The answer to this riddle is a single English word.
Beloved of the moderates
A sometime worker hesitates.
With many keys I am used well
Or waters fiery weapons quell.
An agent joined in retrograde.
Lose me, and you may be dismayed.
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asked May 7, 2016 at 14:47
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2$\begingroup$ I got it! It's drumroll... "a single English word."! $\endgroup$– YouCommented May 7, 2016 at 16:27
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2 Answers
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Temper
Beloved of the moderates
Temper, meaning to neutralize, or moderate
A sometime worker hesitates.
a TEMP + ER...
With many keys I am used well
Refers to the use of well-temperament, a method of tuning or playing instruments where all the keys are evenly spaced, as opposed to the older method of tuning where notes were slightly different when played in different keys.
Or waters fiery weapons quell.
I think this is referring to tempering a sword.
An agent joined in retrograde.
agent = REP + joined = MET reversed (in retrograde)
Lose me, and you may be dismayed.
Losing one's temper.
And the title:
Refers to keeping one's temper.
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$\begingroup$ Brilliant! If this isn't the right answer, it should be! $\endgroup$– DeepakCommented May 8, 2016 at 5:53
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$\begingroup$ Well done! Correct on every part. $\endgroup$ Commented May 8, 2016 at 6:24
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$\begingroup$ @HughMeyers Very enjoyable puzzle :) $\endgroup$– pasteCommented May 8, 2016 at 12:37
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Could it be
Missile
Reasons:
Beloved of the moderates / A sometime worker hesitates.
You don't want to get totally involved into a war, nor not have any part in it, so you just shoot missiles.
With many keys I am used well
ICBMs use plenty of missile keys to launch
Or waters fiery weapons quell.
Missiles superseded the big fire-spewing guns in navies.
- An agent joined in retrograde.
I don't know. Maybe the self-destruct missile and Soviet Agent in Hunt for Red October
- Lose me, and you may be dismayed.
Umm, a missile may have many classified systems, so it would be very bad to loose one.
