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At first I sneak around but I, don't ask why.
The next three times I hover or drag.
In, the very end, I'm still not out.
Overall, I'm a brother to gristle and hair.

Hint 1:

I'm hard to get a hold of, but easy to find
Look in an abandoned corner and find me there

Hint 2:

I, both a letter and myself

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  • $\begingroup$ Fingernails or earwax or boogers or eye boogers? A brother of gristle and hair $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Aug 20, 2018 at 1:06
  • $\begingroup$ Is this in a similar format of a Riley Riddle? Also, @Duck, finger nails don't really sneak around... but the riddle could be metaphorical :) $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Aug 20, 2018 at 1:07
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    $\begingroup$ @user477343 hmm almost, there are one or two diffrences. $\endgroup$
    – tox123
    Aug 20, 2018 at 1:10
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    $\begingroup$ The comma in the first sentence looks like a possible grammar mistake, but could also be very intentional. Which one is it? The same is true for the first comma in the third line. $\endgroup$
    – celtschk
    Aug 20, 2018 at 9:49

7 Answers 7

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You are

Spidroin

At first I sneak around but I, don't ask why.

Spy, but with "I" instead of "why" = "spi"

The next three times I hover or drag.

three letters from (drag and) drop = "dro"

In, the very end, I'm still not out.

not out = "in"

Overall, I'm a brother to gristle and hair.

All three are proteins

Hint: I'm hard to get a hold of, but easy to find
Look in an abandoned corner and find me there

Spidroin is found in spiders' webs

Hint: I, both a letter and myself

Refers to the "I" on the first line

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  • $\begingroup$ Hazzah! someone got it! Some stuff on the hints: Whfg gb avgcvpx oebgure gb tevfgyr naq unve ersref gb vg orvat n fpyrebcebgrva yvxr pnegvyntr naq xrengva. Nyfb V jnf guvax "qebar" nf ubire be qent, ohg V thrff lbhef jbexf gbb. $\endgroup$
    – tox123
    Aug 22, 2018 at 1:45
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The answer must be

KERATIN.

At first I sneak around but I, don't ask why.

It looks like this means KEY (useful when sneaking around?) minus Y ("why"), giving KE. Thanks @MOehm for the tip here.

The next three times I hover or drag.

RAT - perhaps because it's like a mouse and computer mice are used to hover or drag?

In, the very end, I'm still not out.

This literally means IN.

Overall, I'm a brother to gristle and hair.

Keratin is a type of body tissue which is related to gristle and hair.

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    $\begingroup$ (KE + "why" is KEY, but I don't see how that refers to sneaking. And hovering and dragging is what you do with a computer mouse, but I've never heard one referred to as RAT. Yeah, I got nothing ...) $\endgroup$
    – M Oehm
    Aug 20, 2018 at 10:48
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    $\begingroup$ @MOehm Thanks! Incorporated your suggestions. $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Aug 20, 2018 at 15:20
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    $\begingroup$ You're so very close but I'm slightly more exotic. $\endgroup$
    – tox123
    Aug 20, 2018 at 17:31
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    $\begingroup$ Also it might be helpful for you to know that keratin is not a body tissue but actually a protein that makes up hair. $\endgroup$
    – tox123
    Aug 20, 2018 at 18:51
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    $\begingroup$ I would also like to pose the question; is it rot13(erfcbafvoyr sbe gur perngvba bs tevfgyr)? My interpretation is that it isn't, as rot13(tevfgyr vf glcvpnyyl sbezrq ivn glcr VV pbyyntra). