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Riddle me this, riddle me that, Who's afraid of the big black bat?:

I take the expressway, I'm in a hurry.
By chance I make it, no need to worry,
I'll loiter and idle and maybe sleep.

I'll finally wake, my day's done it seems,
I hurry back but now lost, I weep.
And yet my home at last I see.

Who am I?

(and I guess bonus for the quote which is NOT part of the riddle by the way. :P )

A little Hint:

An Artist? an Athlete? Your attempts are forlorn.
This little puzzle might be simpler to those who are with horns.

A big Hint:

Sometimes I'm like a Fighter in a cage.
Sometimes I'm hungry and make you crave.

A bigger Hint:

Nine goes in the middle.

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    $\begingroup$ The quote is said by Jim Carrey's Riddler in Batman Forever. Isn't it? $\endgroup$
    – Ian MacDonald
    Commented Apr 29, 2015 at 22:46
  • $\begingroup$ that it is, that it is :P $\endgroup$
    – Spacemonkey
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 1:18
  • $\begingroup$ Is the use of 'wake' over 'awake' intentional? $\endgroup$
    – DaveBensonPhillips
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 8:04
  • $\begingroup$ No it could be one or the other $\endgroup$
    – Spacemonkey
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 13:41
  • $\begingroup$ Is Fighter supposed to have a capital F? $\endgroup$
    – leoll2
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 17:12

5 Answers 5

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It could be

A baby

I take the expressway, I'm in a hurry.

Sperm racing to the egg, in a hurry to beat the other millions of racers.

By chance I make it, no need to worry,

With that many racers, it's truly by chance

I'll loiter and idle and maybe sleep.

Sleeping and development

I'll finally wake, my day's done it seems,

Maybe the "day being done" is a reference to the first light being seen, and the "night" being over

I hurry back but now lost, I weep.

Crying when born. Everything is new. Baby feels "lost."

And yet my home at last I see.

Finally opens his eyes and accepts his parents and home.

Hints:

A little Hint:

An Artist? an Athlete? Your attempts are forlorn.
This little puzzle might be simpler to those who are with horns.

Maybe angels with horns, ushering in the birth of a baby?

A big Hint:

Sometimes I'm like a Fighter in a cage.
Sometimes I'm hungry and make you crave.

A baby in the womb punches and kicks the mother's ribs and stomach. Also, babies make moms crave food!

A bigger Hint:

Nine goes in the middle.

In the middle of the riddle, where the space is between the 2 stanzas, 9 months pass.

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  • $\begingroup$ Nine is half of eighteen, the majority age in most of countries $\endgroup$
    – leoll2
    Commented May 2, 2015 at 7:45
  • $\begingroup$ @leoll2 Yeah, while trying to find the answer, I thought of that, but couldn't make anything of it. Then I got sidetracked thinking about the fact that "9 in the middle" would actually point to 17, not 18, since you'd have 8 on each side, plus the 9 in the middle. :) $\endgroup$
    – JLee
    Commented May 2, 2015 at 14:32
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    $\begingroup$ Good job! I think I might have confused more than helped with the first hint. It was supposed to mean it could be anyone (the baby can grow up to be an artist or an athlete) and the couple of first clues could be understood easier for people who are thinking about reproduction. (horny) Not my best but w/e :P $\endgroup$
    – Spacemonkey
    Commented May 4, 2015 at 14:10
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Not quite sure this is it, but worth a stab:

You are

A car, taking some poor schmuck to work.

I take the expressway, I'm in a hurry.

It's not called 'Rush Hour' for nothing.

By chance I make it, no need to worry,

Entirely possible to be late in the traffic jams.

I'll loiter and idle and maybe sleep.

With the worker at work, the car isn't needed for the day, and parked idle.

I'll finally wake, my day's done it seems,

The car is only started again when it's time to go home at knockoff.

I hurry back but now lost, I weep.

When it gets dark in the evening, you turn on the headlights, which certainly make a car's 'eyes' glisten.

And yet my home at last I see.

It's the end of the riddle, so I can pull my puzzle car into the garage. :P

Honk Honk.

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  • $\begingroup$ It's not it but does fit most of the clues, good try! $\endgroup$
    – Spacemonkey
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 13:42
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Perhaps it is

Water.

I take the expressway, I'm in a hurry.

The expressway is a river.

By chance I make it, no need to worry,

Gravity pushes you.

I'll loiter and idle and maybe sleep.

Lakes and seas.

I'll finally wake, my day's done it seems,

Evaporation

I hurry back but now lost, I weep.

Rain

And yet my home at last I see.

Rain comes back to ground and seas.

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  • $\begingroup$ Another answer that's a nice fit, allthough this one doesn't work as well with the additional clues. +1 $\endgroup$
    – Spacemonkey
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 16:54
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You might be:

a race car

I take the expressway, I'm in a hurry.

Race cars are always in a hurry to win the race.

By chance I make it, no need to worry,

If you win, then obviously no need to worry. Or if you just make it to the end without crashing, that's not bad either.

I'll loiter and idle and maybe sleep.

This is when the car enters the pit stop.

I'll finally wake, my day's done it seems, I hurry back but now lost, I weep.

You will be done (lose the race) if you spend too long in the pit stop.

And yet my home at last I see.

You can still see the finish line.

This little puzzle might be simpler to those who are with horns.

Race cars have horns.

Sometimes I'm hungry and make you crave.

Hungry for gas? Race cars have ads on them that might feature beverage or food companies.

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  • $\begingroup$ I wasn't expecting the lost part to make sense here but it does. It's not the answer but way to go to make the car answer fit. +1 $\endgroup$
    – Spacemonkey
    Commented Apr 30, 2015 at 16:54
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JLee's answer has me fairly convinced (except for the first two hints), but if that's not it, this might be:

a BEAR.

I take the expressway, I'm in a hurry.

Bears can move surprisingly fast (up to 35mph or nearly 60 km/h).

By chance I make it, no need to worry,
I'll loiter and idle and maybe sleep.

Bears have an image of being dozy and slow-moving, and often asleep. In the winter, many of them hibernate for months on end.

I'll finally wake, my day's done it seems,

They wake at the end of the winter, when the season is done.

I hurry back but now lost, I weep.

Their home territory might look quite different by the time they wake up.

And yet my home at last I see.

But their den, in which they've been hibernating, has remained the same all the way through.

First hint:

many animals with horns are hunted by bears, so they'll certainly know about these dangerous creatures!

Second hint:

Bears are often kept in cages, and can fight fiercely. When they're hungry, you might crave to run away.

Third hint:

This is the only part I'm not quite sure of.

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  • $\begingroup$ I like all the 'wrong' answers, this one , like water and the race car fits surprisingly well most of the clues, but isn't it. , +1 though. $\endgroup$
    – Spacemonkey
    Commented May 4, 2015 at 14:07

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