8
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I have many friends
Some of which you know
I know sans, but not papyrus
Sometimes people think I can be Italian
But in reality I can only be quite loud
I excel in many things
And can hammer to a point
I know I am being quite wordy
But at least I am not innumerable

What am I?

Hint

The last line refers to another of my kind

Hint 2

I am not a font or a symbol of any kind.

Response to close votes.

This riddle is not too broad. 90% of the answers are repetitions of "font", which I specifically said was not the answer in comments. Please do not blame me for duplicate answers.

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    $\begingroup$ The sans & papyrus thing could have something to do with the PC game Undertale, which has two skeleton brothers named Sans and Papyrus who always speak in Comic Sans/Papyrus. $\endgroup$
    – NobodyNada
    Jul 13, 2016 at 16:15
  • $\begingroup$ @NobodyNada it does refer to that, I will give you that. However, whether it is a clever pun, or an acrual clue... i will not say. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 16:56
  • $\begingroup$ So, do I need to know something about particular video games to solve some of these clues? $\endgroup$
    – John
    Jul 13, 2016 at 21:05
  • $\begingroup$ @John nope. You do not have to know, though I am sure some will interoret it that way. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 22:53
  • $\begingroup$ Are you one of the glyphs? $\endgroup$
    – HolyBlackCat
    Jul 14, 2016 at 10:38

17 Answers 17

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5
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Are you Microsoft office?

I have many friends
Some of which you know

Many friends like the office assistant (Clippy) or many friends like the various applications in the suite.

I know sans, but not papyrus

Sans and papyrus are characters in a game...Sans is also a font that Office has...while papyrus is a plant paper is made from Office knows about Sans not Papyrus

Sometimes people think I can be Italian
But in reality I can only be quite loud

Italics (sounds Italian) and Bold (another word for loud)

I excel in many things
And can hammer to a point
I know I am being quite wordy

Excel, Powerpoint, and word

But at least I am not innumerable

Google makes an office suite as well. And the name google is a very large number plus google has so many "applications" you can never count them all.

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  • $\begingroup$ Friends, papyrus, and Italian/loud are all wrong, but you got it! Please finish the clues correctly and I will accept! (Also, I merely meany innumerable as in google meaning 10^100 which is... Innumerable). $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 14, 2016 at 22:13
  • $\begingroup$ I'm definitely interested in who/how the Office Suite is considered Italian and loud. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Jul 14, 2016 at 22:57
  • $\begingroup$ @John one person already got that one right. It is what most people assumed. After all, microsoft office has those features. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 15, 2016 at 2:15
  • $\begingroup$ Edited I'd never played undertale before this was a good one... $\endgroup$
    – Michael Brown
    Jul 15, 2016 at 23:02
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    $\begingroup$ You got it. By friends I meant people using the software and the fonts within it (such as comic sans), but it seems that clue was a bit difficult. Plus, your explanation is worthy of acceptance, imo. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 16, 2016 at 2:49
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Are you:

a font?

I have many friends / Some of which you know

There are a lot of fonts out there, some which are recognizable and easily named

I know sans, but not papyrus

Refers to sans serif (a class of fonts), and the font Papyrus

Sometimes people think I can be Italian / But in reality I can only be quite loud

Fonts can be italicized but also bolded

I excel in many things / And can hammer to a point / I know I am being quite wordy

Refers to Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, where fonts are used

But at least I am not innumerable

Not quite sure about this one...

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1
  • $\begingroup$ Think more carefully. That is not it. :) $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 2:12
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Would it be:

Microsoft Word

Since:

I have many friends

The Microsoft Office family of applications. Others being Excel, Access, OneNote, Sharepoint, and a lot of others.

Some of which you know

Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint are the two others of this family which are widely known and used.

I know sans, but not papyrus

Of course, because it is a computer document. All the Sans-Serif fonts and no paper at all...unless you print it.

Sometimes people think I can be Italian

Italics

But in reality I can only be quite loud

Printing the paper: "Pfweeeeet!" And when something goes wrong with the printing process: "Beep! Beep! Beep!"

I excel in many things

You can stick Excel sheets onto Word.

And can hammer to a point

Lawyers do use it. It could also be that you can attach a Word Doc to a PowerPoint.

