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plural riddles
A verbal puzzle, mystery, or other problem of an intellectual nature. quotations examples
12 ¶ And Samson said vnto them, I will now put foorth a riddle vnto you: if you can certeinly declare it me, within the seuen dayes of the feast, and finde it out, then I will giue you thirtie sheetes, and thirtie change of garments:13 But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall yee giue me thirtie sheetes, and thirtie change of garments. And they said vnto him, Put foorth thy riddle, that we may heare it.14 And hee said vnto them, Out of the eater came foorth meate, aud out of the strong came foorth sweetnesse. And they could not in three dayes expound the riddle.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Judges 14:12–14
To wring from me and tell to them my ſecret, / That ſolv'd the riddle which I had propos'd.
1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […]”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J. M[acock] for John Starkey […], page 72
Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ "I never understood it," she observed, lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."
1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company
An ancient verbal, poetic, or literary form, in which, rather than a rhyme scheme, there are parallel opposing expressions with a hidden meaning. examples
third-person singular simple present riddles, present participle riddling, simple past and past participle riddled
To speak ambiguously or enigmatically. examples
(transitive) To solve, answer, or explicate a riddle or question. examples
A sieve with coarse meshes, usually of wire, for separating coarser materials from finer, as chaff from grain, cinders from ashes, or gravel from sand. examples
A board with a row of pins, set zigzag, between which wire is drawn to straighten it. examples
To put something through a riddle or sieve; to sieve; to sift. quotations examples
In its finest form – two years old or more – leaf mould can be riddled (sieved) and used, mixed 50/50 with sand, to make fine potting compost for seeds and cuttings.
2014 April 8, Helen Yemm, “Thorny problems: How can I revive a forsythia hedge? ”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening), London
To fill with holes like a riddle. quotations examples
Kalinin Bay is also in trouble, trading fire with Japanese destroyers and taking hits from both them and cruisers at the same time. Unlike the Gambier Bay, however, it does not appear that these ships have realized they need to switch to high explosive from armor-piercing, and, despite being riddled with shellfire, the ship stays afloat, despite this rather-unequal battering going on for another twenty to thirty minutes.
2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 29:08 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 3 November 2022
To fill or spread throughout; to pervade. examples
(obsolete) A curtain; bedcurtain.
(religious) One of the pair of curtains enclosing an altar on the north and south. examples
(transitive, obsolete) To plait.