# Riddle Me This

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 22, 1999, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154 "1999-10-22T14:47:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 17\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![leafrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@leafrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leafrog)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/1 "1999-10-22T14:47:00Z")

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Well, you all seem like a swell group of folks, so I wonder if you could help me out with something that has been bothering me for the past 10 years or so.

I was on the Green Tortoise (alternative bus service, mostly on the West Coast) and the group of people I was traveling with were feeling a bit loose (read: stoned) when we got into a riddle contest. One fellow presented a riddle which he said came from, IIRC, Plato. Problem is, the bugger didn’t bother to tell us the answer. Perhaps someone out there would be kind enough to provide an answer, or at least a well thought out clue?

It goes like this:

What I caught, I left behind.  
What I brought, I could not find.

I’m sure the answer is so blatent, it’s not even funny…

And while we’re on the subject, anybody know of any good riddles they would like to share?

thanks!

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**Author:** ![GregAtlanta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb9ed0/32.png) [@GregAtlanta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GregAtlanta)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/2 "1999-10-22T15:18:00Z")

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Fishing?  
(threw back the fish, but your bait is gone)  
– Greg, Atlanta

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**Author:** ![metroshane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@metroshane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metroshane)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/3 "1999-10-22T15:22:00Z")

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sounds like Time to me

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**Author:** ![Pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Pete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pete)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/4 "1999-10-22T16:26:00Z")

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Plato wrote in English?

Or is it just a coincidence that the translation rhymes and has a perfect meter?

* * *

I don’t know who first said “everyone’s a critic,” but I think it’s a really stupid saying.

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**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/5 "1999-10-22T18:03:00Z")

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Try this one:

"‘Let me tell you a riddle,’ Samson said to them. ‘If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.’  
‘Tell us your riddle,’ they said. ‘Let’s hear it.’

He replied, ‘Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.’ For three days they could not give the answer."  
(Judges 14:10-14)

Betcha didn’t know that Hebrew riddles translated into English with perfect rhyme and meter, did ya???

BTW, the answer is that Samson had killed a lion and found (and eaten) honey in its innards.

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**Author:** ![Arken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Arken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arken)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/6 "1999-10-22T21:46:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> BTW, the answer is that Samson had killed a lion and found (and eaten) honey in its innards.

Wow. And I was looking for the LEAST obvious answer. 😉

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**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/7 "1999-10-22T22:01:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> BTW, the answer is that Samson had killed a lion and found (and eaten) honey in its innards.

Yet another reason I find literal interpretations of the Bible to be unreliable; since when do lions eat honey? Must be some kind of allegory, no?

* * *

TT

“Believe those who seek the truth.  
Doubt those who find it.” --Andre Gide

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**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/8 "1999-10-22T22:58:00Z")

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\<imc src=“[http://members.theglobe.com/Sonic62/anigif/frogclr.gif](http://members.theglobe.com/Sonic62/anigif/frogclr.gif)” alt=“leapfrog”\>  
“What I caught, I left behind.  
What I brought, I could not find.”

\<imc src=“[http://members.theglobe.com/Sonic62/anigif/cowboy\_md\_clr.gif](http://members.theglobe.com/Sonic62/anigif/cowboy_md_clr.gif)” alt=“I reckon.”\>

I caught my breath when I got there. The breath I had when I got there I could not find.

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**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/9 "1999-10-22T23:00:00Z")

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\<img src=“[http://members.theglobe.com/Sonic62/anigif/frogclr.gif](http://members.theglobe.com/Sonic62/anigif/frogclr.gif)” alt=“leapfrog”\>  
“What I caught, I left behind.  
What I brought, I could not find.”

\<img src=“[http://members.theglobe.com/Sonic62/anigif/cowboy\_md\_clr.gif](http://members.theglobe.com/Sonic62/anigif/cowboy_md_clr.gif)” alt=“I reckon.”\>

I caught my breath when I got there. The breath I had when I got there I could not find.

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**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 1999, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/10 "1999-10-23T00:57:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Yet another reason I find literal interpretations of the Bible to be unreliable; since when do lions eat honey? Must be some kind of allegory, no?

No.

> [@](#):
>
> Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and he came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion roared against him; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion asunder as one tears a kid; and he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. And after a while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

The way it’s written seems to imply that the bees (and thus the honey) showed up between the time Samson killed the lion and the time he came back to check it out. Although why bees would take up residence in the dead lion’s body is beyond me.

* * *

Your Official Cat Goddess since 10/20/99.

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**Author:** ![leafrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@leafrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leafrog)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 1999, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/11 "1999-10-23T04:31:00Z")

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thanks, Phobia, that is the best answer I’ve heard so far, though I’ve always thought that good riddles were supposed to be quite obvious in the answer, and breath doesn’t quite flush it out.

Hmmm. Maybe it’s just not a good riddle.

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**Author:** ![ravenous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4491bb/32.png) [@ravenous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ravenous)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 1999, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/12 "1999-10-23T04:35:00Z")

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‘up’?

Caught up,  
bought up?

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**Author:** ![Jonathon\_David\_Palinor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@Jonathon\_David\_Palinor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathon_David_Palinor)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 1999, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/13 "1999-10-23T06:11:00Z")

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I’m not going to be much help, I’m afraid - the only answer I can come up with has to do with ones health - as in catching a contagious disease.

What I caught, (The illness)  
I left behind (I spread to others)  
What I brought (My health)  
I could not find. (For I was now ill, myself)

Is this an appropriate venue for other such riddles? I’ve a few in a similar vein, should anyone be interested.

* * *

\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>\>-(o)-\<\<\<\<\<\<\<\<\<\<\<\<\<\<\<

Life is a tapestry.  
Each new day brings with it the opportunity to sew by  
word and deed within the heart of someone around us.  
Let us choose our colors with care.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 1999, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/14 "1999-10-23T20:37:00Z")

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Are you sure you remember the riddle correctly? The version of Plato’s riddle I heard was:

What I caught, I left behind.  
What I _kept_, I could not find.

The answer is (GROSS OUT ALERT) fleas and lice.

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**Author:** ![White\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@White\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 1999, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/15 "1999-10-24T03:04:00Z")

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Here’s a good one from Mythology:

What walks on 4 feet in the morning, 2 feet at noon, and 3 feet in the evening?

For those of you who have read the story, please don’t post the answer right away. Let those who haven’t give it a guess.

* * *

**White Wolf**

“Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.”

“Half the world is composed of idiots, the other half of people clever enough to take indecent advantage of them.”

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**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 1999, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/16 "1999-10-24T04:10:00Z")

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To quote the Emo Phillips version:

The answer is a donkey, who in the morning has four legs, and in the afternoon you cut two of them off, and in the evening you glue one back on again!

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**Author:** ![leafrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@leafrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leafrog)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 1999, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riddle-me-this/4154/17 "1999-10-24T06:52:00Z")

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JDPalinor: hey…that works…  
But it looks like Mike King has a better grasp on the whole thing. I guess the riddle was told to me wrong (I wrote it in my journal at the time or would never have remembered it).

Thanks.

* * *

Make it fit.