I know I am being quite wordy

People do write really long papers on Word: I myself have written a document of like 20,000 words.

But at least I am not innumerable

The all-important "Word Count" on the bottom.

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    $\begingroup$ Nope, but good idea. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 2:11
  • $\begingroup$ I would have just said the entire suite, rather than one particular app in it. $\endgroup$
    – jpmc26
    Jul 14, 2016 at 4:54
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Could it possibly be...

grotesque

I have many friends

The first sans-serif types became popular in the early 19th century and were referred to as grotesque. There are 3/4 classifications of sans serif designs. One of them being grotesque, thus, having friends.

Some of which you know

Other groups contain fonts such as Helvetica and Futura which are known fonts

I know sans, but not papyrus

Papyrus is not part of the grotesque group of fonts

Sometimes people think I can be Italian

Grotesque comes from the Italian word for cave. Also grotesque fonts are not usually in italics.

But in reality I can only be quite loud

Grotesque fonts are usually solid, bold designs suitable for headlines and advertisements.

I excel in many things And can hammer to a point I know I am being quite wordy

I think Microsoft has its own version of a grotesque/sans font for Microsoft Office product

But at least I am not innumerable

The number of grotesque fonts are countable?

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  • $\begingroup$ I never thought of that interpretation! But nope. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 16:55
7
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Are you maybe a...

letter?

I have many friends

obviously alphabet(s) have multiple letters

Some of which you know

but most people do not know all the alphabets in the world, so not all possible letters, but some

I know sans, but not papyrus

a letter can be sans-serif, but it's not "a font" like papyrus only written in it, as a representation

Sometimes people think I can be Italian

theoretically it could be italic, but would you know from a single letter if it is italicised or just crooked in the font?

But in reality I can only be quite loud

It can be thicker, so more bold.

I excel in many things

I am a little lost here. Though Microsoft Excel obviously also has to use letters.

And can hammer to a point

letters were in the beginning of writing often hammered into stone or clay slates.

I know I am being quite wordy

letters are needed to form words

But at least I am not innumerable

although there are many different alphabets with lots of letters, I guess there is definitely a finite number of them

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1
  • $\begingroup$ Good answer, but nope! :) $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 16:55
4
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Credit to @DooplissForce.

Are you:

Comic Sans?

I have many friends / Some of which you know

There can be a lot of typefaces in a font family, and perhaps that font family is Sans.

I know sans, but not papyrus

Refers to serif (a family of typefaces), and the not-a-typeface-but-a-real-world-object Papyrus

Sometimes people think I can be Italian / But in reality I can only be quite loud

Typefaces can be italicized but also bolded (have different fonts)

I excel in many things / And can hammer to a point / I know I am being quite wordy

Refers to Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, where typefaces are used

But at least I am not innumerable

So you're Comic Sans, because you're not saying the truth.

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  • $\begingroup$ Nope. That did not bring ou closer. Fyi. Your answer is wrong. Some of the hints just happen to be explained right. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 19:33
  • $\begingroup$ @TheGreatDuck Which ones happen to be explained right? $\endgroup$
    – EKons
    Jul 13, 2016 at 19:34
  • $\begingroup$ Lines 3,4,5 of your post are close enough that I would consider them correct. I was thinking of the comic sans, but that is irrelevant. It is a font nonetheless. Think about papyrus differently. That one isnt right. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 19:36
  • $\begingroup$ @TheGreatDuck So Papyrus was not correct. Hmm... (would appreciate to have my answer checked after a looooooooong time of searching) $\endgroup$
    – EKons
    Jul 13, 2016 at 19:44
  • $\begingroup$ Papyrus is now correct, lol. Number 2 i just realized is right as well. Unless i didnt catch that you edited. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 19:57
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Is it the Latin/Roman Alphabet?

I have many friends
Some of which you know

It's associated with other alphabets like Greek and Cyrillic

I know sans, but not papyrus

papyrus is a font for representing hieroglyphs not latin letters

Sometimes people think I can be Italian
But in reality I can only be quite loud

Roman alphabet...Italian

I excel in many things
And can hammer to a point
I know I am being quite wordy

All of these applications use letters to convey meaning.

