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I'm not sure how difficult this riddle is, but hopefully it's enjoyable!

I go up and down, and am all around,
but not many seem to know.

But if I crash and burn, to the ground,
the world may ceases to flow.

For my existence has become a medial role,
that people may try to ignore.

But those that dare play with me,
their lives can improve or turn sore.

When I go up and down words are thrown around,
as people think they might know.

But when the time goes by and my job is done,
the words of the 'wise' start to show.

What is the rhyming riddle referring to?

To try and keep things along the right path, here is a small hint:

Do not take the expressions too literally. (I.E lives turning sore is not meant to be restricted to just physical harm to someone.) Some of these expressions may contain some flare or were used more-so for the rhyming scheme but are still applicable (in some form or another).


If you enjoyed this riddle, some of my other rhyming riddles can be found here.

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  • $\begingroup$ I don't have time to write up an answer (and haven't thought through the details enough), but I considered computer bits and electricity... but I'm wondering if it might be about waves (electromagnetic waves, sound waves, water waves, waves in the form of earthquakes, etc). $\endgroup$
    – Glen O
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 17:29
  • $\begingroup$ @GlenO It itself is not any of those waves, sorry. (that includes light acting as a particle!) $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 17:32

7 Answers 7

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Is it

share prices?

I go up and down, and am all around,
but not many seem to know.

They go up and down all the time and are unpredictable.

But if I crash and burn, to the ground,
the world may ceases to flow.

A stock market crash can be a catastrophe.

For my existence has become a medial role,
that people may try to ignore.

It's always there, necessary for the economy, but most people don't get involved with it.

But those that dare play with me,
their lives can improve or turn sore.

Gamble on share prices and you could win or lose millions.

When I go up and down words are thrown around,
as people think they might know.

There are whole sections of newspapers dedicated to following the share prices.

But when the time goes by and my job is done,
the words of the 'wise' start to show.

The words of the analysts who predicted the behaviour of the share prices will be proved true or false once the market has closed (or the shares have expired, or whatever) - thanks to ace for sorting this clue.

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  • $\begingroup$ This is also correct. I will accept this as the answer if Christian Granger doesn't improve his answer in due time. $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Commented May 23, 2015 at 2:13
  • $\begingroup$ I think the last verse refers to analysts who make predictions - they can only be proven true (wise) or false (not wise) after the market closes. Alternatively, since 'wise' is in quotes, it may also refer to 'experts' who analyse the market after closing: appearing to be wise while they are actually stating the obvious. $\endgroup$
    – user12205
    Commented May 24, 2015 at 0:05
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Along the same lines as a previous answer (User12365), but a little different:

The moon

I go up and down, and am all around,
but not many seem to know.

The moon comes up, goes down, but we don't think about it very often.

But if I crash and burn, to the ground,
the world may ceases to flow.

If the moon were to crash into the earth, life would stop. Also, if the moon goes away, then the flowing tides would change.

For my existence has become a medial role,
that people may try to ignore.

Moon cycles are 28 days, along with something else that most people wish they could ignore. Also, the light of the moon is not so necessary with the lights we now have.

But those that dare play with me,
their lives can improve or turn sore.

By using the tides for surfing or other activities, one can have a lot of fun... Or get incredibly beat up if you don't know what you are doing.

When I go up and down words are thrown around,
as people think they might know.

A lot of mythology with the moon, a lot of studying, and often a lot of excitement that people talk about.

But when the time goes by and my job is done,
the words of the 'wise' start to show.

Perhaps where this falls apart. Maybe with the advance of technology and new lights, we ignore the world, but the "wise" have warned about the use of too much technology?

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Don't have time to write up a full answer but my guess is:

The Stock Market

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  • $\begingroup$ Welcome to Puzzling SE! Hopfully you can get back to the answer. I edited this for you to put the spoiler in front of your guess. $\endgroup$ Commented May 22, 2015 at 19:22
  • $\begingroup$ This is correct, but I will not accept it until you complete you answer. $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 19:35
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The Sun

I go up and down, and am all around, but not many seem to know.

The sun rises and sets.

But if I crash and burn, to the ground, the world may ceases to flow.

