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"Want a cracker? Want a cracker?" the parrot said. Who wants a cracker?

The grass is always greener, but you walked in the long grass. Now me and mine will bleed you dry. Don't you know who we are?

"Want a cracker? Want a cracker?" the Parrot said. Who can give us our crackers?

The grass is always browner, and you walked in the wrong grass. Now me and mine will bleed you dry. Don't you know who we are?

You should have heeded the warning. It's in the name of the game.

What is the name of the game?

Hint 1:

The first 4 stanzas ask questions. The answers to those questions should should come together to tell you the name of the game.

Hint 2:

Note the tags and title.

Hint 3:

The game is not a literal game.

Hint 4:

Note the capitalization in the 3rd stanza.

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1 Answer 1

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Trying again ...
The game may be

Politics

"Want a cracker? Want a cracker?" The parrot said. Who wants a cracker?

Polly wants a cracker.

The grass is always greener, but you walked in the long grass. Now me and mine will bleed you dry. Don't you know who we are?

Walking in long grass, you might pick up some ticks.

"Want a cracker? Want a cracker?" The Parrot said. Who can give us our crackers?

Since the answer is just one word, it seems perhaps we're cluing the same word twice. This time, the speaker is offering us crackers, and the speaker is the Parrot -- either a literal one or a figurative one -- who is parroting the first parrot's words. This speaker's proper name evidently is Polly.

The grass is always browner, and you walked in the wrong grass. Now me and mine will bleed you dry. Don't you know who we are?

You and yours are the same troublesome gang of ticks.

You should have heeded the warning. It's in the name of the game.

Put each pair of answers together to get "Politics" -- the name of a "game" played by many. The topic of politics can be, well, divisive.

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  • $\begingroup$ rot13(Irel pybfr! V unq n qvssrerag rkcynangvba sbe gur 3eq naq 4gu fgnamnf. Erzrzore gur nafjre vf whfg bar jbeq. V hcqngrq gur uvagf.) $\endgroup$
    – Hawkeye
    Jan 22 at 23:07
  • $\begingroup$ Hmm, while you did arrive at the right answer... rot13(V unq vagraqrq gur 2aq naq 3eq fgnamnf gb or na nanybtl bs cbyvgvpvnaf: cneebgvat gur cnegl naq cebzvfvat gb tvir hf bhe "penpxref", naq nyjnlf frrvat gur bgure fvqr nf onq (oebjare) naq rvgure jnl gurl nyjnlf envfr gnkrf naq oyrrq hf qel va gur raq; Nyy gb cbvag gb "tnzr" bs cbyvgvpf (bar orggre abg gb cynl va zl obbx.) Gur terngre nanybtl sbyybjvat zl snibevgr wbxr nobhg cbyvgvpf ("cbyv" = "znal" naq "gvpxf" = "oybbq fhpxvat vafrpgf".)) Does that make sense? $\endgroup$
    – Hawkeye
    Jan 25 at 5:39
  • $\begingroup$ @Hawkeye It makes sense after the fact, but it's hard to discern the metaphors you had in mind from just what is actually written here. Riddles should be forward-solvable, not merely understandable looking back at them once the meaning has been disclosed. As it stands, beyond getting the actual solution itself, looking for someone to solve the more subtle details feels like an exercise in "guess what I'm thinking". :) $\endgroup$
    – Rubio ♦
    Jan 26 at 9:01
  • $\begingroup$ Fair point. I didn't know if it was obvious or not, but I know not everyone shares my sentiments. I guess mixing riddle, sentiment, and metaphor would lead to a difference of views. I was actually surprised by your previous answer and how it actually matched. Should we change it back and I remove the word tag? $\endgroup$
    – Hawkeye
    Jan 26 at 16:41
  • $\begingroup$ Your call. I was actually kinda disappointed when that wasn't the answer. to be honest, though the final stanza just being "incorrect" felt weak. It's usually best not to meddle that much with things once an answer's been posted though. $\endgroup$
    – Rubio ♦
    Jan 26 at 17:10

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