mediumlogic

Illustration for riddle: What is a word made up of 4 letters, yet is also made up of 3. Sometimes is written with 9 letters, — Can you figure out this riddle?

What is a word made up of 4 letters, yet is also made up of 3. Sometimes is written with 9 letters, and then with 4. Rarely consists of 6, and never is written with 5.

Correct, the word 'what' has 4 letters in it, 'yet' has three, 'sometimes' has 9, 'then' has 4, 'rarely' has 6, and 'never' has 5.

Why this works

This riddle cleverly plays with the structure of language and the meanings of the words. Each phrase points to the actual count of letters in specific words rather than asking a question about their meanings. For example, "a word made up of 4 letters" refers to the word "what," which indeed has four letters, while "made up of 3" refers to "yet," which has three letters. The trick lies in interpreting the phrases literally and recognizing that they are statements about the words themselves, rather than a question about a single elusive word.

Common Wrong Answers

“Words”

The riddle specifically refers to the word 'what' and its characteristics, not to the general concept of words.

“Letters”

While the riddle involves letters, 'letters' is not the answer since it doesn't satisfy the criteria laid out in the riddle.

“Correct”

Although 'correct' is part of the provided answer, it doesn't fulfill the riddle's requirement of describing a single word and its letter count.

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