But at least I am not innumerable

There are a certain number of letters

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  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Nope. This one is very imaginative, though! $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 22:52
4
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Is it

Times New Roman

I have many friends / Some of which you know

Referring to other typefaces, specifically default typefaces

I know sans, but not papyrus

There is a sans serif version of Times New Roman but not a script version (like Papyrus)

Sometimes people think I can be Italian

Has some roots in Italian printing

But in reality I can only be quite loud

Is quite a bold typeface

I excel in many things And can hammer to a point I know I am being quite wordy

I think these are references to Microsoft Office products (Excel, Powerpoint, and Word) which all used to use Times New Roman as a default typeface.

But at least I am not innumerable

Is one of few "standard" typefaces

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  • $\begingroup$ Nope. This also a duplicate sorta. One other guy said font. It is not any font. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 14, 2016 at 2:40
  • $\begingroup$ I wasn't sure as you said some of the reasoning behind another font related answer was correct. I took this as they could have taken the wrong font. Still wrong =( $\endgroup$
    – keksters
    Jul 14, 2016 at 2:43
  • $\begingroup$ No, they just happened to get some of my meanings right. :) do not feel bad! It is great attempt! $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 14, 2016 at 2:44
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Are you

Impact?

I have many friends

There are a lot of fonts

Some of which you know

Most people know the names of a few fonts

I know sans, but not papyrus

Not sure. Sans is probably Comic Sans, which comes with Windows. The Papyrus font, if I'm not mistaken, does only come with Mac OS X, though it might be included with Office.

Sometimes people think I can be Italian

But in reality I can only be quite loud

This font is bold. Its shape can be artificially slanted, but it does not come with an actual italic version.

I excel in many things

And can hammer to a point

I know I am being quite wordy

All references to Microsoft Office. Hammer is a reference to the Impact name.

But at least I am not innumerable

The Myriad font?

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    $\begingroup$ See here. The OP said that it wasn't any type of font. Good try though! Welcome to Puzzling! $\endgroup$
    – Mithical
    Jul 14, 2016 at 10:08
  • $\begingroup$ @Mithrandir oops, missed that. $\endgroup$
    – ddan
    Jul 14, 2016 at 10:17
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Are you:

A glyph

I have many friends:

There are lots of glyphs in each (Unicode) font/typeface

Some of which you know:

Most people know the alphanumeric glyphs and some symbols, but probably not the whole Unicode set.

I know sans, but not papyrus:

Glyphs can be sans-serif or serif within the same typeface

I excel in many things:

Used in Excel, I presume

I know I am being quite wordy:

Presumably because this is about typefaces

But at least I am not innumerable:

Every glyph is numbered within a typeface

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1
  • $\begingroup$ It is not a glyph! :) $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 14, 2016 at 22:10
4
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Are you

Yammer?

I have many friends.

It's a social collaboration with MS Office integration.

Some of which you know

I know some of the Office products, e.g. Word

I know sans, but not papyrus

You can communicate using various fonts, electronically versus on paper.

Sometimes people think I can be Italian

One of the co-founder's name sounds/is Italian. P-I-S-O-N-I

But in reality I can only be quite loud

This is a messaging and communication application.

I excel in many things
And can hammer to a point
I know I am being quite wordy

This is an Office integrated product that allows collaboration efforts for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, among others. The name implies that it's talkative or wordy.

But at least I am not innumerable

Unlike Facebook or Twitter, the user base is relatively small (~ 3 million).

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4
  • $\begingroup$ You're welcome. It is not correct, but very ingenuitive. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 14, 2016 at 1:09
  • $\begingroup$ @TheGreatDuck, I've submitted a different response. Thanks. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Jul 14, 2016 at 19:01
  • $\begingroup$ it is still incorrect. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 14, 2016 at 22:14
  • $\begingroup$ I feel that my consistency is my greatest asset. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Jul 14, 2016 at 22:19
3
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Are you:

A Roman

I associate sans with French which is a romantic language. Italy is where Rome was but Rome was more than just Italy.

There are Roman numerals which are numerable.

While Egypt was part of Rome once upon a time, it did not adopt the language.
The romans did excel at many things.

I feel like I am missing some details that make me question if this is right. But I might expand on it later.

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    $\begingroup$ Uuhh.. I do not even understand this one... Definitely no. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 19:35
3
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Is it

boldface or bold?

