bearded ones, while they send you alone in to the Riddle thread, one tiny Hobbit. Bless me! Had you never thought of the catch?

Why are my ears burning? What's the plot? I would rather have hair on my chin than hair on my toes! Or, for that matter, scales on my nose! Hmff!
But honestly, after I fell from lifting the game, I dashed off hurriedly (we dwarves can go very fast when the need strikes), for I had an important event to attend. You see...

When one of my relatives leaves, I must say goodbye.
So I was dashing to find him, Rumbob, beneath a holly tree with its leaves blowing in the wind.
The wind also blew his travel book's pages/leaves , making it hard to jot down a final farewell. But I managed.
And again, as we stood outside, a mighty gust blew more leaves down and all around. They were even tumbling down the trail my cousin set off on. It seemed like a fitting farewell. Leaves are jolly when one is outside, dancing in the trees and the wind and just hanging around.

Leaves would be my guess. Am I correct?

Afird Splitax wrote: ↑Tue Aug 08, 2023 6:52 pm Leaves would be my guess. Am I correct?

How do you do it, Dwarf?

@Drifa
*bows low*

Well guessed my good dwarf;
"Periantar at your service, *bows lower,* at yours and your family's."

I've tried to remember my manners.

Afird Splitax wrote: ↑Sun Apr 24, 2022 6:58 pm Hm, thanks, Eldy! The seventh line gave it away!

Non-Middle-earth/Tolkien-related.

Golden Arbry and Marmalade Geroge.
Dead as doornails lay upon the boards.
Their vessel lays shattered, splintered and sharded.
Swords of emerald green lay useless, discarded.
Slippery is the deck; pooled, puddled and wet.
Oh, what is the cause of such a terrible mysterious death?

@Afird Splitax Has this one been resolved?
I'm going with a lawn mower - swords of emerald green are "blades" of grass

I do not know, Dragon. It's a knack, I guess. Thank you, young Periantar! That was a good riddle.

No, that riddle has not been solved. And no, it is not a lawnmower. Here are some clues.

Afird Splitax wrote: ↑Thu May 05, 2022 9:46 am Hahaha, nice! Okay, here is a hint. The deceased are not pirates.

Afird Splitax wrote: ↑Mon Oct 24, 2022 9:46 am No, not the Jedi! Not all swords are made of metal.

And here is Narv's attempt at solving it: viewtopic.php?p=58460#p58460.
And my response: viewtopic.php?p=58525#p58525.

Have another go! Good luck!

You Your guess "blades" of grass hit extremely close to the mark for that line of the riddle.

@Afird Splitax
I know I may be a little nature obsessed here, but I'm now thinking either Winter or Autumn, with the blades being fallen leaves, the deck being the wet ground (hence for Winter) and the Golden Arbry being a mis-spelling of Arbory

i am such an amateur on this thread - but @Periantar, i think you are on to something with the seasons!

Their vessel lays shattered, splintered and sharded.

Is that like the fruit or nut in which seeds are contained? Is the first line pointing at apples and oranges?

@Chrysophylax Dives
Could be chopped up and lying on a chopping board???

@Periantar, yeah, or maybe being squeezed for juice. but its a bit odd because though one could say the fruit is dead that hardly goes for the pips...

(If you work this one out please have a go at the other unsolved one. It is lodged deep in my brain and i would like to know the answer before the end of my days.)

@Chrysophylax Dives
Haha, I will, but catching on after 17 pages of discussion is hard, I can't figure out what the other unsolved one is. One at a time for me.

No, it has nothing to do with Seasons, fruits or juice,

I believe this is the riddle that Chrysophylax Dives is speaking of:
House Riddle

Drifa wrote: ↑Sat Mar 26, 2022 9:15 am Middle-earth Related

It I started with a positive
outcome and an unlockable lock.
I was the first of the first to hatch,
then there was one other;
a symbolic red patch.
Long it lasted till finally, alas, I was
the last of the last.
Who am I?

Drifa wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:55 am No correct answer so far. Here are some clues.

Not a creature.

Drifa wrote: ↑Tue Mar 29, 2022 9:35 pm No, Fëanor, biologically, was an only child.

Chrysophylax Dives wrote: ↑Sat Apr 02, 2022 7:05 am so here is my thinking at the moment. based on the 'clues' in my own words, we are looking at one person who has two names.

Do not search for the answer in the Years of the Trees, First Age or Second Age.

Try again.

Chrysophylax Dives wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 4:53 am

Drifa wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 11:14 pm What is meant by two names is that it could be two first, two middle or two last names. My apologies for any confusion.

You have dropped buckets of confusion on our heads for days and days and days!


This person is not a creature. This person is not an only child. This person is not from the Years of the Trees, First Age or Second Age. This person has two names.

I hope this is less confusing. If I give a broader hint on the last clue, I may as well tell you the answer. You are all on the right track, by the Shire!!!
Now try again!

Afird Splitax wrote: ↑Mon Apr 11, 2022 10:24 am No correct answers.

It is a hobbit. That is a pretty broad hint, eh?

Don't all of us start with a positive outcome?

Think of it metaphorically.

Afird Splitax wrote: ↑Sat Aug 12, 2023 7:00 pm Think of it metaphorically.

I dunno. The positive outcome by which we literally are begun and a metaphorical unlockable lock were leading me into whole new regions with this riddle, unchartered waters, not for the ears of children. Given that I have a snowballs chance in hell of ever working this riddle out for myself, I'll remain with my literal reading of positive outcomes for the time being, thank you.

