2 路 December 29th
A moth ate rhymes — wolfed words!
It seemed a strange fate — that a worm,
A thief in the dark, should so swallow,
The songs of the people, their dreams of glory,
Their sure stronghold. That thief-guest
Was not a whit wiser for word-swallowing.
What is it?
Ignorance
Ignorance certainly is one abstract answer for this riddle. Great thinking, Trish. For the traditional answer, think of something physical and tangible and also ignorant of the book’s content.
Mold? But I think also of ignorance; the burning of Alexandria, the sacking of Rome, the censure of art and literature, etc.
You’ll see another Mold from Degan below. I think Mold is a legitimate answer.
Gosh this one seems so easy I’m almost afraid to put up my guess. But it has to be a bookworn. I’m pretty sure there really are such creatures though I have no idea why they eat paper (and ink). It can’t have much food value!
Ancient bookworms ate tasty vellum or sheepskin…
I, too, am thinking bookworm…
Another for Book Worm.
I too am thinking paper that would be more tasty – you would know since Shakespeare’s Folios were printed on that kind of paper.
Time.
Time is a good thinking answer, Richard. Traditional answer needs to be physical/actual/tangible/touchable (only if you wanted to).
In that case, Chuck, I will join Jim, Mary, and Kathleen in saying the answer is a bookworm.
A moth ate a myth. Or as Inspector Clouseau might say, “A myth ate a myth.”
Bookworm
Four for Bookworm.
You, Shirley, are applying your expertise on these matters.
I did consider Armado and Moth, but figured you only would get the reference. 馃榾
Yes to Shakespeare’s Moth, a wordmaster. Also in MSND – Titania’s fairies include Moth (with Peasblossom, Mustardseed, Cobweb) … but we digress.
I鈥檓 with Jim, above. Bookworm – or, more specifically, larvae of beetle, moth, or cockroach (who enters there?). 馃槉
Another teacher/poet for Book Worm.
Two points for the Hamlet reference, Kate.
Self Doubt.
Love the moth on the mirror. What beautiful design.
Self-doubt is a great line of thought. Be sure the answer to this riddle is a physical thing.
How about an eraser big brother
This is a good answer, and works, like Ian and Degan offering Mold. All three don’t take “moth” into consideration, but otherwise the answer works. The answer also made me laugh.
Foxing
Mold or Mildew
You’ll see another Mold from Ian above. I think Mold is a legitimate answer.
Foxing is caused by mold. See my guess from yesterday.
I looked up “foxing”: The term ‘foxing’ describes disfiguring small yellow brown spots or blotches on paper. Two main causes are mould and iron contaminants in the paper. … Damp conditions encourage mould growth, and will cause iron contaminants to rust.
Foxing happens in Costa Rica.
Thanks, Jane – new word for me.
I also would say bookworm
The riddle clues led you to this answer. Many others playing are thinking the same. Thanks for joining the game, Mary.
I also guess one of those nasty creepy crawly slimy worms that eats what we care about, be it paper or clothing or our dry goods.
I worry about those creepy worms eating our kilts in Colorado, cedar closet and tight bags not-with-standing.
Sesquipedalian answers: Anobium punctatum, or bibliophage
ses路qui路pe路da路li路an /藢seskw蓹p蓹藞d膩ly蓹n/: characterized by long words; long-winded.
“the sesquipedalian prose of scientific journals”
bibliophage in American English (藞b瑟bli蓹藢feid蕭) an ardent reader; a bookworm.
If the covers to the book are wooden it could be subject to an attack from this common wood boring Anobium Punctatum. Thanks for creating a puzzle within this game, David.
Bibliomaniac
Saxon riddles are usually very misleading, but Bookworm fits this beautifully. It seems a worryingly obvious answer! (I have many foxed books, but none with bookworm holes)
Gillian, how good to hear your comments all the way from England. Here in Costa Rica the first and continuous problem is mold.