11
$\begingroup$

Identify each country in the following list, and then work out what they all have in common.

  • A little piece of Europe by a newly discovered island.
  • An Arab state with power beyond its size.
  • A former colony that waves a rifle proudly.
  • A nation wracked by war, which sounds much like its neighbour.
  • With 3 official languages, its name betrays its location.

Once you've found them all and their common property, what is the name of the man I've omitted from the list?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
11
$\begingroup$

A little piece of Europe by a newly discovered island.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon – is a French collectivité d'outre mer, a French overseas territory near Newfoundland.

An Arab state with power beyond its size.

Qatar – is only a small state, but it has the highest per capita income in the world.

A former colony that waves a rifle proudly.

Mozambique – was a Portuguese colony until 1975 and has an AK-47 with bayonet in its flag.

A nation wracked by war, which sounds much like its neighbour.

Iraq – sounds a bit like Iran, its neighbour to the east.

With 3 official languages, its name betrays its location.

Equatorial Guinea – has the official languages French, Spanish and Portuguese and, despite its name, has no territory on the equator. (The southern border of the mainland is at 1°N; the island province Annobón lies completely south of the equator.)

The common property is that ...

... they all have a Q in their (English) name.

Working from the list of countries with a country code, the last one should be Martinique, a French département d'outre-mer. That would make the man omitted from the list someone named Martin.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
10
  • $\begingroup$ Good job! (Re #3: they do sound almost the same in my accent at least. Would you pronounce the "a" differently in the two names?) $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Dec 11, 2016 at 15:38
  • $\begingroup$ No, but I think that the pronounced ending letter is distinctive enough. But I'm wrog, too: The q with its descender doesn't look anything like an n. Let's agree on: The have an edit distance of 1. :) $\endgroup$
    – M Oehm
    Dec 11, 2016 at 15:40
  • $\begingroup$ This is almost right, but wouldn't it make more sense after swapping round the last two countries you found? You should get an aha moment at some point with "newly discovered island" ... $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Dec 11, 2016 at 16:03
  • $\begingroup$ I had thought about that, but with your gentle nudge I think I've now got my aha moment. I didn't need to go to the List of nes islands after all. But I thought that "part of Europe" worked better with the DOM Martinique. $\endgroup$
    – M Oehm
    Dec 11, 2016 at 16:07
  • $\begingroup$ Yep, Martin Ique was the intended final answer. Nicely done! $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Dec 11, 2016 at 16:25
2
$\begingroup$

PARTIAL ANSWER: No.2

Saudi Arabia?

No.4:

Iraq (Sounds like its neighbour Iran)

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ #4 is correct, #2 isn't. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Dec 11, 2016 at 15:32

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.