I have many friends
Some of which you know

I know sans, but not papyrus

Boldface is not included in Papyrus, but of course it is very often used sans serif.

Sometimes people think I can be Italian
But in reality I can only be quite loud

Most of what people said above works just very well but only boldface can only be loud.

I excel in many things

Excel uses boldface to mark the active column and row and also people use boldface for headlines as well as important sums.

And can hammer to a point

I am not sure about the hammer part, in any case
on monotype there also is a font called Hammer that has a bold typeface to it. On the other hand maybe the Powerpoint conjecture was correct.

I know I am being quite wordy

Any font type of object can be wordy

But at least I am not innumerable

And lastly, boldface is enumerable because it has the regular English plural: 'boldfaces'.

One could expect bold fonts to be italicized but they usually are two separate typefaces.

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3
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Are you

Gmail?

I have many friends Some of which you know

Other email providers like Yahoo or Outlook

I know sans, but not papyrus

Gmail has Sans Serif as a font option but not Papyrus!

Sometimes people think I can be Italian, But in reality I can only be quite loud

Bold and Italic font styles available on Gmail

I excel in many things, And can hammer to a point

Availability to attach excel sheets or Power Point presentations

I know I am being quite wordy

Can have many words.

But at least I am not innumerable

Not sure about this. It could refer to the other email providers or websites on >! the internet (which are innumerable)

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3
  • $\begingroup$ Nope, but you are on the right track. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 14, 2016 at 5:00
  • $\begingroup$ Oh I missed a point! You can be "Bold" but not "Italic". $\endgroup$
    – Sarat Velijala
    Jul 14, 2016 at 5:19
  • $\begingroup$ I only said you aren't Italian. That says nothing explicitly about italics. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 14, 2016 at 5:24
3
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Are you:

Unicode?

I have many friends

Glyphs

Some of which you know

Every literate person knows at least some of the characters in a Unicode font

I know sans, but not papyrus

No idea... maybe sans font has more Unicode chars than Papyrus font?

Sometimes people think I can be Italian

You have Italian symbols with accents

But in reality I can only be quite loud

No idea

I excel in many things

You're used in Microsoft Excel

And can hammer to a point

U+1F528

I know I am being quite wordy

You're used in making up words

But at least I am not innumerable

You can have 1,111,998 code points in UTF-8

Improve this answer
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  • $\begingroup$ It is not any form of symbol. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 15, 2016 at 2:12
2
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$\Huge\text{Loud, social dancer.}$

Yeah, no reference to Microsoft products this time.

I have many friends

They can be real-life friends, or internet friends. You have $\gt1$ friends.

Some of which you know

"which" does not refer to friends at all; it refers to celebrities.

I know sans, but not papyrus

You know to write on a PC (Sans Serif), but not on Papyrus.

Sometimes people think I can be Italian

Especially if you're acting like an Italian.

But in reality I can only be quite loud

As I said above, acting like an Italian.

I excel in many things

Talents.

And can hammer to a point

Dance like MC Hammer.

I know I am being quite wordy

Still reading the riddle...

But at least I am not innumerable

You have some numbers: age, height, IQ, etc.

Improve this answer
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2
  • $\begingroup$ Lol. Nope. Not even close, but very funny and imaginative! +1 $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 13, 2016 at 16:54
  • $\begingroup$ @TheGreatDuck I didn't intend to get close, I just wanted to post an answer that does not refer to Microsoft software, or generally computers at all. $\endgroup$
    – EKons
    Jul 13, 2016 at 17:46
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Are you

Song

I have many friends Some of which you know

Have so many songs and nobody could know all

I know sans, but not papyrus

I do not really understand 'sans', but song is not a paper

Sometimes people think I can be Italian

Italian song

But in reality I can only be quite loud

Sing a song

I excel in many things

Songs could make incredible things.

And can hammer to a point

A song could be pointed to one topic

I know I am being quite wordy

A long song

But at least I am not innumerable

Number of song is numerable and a song is unable to lengthen forever.

Sorry for my bad English but this is what I think ^^. An awesome question!

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  • $\begingroup$ Great out of the box thinking, but it's not it. $\endgroup$
    – user64742
    Jul 14, 2016 at 22:10

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