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I start out quite skilled,
Throughout the nation I've drilled,
I'm sexist to the extreme,
You'll soon know what I mean,
Your children should thank me,
Your wife might just hate me.
Knives I despise
I hide from your eyes.
Avoid mutations,
From your medications.
So we will do all your tests,
But eventually we'll both rest.

Hint 1:

Two lines of word play. (The first two).

Hint 2:

What could cause mutations that is also used as a medication (treatment)?

Hint 3:

What are nations sometimes composed of?

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  • $\begingroup$ I'm mean like that. My next hint will specify which lines. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 12:34
  • $\begingroup$ Hint updated to indicate which lines. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 16:54
  • $\begingroup$ It's "I" throughout most of the riddle and changes to "we" in the last two lines ... significant? $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 18:22
  • $\begingroup$ Yes it is, "I" can it rest unless it is "we". $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 18:52
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Given the hints I'm thinking something like "proshire" or "procounty", but these don't actually seem to be words! (Am I saying too much in a comment?) $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 20:22

7 Answers 7

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I think I've got it now!

PROSTATE.

I start out quite skilled,

A PRO is a skilled person.

Throughout the nation I've drilled,

Certain nations are composed of STATEs.

I'm sexist to the extreme,
You'll soon know what I mean,

Only men have prostate glands.

Your children should thank me,

The prostate is part of the reproductive system.

Your wife might just hate me.

If prostate cancer kills you, your wife won't be very happy (the OP had to help me with this one!)

Knives I despise

Does this say anything more than the obvious? Nobody wants to be cut with a knife, especially in such a tender part of their body.

I hide from your eyes.

It's invisible most of the time.

Avoid mutations,
From your medications.

There are probably medications that can cause mutations of the prostate.

So we will do all your tests,
But eventually we'll both rest.

A man and his prostate may together undergo tests for prostate cancer, and eventually both will rest from these tests (or be dead?)

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  • $\begingroup$ Perfect. One last thought on medications: radiation. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Mar 16, 2015 at 16:34
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I start out quite skilled,

A condom is systematically rolled in the beginning, that is when it in the pack

Throughout the nation I've drilled,

It is used everywhere

I'm sexist to the extreme,

It is to be worn by a male and not by a female

You'll soon know what I mean,

Your children should thank me,

Not using condom means more children and more children means more division of resources like food, toys, bed etc and also delay between two pregnancy is good for child's health

Your wife might just hate me.

It's a turn off for women because of the artificial feeling and no natural contact

Knives I despise

A cut in a condom makes it unusable

I hide from your eyes.

A condom is a very thin rubber almost transparent

Avoid mutations, From your medications.

These 2 lines may mean not using condom leads to other forms of contraception and one of them is medicine which may be causing mutation

So we will do all your tests,

No idea about this line (sorry)

But eventually we'll both rest.

After the intercourse it is a rest time for both the male and the condom

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  • 2
    $\begingroup$ OMG ... what a dirty mind $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 14:50
  • $\begingroup$ @randal'thor, I am ready to delete this answer $\endgroup$
    – user9174
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 15:08
  • $\begingroup$ I wasn't seriously criticising! :-) It sounds right to me actually. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 15:09
  • $\begingroup$ This is a lot closer than you might think. What I'm looking for is not visible (99.9% of the time), while a condom still is. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 16:33
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Female condoms do exist, you know. $\endgroup$
    – user88
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 16:57
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Probably not the answer, but

lips

seems to fit many of the clues.

I start out quite skilled,
Throughout the nation I've drilled,

???

I'm sexist to the extreme,
You'll soon know what I mean,
Your children should thank me,
Your wife might just hate me.

This could be a reference to

kissing. Children are kissed by their parents, and your wife might well be annoyed if you kiss other women. I'm not quite sure about the sexist bit though.

Knives I despise

Nobody wants to have cut lips.

I hide from your eyes.

You can't see your lips most of the time.

Avoid mutations,
From your medications.

Lips is almost an anagram of pills. (This is actually what put me onto this answer in the first place!)

So we will do all your tests,

???

But eventually we'll both rest.

"Both" - and yes, you have exactly two lips! So this seems to fit.

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  • $\begingroup$ Nice thoughts, but not quite. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 12:25
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The answer may be

a human ovary

I start out quite skilled,

The eggs are present at a girl's birth.

Throughout the nation I've drilled,

Ovarian drilling is a fertility treatment, but this doesn't quite fit because the clue is in the active voice.

I'm sexist to the extreme,

Only females have them, and the sex chromosomes on the eggs they contain are all female.

You'll soon know what I mean,

...if you solve the riddle.

Your children should thank me,

Because an ovary is where half of each of them comes from.

Your wife might just hate me.

Ovaries can have or develop serious problems, up to and including ovarian cancer, a highly virulent form of cancer with a high mortality rate even within a year of diagnosis, and they are also where ovulation starts, which causes menstruation, which for some women causes a lot of discomfort or pain.

Knives I despise

Surgical removal, oophorectomy, carries risks of adverse effects, some of which are fatal.

I hide from your eyes.

They are not visible.

Avoid mutations, From your medications.

