Brain Teasers
A Shifty Riddle
It is a rainy spring day in Cipher, South Decoder. Unable to play baseball, or even whitewash a fence, Tim and Hank are creating riddles. Tim offers one called "A Shifty Riddle" for Hank to solve.
After a quick glance, Hank exclaimed, "You encrypted it!"
"Yes, that's part of the riddle," replied Tim. "But you can handle it," he said encouragingly.
Hank took a closer look. "OK, you're right, this looks fairly easy," mused Hank. "I'm guessing from the title that it's a Caesar Shift. I see a single letter word of 'g', so it probably has a shift of 6."
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Hank had deciphered the entire riddle.
~~~~~~~~~~
One less than from place to place
One changed from a saucy base
One more than an ending play
Or a groove or to decay
An overwhelming victory
By one so brave and strong, you see
Shift again, what do you see?
~~~~~~~~~~
"This looks interesting," said Hank. "A shame it's not a limerick though."
Tim laughed. "At least it's not a haiku!"
Can you help Hank solve the shifty riddle?
After a quick glance, Hank exclaimed, "You encrypted it!"
"Yes, that's part of the riddle," replied Tim. "But you can handle it," he said encouragingly.
Hank took a closer look. "OK, you're right, this looks fairly easy," mused Hank. "I'm guessing from the title that it's a Caesar Shift. I see a single letter word of 'g', so it probably has a shift of 6."
Sure enough, a few minutes later, Hank had deciphered the entire riddle.
~~~~~~~~~~
One less than from place to place
One changed from a saucy base
One more than an ending play
Or a groove or to decay
An overwhelming victory
By one so brave and strong, you see
Shift again, what do you see?
~~~~~~~~~~
"This looks interesting," said Hank. "A shame it's not a limerick though."
Tim laughed. "At least it's not a haiku!"
Can you help Hank solve the shifty riddle?
Answer
After some thought, Hank smiled a dazzling smile that brightened the gloomy day."An overwhelming victory is a ROUT," he said. "ROUT is one letter shorter than ROUTE - the path from place to place. Change one letter in ROUT to get ROUX, a mixture of flour and butter used to make gravy and other sauces. ROUT is also one one letter longer than OUT, RUT, or ROT, which are an ending play in baseball, a groove, and a synonym for decay, respectively."
Tim grinned his most mischievous grin, but Hank wasn't finished yet.
"ROUT is not the final answer, though," Hank continued. "ROUT has to be shifted again, using the same Caesar shift of 6. That makes the answer LION, an animal that is brave and strong,"
Tim congratulated Hank on solving his riddle, and the boys decided to watch "The Lion King" again.
Hide Answer Show Answer
What Next?
View a Similar Brain Teaser...
If you become a registered user you can vote on this riddle, keep track of which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
Solve a Puzzle
Comments hidden to avoid spoilers.
Follow Braingle!