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This riddle is in season twice per year. Now is one of those times.

My first turns a harsh command into a start
And aid for a structure to aid from the heart.
Two of my second can take you quite far
And three of them help if locked out of your car.
My third is the final of a group of five
For which a newspaper reporter must strive.
My fourth counts the number of that which we share;
My fifth, twice the tour of a legionnaire.
Though you grow by my sixth again and again,
Your size is the same as it's always been.
My next two together, togetherness mean,
Yet on a map never together are seen.
If you attacked those heading into the bay,
My ninth is the word you most likely would say.
My last is a segment of distance that's put
Along with a meter, but never a foot.

My whole links the seasonal precipitation
With those who first gratefully made celebration.

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  • $\begingroup$ Good to see someone of the old religion ;) $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 17:36
  • $\begingroup$ To get started: the second should be "A". Two of the second then is AA (American Airlines) and three of them is AAA (American Automobile Association). $\endgroup$
    – Gamow
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 17:37
  • $\begingroup$ 6: H (age)? (4 more to go...) $\endgroup$
    – Avigrail
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 17:46
  • $\begingroup$ Great riddle! Wish I could upvote twice! $\endgroup$
    – GentlePurpleRain
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 19:16
  • $\begingroup$ @GentlePurpleRain Thanks! It was largely inspired by your question, which incidentally prompted me to join. (I'd been browsing for a while, but hadn't come across an unsolved question I had any prayer of solving before that.) $\endgroup$
    – Josh
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 20:03

2 Answers 2

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1st:

"M" makes 'bark' into 'embark' and 'brace' into 'embrace'. (from @DrunkWolf amd @Aant)

2nd:

The second should be "A". Two of the second then is AA (American Airlines) and three of them is AAA (American Automobile Association). (from @Gamow)

3rd:

"Y" (why), the fifth of the 'five Ws' questions.

4th:

"F": that which we share is 'our's, which becomes 'four'. (from @GordonK)

5th:

"L": the tour of a Roman legionary was 25 years, and twice that is 50, or L in Roman numerals.

6th:

"O": looks like zero, which doesn't change the size of a number when added.

7th and 8th:

"WE": west and east are opposites on a map, but together make the word 'we'.

9th:

"R": said by a stereotypical pirate.

10th:

"S": 'meter' pluralizes to 'meters', but 'foot' becomes 'feet', not 'foots'. (from @question_asker)

Whole:

MAYFLOWERS. Mayflower is known as the ship that carried the Pilgrims associated with Thanksgiving, and also in the saying "April showers bring May flowers".

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  • $\begingroup$ S - because you say "meters" but not "foots" $\endgroup$
    – question_asker
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 18:01
  • $\begingroup$ Correct! I'll accept this once the reasoning has been completed. $\endgroup$
    – Josh
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 18:08
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    $\begingroup$ 1) M could be from (em)bark? $\endgroup$
    – DrunkWolf
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 18:22
  • $\begingroup$ …yep, (em)bark and (em)brace I reckon. $\endgroup$
    – Aant
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 19:01
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    $\begingroup$ For clue 4: That which we share is our something. Adding an 'F' gives us a number (four). $\endgroup$
    – Gordon K
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 20:43
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The reasoning for the 4th might be:

F for fraction. Fractions are used to quantify the size of a portion, and the fraction's denominator is the "number of that which we share" (i.e. the total number of portions, assuming that they're all equally sized)

My apologies for putting this as a separate answer rather than as a comment on the above post. (I'm a new user and don't have the reputation to comment.)

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    $\begingroup$ Spot on i think, welcome to puzzling :) $\endgroup$
    – DrunkWolf
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 19:20
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    $\begingroup$ That's a workable solution, though actually not what I had in mind when I wrote it. As a hint, my clue logic for this letter was very similar to the first, though I was admittedly (and intentionally) less explicit that that mechanic was being used again. $\endgroup$
    – Josh
    Commented Nov 17, 2015 at 20:11

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