The second hint asks What could cause mutations that is also used as a medication (treatment)? to which the answer is surely radiation. Exposure of ovaries or sperm to radiation, including X-rays, can cause mutation. This is the means by which exposure to radioactivity, whether from atomic or nuclear weapons or from nuclear power stations or waste, causes mutations in future generations.

So we will do all your tests,

Pharmaceutical interests have promoted screening for ovarian cancer, which has begun to be carried out with little success.

But eventually we'll both rest.

After the menopause, ovaries no longer ovulate.

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  • $\begingroup$ Definitely on the right track, and a couple of the explanations are on the right track. Check hint 1 though. The first two lines will give you the name. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 19:42
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The condom answer being very close gave me the clue I needed. The answer is:

Sperm.

I start out quite skilled,

A sperm cell can maneouvre its way through the vagina and the uterus from its creation.

Throughout the nation I've drilled,

A sperm cell "drills into" the egg cell to form a zygote.

I'm sexist to the extreme,
You'll soon know what I mean.

The nature of the 23rd chromosome of a sperm cell determines what gender the baby will be. An X chromosome will create a female child, and a Y chromosome will create a male child.

Although, the "sexism" could also refer to the fact that only males can produce sperm.

Your children should thank me,

Because without sperm they could not exist.

Your wife might just hate me.

Because unwanted pregnancies happen often, and pregnancy itself can be very trying.

Knives I despise,

I can't figure this one out. Possibly something to do with a vasectomy making the sperm unable to travel anywhere?

I hide from your eyes.

Sperm cannot be seen by the naked eye. It appears to be part of a liquid, semen, just like red blood cells appear to be part of liquid blood.

Avoid mutations from your medications,

If anything is done to affect the sperm cell (including certain medications), the resulting zygote can hvae birth defects.

So we will do all your tests,
But eventually we will both rest.

I can't quite figure this one out either. The sperm and egg will "both rest" somehow, presumably when they form a zygote. But "doing all your tests" is something I can't figure out how to explain.

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  • $\begingroup$ I also thought about this after seeing the condom answer, but there seems to be too much that it doesn't fit to. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 17:13
  • $\begingroup$ There are still a few things that aren't quite there, but so incredibly close. Definitely a good answer. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 17:36
  • $\begingroup$ Argh, I had a feeling you might say that... $\endgroup$
    – user88
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 17:54
  • $\begingroup$ It's not... DNA, is it? $\endgroup$
    – user88
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 17:55
  • $\begingroup$ @JoeZ. That doesn't fit the second hint, I think $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 18:26
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I don't think this is exactly it, although it might be in the right area. Bit of a depressing answer.

You are

Breast cancer

I start out quite skilled // Throughout the nation I've drilled,

I don't know about the first line, but the second one is self-explanatory (if we just take "drilled" to be a poetic way of saying "have had an impact").

I'm sexist to the extreme, // You'll soon know what I mean,

First line is obvious. Second line is just there to rhyme with "extreme".

Your children should thank me,

This is the main reason I doubt this is the correct answer.

Your wife might just hate me.

Again, obvious.

Knives I despise

Breast cancer can be treated with surgery.

I hide from your eyes.

Breast cancer can go undetected without regular medical exams.

Avoid mutations, // From your medications.

Possibly a reference to resistence to chemotherapy or some other form of treatment.

So we will do all your tests, // But eventually we'll both rest.

Perhaps a very morbid reference to the difficulty in curing cancer, where "we" refers to the illness and the patient.

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  • $\begingroup$ Closer than you'd think (at least to me, but my work involves quite a bit). Your children should be thankful for the answer though. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 16:41
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Also, just for sharing of knowledge, breast cancer can affect men too. It's very rare, but some men do get breast cancer. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 17:08
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You are probably:

War

I start out quite skilled

Not quite sure about this line but I'll take a guess: Wars start of something massive and infamous like how World War 2 started with the assassination of a world leader, what some could say a "skilled" mission.

Throughout the nation I've drilled,

It can "drill" fear into the hearts of civilians and world leaders. Never mind, how about EVERYONE!

I'm sexist to the extreme,

In wars, soldiers are mostly known as men. In the past, soldiers were only men not women.

You'll soon know what I mean,

When you get older, you will soon learn that most previous wars had mostly or only men.

Your children should thank me,

Modern children just love violent and action-filled games, especially related to war... PG-13!

Your wife might just hate me.

As said about being sexist to the extreme, the wife of a soldier will be very sad if she lost her husband in war.

Knives I despise

Not quite sure, but soldiers usually go hard-core, and long-range battles with airplanes, naval ships, guns, bazookas, pistols... Do I need to go further?

I hide from your eyes.

You can't see war itself really.

Avoid mutations, // From your medications.

In serious, dangerous wars, some countries might go too far and try to go with mutated, superhuman soldiers. Or maybe the world's most dangerous "superhero".

So we will do all your tests,

In wars, countries "test" each other to see who wins the battle and then the war. The "winner(s)" of the "test" will win the war and many more battles.

But eventually we'll both rest.

One side shall surrender or lose to the other, stopping the war and letting the countries and people "rest in peace" (I'm not talking death here).

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  • $\begingroup$ Some good thoughts, but not what I'm looking for. Check the hints. The first two lines are a play on words. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 16:49

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