hardmath

Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it, Five in the middle is seen; First of all figures, the first of all letters, Take up their stations between. Join all together, and then you will bring Before you the name of an eminent king.

DAVID (Roman numerals)

Why this works

This riddle cleverly uses Roman numerals and a bit of wordplay to lead you to the answer "DAVID." The phrase "five hundred" refers to the Roman numeral D, which represents 500, and it appears at both the beginning and the end of the word. The "five in the middle" is the Roman numeral V, which stands for 5. The "first of all figures" refers to the number 1, represented by the Roman numeral I, and "the first of all letters" refers to the letter A. When you combine these elements in the order indicated—D, A, V, I, D—you spell out the name of the famous king, David!

Common Wrong Answers

“Moses”

Moses does not fit the clues provided in the riddle; the riddle specifically leads to the letters D, A, V, I, D, rather than any other name.

“Solomon”

Although Solomon is also an eminent king, the riddle's clues specifically point to the name 'David' through the use of Roman numerals and letter positions, making 'Solomon' an incorrect answer.

“Goliath”

Goliath is a character associated with David but does not fit the riddle's structure or clues, which are designed to spell out 'David' instead.

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