13
$\begingroup$

Solid round the number 1,
A motley few, this road, walked on,
Yes I'm a coward now be gone,
Made of two but I am one!

Submersing ship with unhinged crew,
Twixt 'Of' and 'Gave' another clue,
Never in a shade of blue,
I warn of danger, please don't sue!

What am I?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
12
$\begingroup$

The answer is

yellow.

Solid round the number 1,

The #1 billiard ball is a solid yellow, and "solid" is a term from billiards.

A motley few, this road, walked on,

An assortment of characters travelled the Yellow Brick Road in the Wizard of Oz (Thanks Tom)

Yes I'm a coward now be gone,

"Yellow-belly" is a synonym of "coward".

Made of two but I am one!

Yellow light is composed of red and green (Thanks trentcl)

Submersing ship with unhinged crew,

A submarine is a "submersing ship" and the paradigm submarine is yellow (think the Beatles' album Yellow Submarine).

Twixt 'Of' and 'Gave' another clue,

"Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain" is a mnemonic used to remember to names of colors in the visible spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. "York" (yellow) comes between "Of" and "Gave" (Thanks Tom)

Never in a shade of blue,

A literal reading: yellow is never blue.

I warn of danger, please don't sue!

Yellow often symbolizes danger (think traffic lights or yield signs).

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
6
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Twixt 'Of' and 'Gave' can be from roygbiv. The road from Wizard of Oz. $\endgroup$
    – Tom
    Commented Feb 13, 2017 at 14:37
  • $\begingroup$ Well done Silenus and @tom +1s all round! The 'solid' line is spot on without any word play. Tom's bang on about the road and roygbiv. made of two is a light thing but the almost-compound-word thing is good too. the rest are spot on too. $\endgroup$
    – Brent Hackers
    Commented Feb 13, 2017 at 14:48
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @Tom I assume you mean "A motley few this road walked on" for the wizard clue. "Made of two" could also be a reference to the fact that yellow light is composed of red and green $\endgroup$
    – trent
    Commented Feb 13, 2017 at 14:48
  • $\begingroup$ @trentcl - Yep - the characters walking on the brick road. +1's to Brent H and Silenus! $\endgroup$
    – Tom
    Commented Feb 13, 2017 at 14:51
  • $\begingroup$ @trentcl I was just adding the light connection. +1 for getting it just before I did. $\endgroup$
    – Brent Hackers
    Commented Feb 13, 2017 at 14:52

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.