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riddle
ah, now that's interesting. I had never thought about that before.
from Webster's 1828:
RID'DLE, n. [See Cradle.]
An instrument for cleaning grain, being a large sieve with a perforated button, which permits the grain to pass through it, but retains the chaff.
RID'DLE, v.t. To separate, as grain from the chaff with a riddle; as, to riddle wheat. [Note. The machines now used have nearly superseded the riddle.]
RID'DLE, n. [See Read.]
1. An enigma; something proposed for conjecture, or that is to be solved by conjecture; a puzzling question; an ambiguous proposition. Judges 14.
2. Any thing ambiguous or puzzling.
RID'DLE, v.t. To solve; to explain; but we generally use unriddle, which is more proper.
Riddle me this, and guess him if you can.
RID'DLE, v.i. To speak ambiguously, obscurely or enigmatically.
and from the Oxford Paperback:
riddle2
/"rd()l/ verb (-ling) 1 (usually + with) make many holes in, esp. with gunshot. 2 (in passive) fill, permeate. 3 pass through riddle. noun coarse sieve.
·verb 1honeycomb, pepper, perforate, pierce, puncture. 3filter, screen, sieve, sift, strain. noun filter, screen, sieve.
formerly known as etaoin...
Entire Thread Subject Posted By Posted bolted wwh 07/12/03 08:39 PM Re: bolted Buffalo Shrdlu 07/12/03 09:14 PM Re: bolted wwh 07/12/03 10:23 PM Re: bolted Buffalo Shrdlu 07/13/03 01:50 AM
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