@Afird Splitax

Can we have some clarification please, "arbry," doesn't seem to be a word, so not sure of any meaning on that line, and likewise, "geroge," seems not to be a word.

Cheers.

This hint does not help you with that line, @Periantar?

Afird Splitax wrote: ↑Thu May 05, 2022 9:46 am Hahaha, nice! Okay, here is a hint. The deceased are not pirates.

This is just an example, but Balbo, Bungo, etc. are words without any meaning.

Periantar wrote: ↑Sun Aug 13, 2023 5:31 am Can we have some clarification please, "arbry," doesn't seem to be a word, so not sure of any meaning on that line, and likewise, "geroge," seems not to be a word.

Arbry and Geroge = anagram for Orange and Berry?

No. They are not anagrams. They are names.

This thread should not be in the Shire. It is Mordor.

Afird Splitax wrote: ↑Sun Aug 13, 2023 1:24 pm Balbo, Bungo, etc. are words without any meaning.

More Dwarvish confusion dropped on our innocent heads! The word 'Bungo' means the person who is Bungo. This is proved by the wizard in The Hobbit:

I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me!

Arbry and Geroge are invented names, just like Tolkien invented Bungo.

Dwarf, this conversation is going nowhere fast. How about you tell us the answer to one of the two riddles?

Hahaha, congratulations, @Chrysophylax Dives! You look good in feathers.

Listen; obviously, Golden Arbry and Marmalade Geroge are the names of the deceased. I have already stated that they are not pirates. What other creature would die under these circumstances, including water, grass, shards and splinters? Come on! It's on the tip of your tongue now; I know it!!

i didn't look like that when i posted! i feel i have been caught changing dress.

when you put it like that, the deceased are goldfish whose bowl dropped on the floor. but i don't get the grass swords.

Well done, Thrush! It is two goldfish whose bowl shattered, and thus, they perished.

Afird Splitax wrote: ↑Thu Aug 10, 2023 11:30 am Your guess "blades" of grass hit extremely close to the mark for that line of the riddle.

I did not say it was grass swords but that the young hobbit was close. Some plants go in fish bowls and aquariums that are called sword plants (Amazon Swords is an example)

Your up! Tweet Tweet!

The emerald swords i get, but the 'deceased are not pirates' hint is a classic of Dwarvish dissimulation! Despite telling myself I would not get caught in this Riddle Thread, here I am again. I have to pen a Guide to Stairs installment and then I will spend hours devising a riddle, which you will no doubt answer without scratching your head.

Edit. Actually, it was the 'not pirates' that gave me the answer, though i am not sure how. I find riddles fascinating and, all my grumbling aside, am in awe of your riddling mind. One question, though, how was this riddle 'Tolkien-related'?

@Chrysophylax Dives , he actually said that this one was not M E related.

I'm amazed that you guessed goldfish simply becasue Afird said they were names, my immediate response was simply, "What? We were supposed to know that they were names?" Of course, they were capitalised, so it should've been painfully obvious. Still don't get the jump to goldfish though.

@Periantar, i'm also a bit mystified how i got the goldfish. It happened directly after i assumed this new Thrush icon, so i put it down to a magical burst of Admin power - maybe i even channelled the Lady of the Lake? In any case, it was not enough to get the other one...

What to do, young Hobbit? I could pose a new riddle, but I'd rather the unlockable lock with the symbolic red patch is sorted out. What do you say to keeping the house riddle the riddle of the thread till someone answers it?

So, here we go, according to the hints, (I prefer to think of them as thinly vailed Dwarvish "kindnesses"); it is a hobbit we seek, he/she has two names, he/she must be from the Third or Fourth Age, not an only child (but does this mean only one other sibling?).

It I started with a positive
outcome and an unlockable lock.
I was the first of the first to hatch,
then there was one other;
a symbolic red patch.
Long it lasted till finally, alas, I was
the last of the last.
Who am I?
[/quote]

@Drifa and @Chrysophylax Dives
I'm going all in here, I'm Going with Falco Chubb-Baggins... Hear me out!

• first Chubb-Baggins to be born

• he "hatched" because his name means "falcon"

• "then there was one other" when he got married (to a wife that remains unnamed) they had a daughter named Poppy

• As Poppy's mother was unnamed, Poppy was technically the second Chubb-Baggins to exist/be born

• Poppies are often worn as a "symbolic red batch (or badge/button)

• As Poppy married, her sirname changed, making Falco the first and the last "Chubb-Baggins!

Dah! If I'm not right with all of this, I guess I'll just have to go and farm some taters!

@Periantar, you are a Hobbit after my own heart!
Not least because I too am convinced that a Chubb is invoked! (See my visual attempts to solve the Dwarvish torture here - scroll down to Mad Adamanta Mushroom, who was born from this riddle). However, the Dwarf somewhere said that Fuin Elda was on the right track...

Romeran wrote: ↑Wed Apr 20, 2022 2:11 am

Fuin Elda wrote: ↑Tue Apr 19, 2022 5:06 pm Yes Drifa 3 weeks 8m afraid is nothing lol

My first thought on drifas is unlockable lock may not be a Tolkien reference... In Canada and the US that is what a brand of lock calls itself... That brand being Master so that's where I will be looking for hints later when I'm not getting ready for work

@Chrysophylax
Hmm, personally, this hobbit is of the opinion that while the specific desired answer may not have been given, the requirements of the riddle have, even the unlockable lock being a possible reference to marriage (wedlock).

I do hope @Drifa sees it my way. Hehe