Without the sun, life stops

For my existence has become a medial role, that people may try to ignore.

The world has lights now, things run 24/7

But those that dare play with me, their lives can improve or turn sore.

Vitamin D, sunburn

Not sure on the last two lines.

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  • $\begingroup$ Welcome to Puzzling User12365, use the spoiler tags ">!" on the lines you wish to hide. To have a multi-line spoiler use <br> to break for a new line. I have edited your post to fix your formatting issues. $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 17:04
  • $\begingroup$ It's just creating quote blocks that start with a bang. $\endgroup$
    – Deacon
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 17:06
  • $\begingroup$ If you have two lines with ">!" starting both, it will break (showing you the '!'). you must use ">! <br>" on the second line (and on wards) if you wish for both/more to be hidden. $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 17:10
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My answer is

Water

I go up and down, and am all around, but not many seem to know.

The sea goes up and down periodically, but not everyone knows why. It also may refer to the cycle of water (water vapor, rivers, sea, ...)

But if I crash and burn, to the ground, the world may ceases to flow.

Burn may be a reference to evaporation. If the water evaporates and its level decreases (crash to the ground), the world will suffer. Again, flow is a term strongly tied with the concept of water.

For my existence has become a medial role, that people may try to ignore.

The water is a very valuable and useful resource if you use it properly (medial role). Though, many don't care and waste it.

But those that dare play with me, their lives can improve or turn sore.

I think it refers to those places slightly above the sea level. They're usually beautiful places (eg Maldives), but very threatened by climatic changes.

When I go up and down words are thrown around, as people think they might know.

Go up and down is maybe a reference to tide (or the cycle of water). The words may be "cloud", "rain", "ice", and so on...

But when the time goes by and my job is done, the words of the 'wise' start to show.

The wise is probably God. Many people consider weather events as the expression of God.

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  • $\begingroup$ Perhaps words thrown around deal with the water cycle. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 17:16
  • $\begingroup$ Perhaps names for different parts of it? $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 17:19
  • $\begingroup$ A good guess, very closely fitting as well! (But unfortunately not correct) $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 17:26
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Are you:

A Nuclear Weapon

I go up and down, and am all around, but not many seem to know.

The weapons are carried all around (hopefully) by government by planes(up) and ships(down) and on ground transport (down). People are not aware of their presence around them.

But if I crash and burn, to the ground, the world may ceases to flow.

Catastrophic consequences of detonating the weapon.

For my existence has become a medial role, that people may try to ignore.

Medial role= central/critical role. People try to ignore the importance of such devastating weapons in our lives.

But those that dare play with me, their lives can improve or turn sore.

Those who have those weapons are protected from other countries (and thus improve their lives), or the lives turn sore on those the weapons are used.

When I go up and down words are thrown around, as people think they might know.

Winging it here: Some people support the possession, some oppose having them around (words thrown around).

But when the time goes by and my job is done, the words of the 'wise' start to show.

As time goes by, job is done: Two cases here, one) Weapons are detonated, and two) No detonation. --> In case one, now they are used (detonated), job is done. The 'wise' always said to be wary of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). In Case two, the weapons are not used. The job is done by assuring safety for a long time (the 'wise' always told you to have them in the first place!!).

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The stock market?

I go up and down, and am all around, but not many seem to know. Up and down, obviously, and all over the world; now, "not many seem to know" depends a lot...

But if I crash and burn, to the ground, the world may ceases to flow. Depression, Recession, etc

For my existence has become a medial role, that people may try to ignore. Those who don't care to participate in the exchange

But those that dare play with me, their lives can improve or turn sore. Same as gambling :-)

When I go up and down words are thrown around, as people think they might know. Always possible to explain its behavior a posteriori

But when the time goes by and my job is done, the words of the 'wise' start to show. Those who played well have the riches to show for it!

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  • $\begingroup$ Welcome to Puzzling! Why don't you take the tour? By the way, when you next post an answer, could you please use spoiler formatting (put the answer and/or explanation on a new line and precede each line with >!) and check other answers to make sure you're not posting the same thing? Good luck riddling! $\endgroup$
    – boboquack
    Commented Nov 3, 2017 at 8:34

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