The number of brothers I have is three
Though they each deny knowing me
Each of them I can swiftly defeat
Yet they do not accept they're beat
For each shall claim at last
"Cheated, thou hast"
Do you see?
What might I be?
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1$\begingroup$ Was this too easy? $\endgroup$– can-ned_foodApr 17, 2018 at 2:12
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$\begingroup$ @can-ned_food I guess so. Sorry. $\endgroup$– NoOneIsHereApr 17, 2018 at 15:28
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$\begingroup$ Well, no, I must apologize: rhyming riddles are to Puzzling SE as Minecraft questions are to Arqade SE. It is often too tempting to hide a simple interpretation behind a multitude of lines. IMHO, a riddle either uses rhyming as a gimmick or as a handicap to increase the challenge for the riddler; the better ones can also use rhyming as a ruse — or even as a way to include a bit of wordplay and linguistic and phonetic fun. As to what constitutes a good riddle — there are a few Meta Puzzling questions on various facets of that. $\endgroup$– can-ned_foodMay 5, 2018 at 4:11
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$\begingroup$ It's not a bad riddle, but there aren't many possible solutions which almost seem to fit but which conflict with one or two conditions. $\endgroup$– can-ned_foodMay 5, 2018 at 4:27
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1 Answer
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Loooong shot ...
You're a finger gun in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors - because guns beat everything.
The number of brothers I have is three
The brothers are Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Though they each deny knowing me
But they don't accept the finger gun as a valid fourth brother.
Each of them I can swiftly defeat
A gun beats everything.
Yet they do not accept they're beat
For each shall claim at last
"Cheated, thou hast"
Well, yeah - it totally is cheating, and not valid according to the standard rules of the game.
On a less cheaty note, you could be
the trumps suit in a card game. That suit beats all the others ... but I'm not sure where the cheating, or non-acceptance by the others of your victory, would come in there,
answered Apr 16, 2018 at 9:39
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$\begingroup$ I think you have the reasoning correct, but not the actual answer. I would link to the "controversy" that I think this question references, but it'd be a spoiler. $\endgroup$ Apr 16, 2018 at 11:20
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$\begingroup$ @Rand al'Thor Seems like if he has 3 brothers then there would be 4 brothers total...doesn't seem to support the 'rock, paper, scissors' approach where there are a total of 3? $\endgroup$– Dr tApr 16, 2018 at 17:22
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$\begingroup$ Gun is correct, along with all of your reasoning! $\endgroup$ Apr 16, 2018 at 17:36
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$\begingroup$ @NoOneIsHere Whaaaaaaat? I posted this only semi-seriously, hesitating to do so at all, and half-expected it to get downvoted into the basement. Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine +28 and an accept :-OOO $\endgroup$ Apr 16, 2018 at 18:08
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2$\begingroup$ Where does "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock" fit in? $\endgroup$ Apr 17, 2018 at 0:03