Alright, first thread here. I am a bit of a riddle fanatic and have finally come across my match. I have banged my head for a couple weeks now and even searched the internet to no avail. Does anyone know the answer, or can anyone figure out the answer to this riddle?
**Man cannot live without my first,
By day and night 'tis used.
My second is by all accursed,
By day and night abused.
My whole is never seen by day
And never used at night.
'Tis dear to friends when far away
And hated when in sight.**
A little help might be in order here. In this type of riddle (apparently popular as a turn of the century parlor game) ‘my first’ refers to the first syllable, ‘my second’ to the second syllable, and ‘my whole’ to the final answer.
example:
My first is dark;
My second round:
My whole may mark
A hate profound.
The answer is blackball. Sometimes the parts don’t translate letter for letter to the final answer, but the sound generally does.
I have heard tell that this may be a ‘false riddle’, one created to sound like a real riddle, but with no answer. If anyone has heard of these please tell me.
Ah but that’s the thing “fly” is the second not the whole. The whole is (according to google) “firefly” and that must be the thing that fits the last verse so it doesn’t make sense.
Yeah, I of course googled before posting this and found the firefly answer. It is great for everything but the last two lines. I just wonder who in the world has ever been annoyed by, let alone hated, a firefly. And, it is only “dear to friends” when “in sight”, if not right in your face. If this is the answer it is a poor one and not nearly as eloquent as the riddle would have me expect.
