# This riddle is driving me crazy. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 4, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917 "2009-07-04T19:08:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dying\_Butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dying\_Butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dying_Butterfly)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/1 "2009-07-04T19:08:12Z")
4 C in an E R I can’t see the letters E R together and not think emergency room. It’s going to be embarrassingly simple, I just know it. :smack: Help? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/2 "2009-07-04T19:23:08Z")
Four Corners in an Equilateral Rectangle? (eg, a square) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/3 "2009-07-04T19:31:34Z")
Oh, yeah, these things _always_ have a solution. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/4 "2009-07-04T19:59:59Z")
Oh nooooooooooooo! ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/5 "2009-07-04T20:22:13Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Four Corners in an Equilateral Rectangle? (eg, a square) Aren’t there 4 corners in EVERY rectangle, equilateral or not? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/6 "2009-07-04T21:17:13Z")
4 cows in an everlasting rodeo So simple … ---
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/7 "2009-07-04T21:25:38Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Aren’t there 4 corners in EVERY rectangle, equilateral or not? Usually, yes. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/8 "2009-07-04T21:39:45Z")
4 corpses in the East River. ---
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/9 "2009-07-04T21:44:16Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > 4 corpses in the East River. That’s hilarious\* \*not where I live “green river killer” and all. ---
**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:** [July 4, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/10 "2009-07-04T21:45:48Z")
4 C in an E R Force in an ear Answer = Sound (My best guess.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/11 "2009-07-04T21:47:01Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Aren’t there 4 corners in EVERY rectangle, equilateral or not? Well, there you go. **4** **C** orners **in \*\*\*\*E** very **R** ectangle. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/12 "2009-07-04T21:58:26Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Well, there you go. **4** **C** orners **in \*\*\*\*E** very **R** ectangle. but it’s 4 C in an E R ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/13 "2009-07-04T21:59:27Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Oh nooooooooooooo! Yeah, I know. I started twitching when I read the OP… ETA: sorry for the double post! ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/14 "2009-07-04T23:06:33Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > but it’s 4 C in an E R So it could be “4 Corners in an English Rectangle”… “4 Corners in an Ethiopian Rectangle”… Etc. "But not “European Rectangle”, because that would be modified by “a”, not “an”. ---
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/15 "2009-07-04T23:17:00Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > So it could be “4 Corners in an English Rectangle”… > > “4 Corners in an Ethiopian Rectangle”… > > Etc. > > "But not “European Rectangle”, because that would be modified by “a”, not “an”. Only if one follows the convention that the y-sound is a consonant. You know, the majority of the English-speaking world. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/16 "2009-07-04T23:23:33Z")
The “an” is what makes it not work, otherwise I would suggest: “four season a year”. I’m still partial to some version of " 4 C" = “foresees” or “4 C in” = “four season”. But what do I know? ---
**Author:** ![Jerseyman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Jerseyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerseyman)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/17 "2009-07-04T23:25:42Z")
In this kind of puzzle, letters are genuine initials: no clever txt spk 4 u ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/18 "2009-07-05T00:19:45Z")
A few possibilities off the top of my head: 4 cabbages in an Ecuadorian romance 4 corpuscles in an effervescent reaction 4 cantilevers in an equestrian racetrack 4 capacitors in an electrical robot 4 cranberries in an Elvish royalist 4 counter-revolutionaries in an extremist revolution 4 catapults in an English rodeo 4 Catholics in an ergotamine ravioli 4 corythosauruses in an ethereal rurality ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/19 "2009-07-05T00:29:15Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > but it’s 4 C in an E R Any chance you or someone else stuck an extraneous “an” in there by mistake, **Dying Butterfly**? That would change things. Heck, there could even be four changes in an easy riddle. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917/20 "2009-07-05T02:43:47Z")
14 karets of Gold in a Five Pound Diadem [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-riddle-is-driving-me-crazy/501917.md?page=2)