I'm known as single or as double
Be it in head or mind or eye.
For some I cause enough of trouble
That they will force me to comply.
But even if I'm weak or near
Up to an imperfect extent
Once i show up i need not fear
You expect to find me at the end.
Now I've related you my tail
What is the name by which I hail?
Hint:
I often live close to the fringe
If I am broken you may cringe.
Additional hint:
I stand out most when I'm perfected
But even slanted I'm detected.
I can't figure out how to fit this guess to all the clues but I think you are a
Quotation mark or apostrophe
I'm known as single or as double, be it in head or mind or eye.
Quotes can be single ' or double "
For some I cause enough of trouble that they will force me to comply.
There are multiple schools of thought for how to handle punctuation around quotation marks. Trailing period in or out? What if it wasn't in the original quoted text? Different punctuation in original text and your sentence? Oh, the horrors!
But even if I'm weak or near, up to an imperfect extent
(This is the one I can't nail down.) Are there weak quotations?
Once i show up i need not fear, you expect to find me at the end.
Once you come across an opening quotation mark, you can expect to find another one at the end of the quote.
Now I've related you my tail, what is the name by which I hail?
I'm assuming that "tail" was an intentional pun as the marks have tails. The tails aren't obvious on all fonts but they're there
I think the answer is
vision
I'm known as single or double
Not sure I've seen too many references to "single vision" except that it would be the natural antonym to "double vision".
Be it in head or mind or eye.
One can refer to vision as what one sees with the eye or what one sees with the mind (or head) when reading a book or making plans for the future.
For some I cause enough of trouble / That they will force me to comply.
Many people wear glasses or contacts to "correct" their vision. Some people, frustrated with another person's vision of the future (or lack thereof), will try to redirect it or obstruct it.
But even if I'm weak or near / Up to an imperfect extent
The "weaker" the vision, the closer one comes to blindness. "Near" probably refers to near-sightedness, whether dealing with physical vision or a lack of long-term planning.
Once I show up I need not fear / You expect to find me at the end.
This could actually be a reference to prophecy.
I'm known as single or as double
can be single or double precision in binary for computers
For some I cause enough of trouble
not everyone understands floating point notation
That they will force me to comply.
can always convert to another type of number representation
But even if I'm weak or near
given the the usually representation of the word "or" to mean contrasting: either "weak" has to mean "far" or "near" has to mean "strong". (or both). I'll assume the former and say that it refers to how close or far the notation is from the significand number depending on how large the number is when you normalize it.
Up to an imperfect extent
extent meaning end, the significand has no exact ending until it is determined by the exponent of the base
Once i show up i need not fear
as long as the notation for the format is there the number is precise
You expect to find me at the end.
notation is found at the end of the number
Now I've related you my tail
tail meaning end not story, so same logic as for above
What is the name by which i hail?
floating point notation
You are a
rhyme
I'm known as single or as double
Monorhyme and Double Rhyme
Be it in head or mind or eye.
Rhymes can be Sight Rhymes
For some I cause enough of trouble That they will force me to comply.
When writing poetry you can force the writing to get a rhyme
But even if I'm weak or near
Weak and Near Rhyme
Up to an imperfect extent
Imperfect Rhyme
Once i show up i need not fear You expect to find me at the end.
Rhymes appear at end of lines
Now I've related you my tail What is the name by which I hail?
Hint:
I often live close to the fringe If I am broken you may cringe.
Broken rhyme will make reader cringe
Additional hint:
I stand out most when I'm perfected
Perfect rhyme
But even slanted I'm detected.
Slant rhyme
My answer is:
Spectacle Lens
I'm known as single or as double
Single lens for only reading or far or lens with both
Be it in head or mind or eye.
While relaxing sometimes you slide specs (and thus lenses) up to your head
For some I cause enough of trouble
They often forget, break, power changed
That they will force me to comply.
You must find it (if forgotten), get a new (if broken or power changed)
But even if I'm weak or near
weak power, near power
Up to an imperfect extent
It may not be perfect match sometimes
Once i show up i need not fear
Not sure about this clue
You expect to find me at the end.
When you get old, you get lens (end means end of life)
Now I've related you my tail
spectangle tongs, that fit on year and relates with you
What is the name by which I hail?
Lens of spectacles
It could be a
Bed
I'm known as single or as double
Beds can be both single or double, depending on their size.
Be it in head or mind or eye.
This is hard to fit, maybe your mind can be "sleeping"?
For some I cause enough of trouble
Some people have insomnia or other sleeping problems.
That they will force me to comply.
Those people usually buy special beds or pillows.
But even if I'm weak or near Up to an imperfect extent
Not all beds are perfect, eheh
Once i show up i need not fear You expect to find me at the end.
The end of your day, of course!
Now I've related you my tail What is the name by which I hail?
Bed
I often live close to the fringe
Near the wall, usually
If I am broken you may cringe.
It's never good if a bed breaks!
I stand out most when I'm perfected But even slanted I'm detected.
A slanting bed can be seen without problems.
I think the answer is
Shots
I'm known as single or as double
or in some dodgey bars as quads
Be it in head or mind or eye.
HeadSHOT and EyeSHOT are self explanatory. MindSHOT is less often used but can mean forgetfulness especially after alcohol.
For some I cause enough of trouble
Classic alcohol
That they will force me to comply.
So many laws govern it
But even if I'm weak or near Up to an imperfect extent Once i show up i need not fear
Alcohol increases confidence, even though in an imperfect way. Even weak people seem to think that they are strong when drunk. Also, alcohol which is weak or cheap or plain crap will still get drunk by someone. When I'm near is often used to refer to romance or lust, which are often entwined with alcohol.
You expect to find me at the end.
You don't generally start off the night on shots.
I don't actually expect this is the answer but it's what popped into my head.
Am I
Eye-Brow
I'm known as single or as double
It can be single: Uni-Brow and or double
Be it in head or mind or eye.
It sure lies on head and called eye-brows. (whats with mind.. help?)
For some I cause enough of trouble
when it's growth is not proper, its a trouble for them
That they will force me to comply.
they get it corrected medically or adjusted at a saloon
But even if I'm weak or near
related to muscles? not sure on this
Up to an imperfect extent
can be longer than normal length
Once i show up i need not fear
raised eye brows
You expect to find me at the end.
we tend to check other facial characters but brows in the end ?
Now I've related you my tail
brows have tail
What is the name by which I hail?
Eye brows
HINT 1:
I often live close to the fringe If I am broken you may cringe
fringe is on front forehead , very close to eye brow yep , if broken , person doesn't feel good about it
ADDITIONAL HINT:
I stand out most when I'm perfected But even slanted I'm detected.
damn right, It stands out when perfect , if there's even a slight mismatch .. you can easily detect it
I think you're a
coin
I'm known as single or as double
there's an expression: "two sides of the same coin"
Be it in head or mind or eye.
"a penny for your thoughts" is another expression
For some I cause enough of trouble
"money is the root of all evil"
That they will force me to comply.
people try to use money to solve their problems? still working on this one
But even if I'm weak or near
Up to an imperfect extent
still puzzling over these lines...
Once i show up i need not fear
You expect to find me at the end.
there's some expression about "a bad penny" always turning up but I can't think of it right now
Now I've related you my tail
heads and tails are the names of the sides of a coin
What is the name by which I hail?
a coin!
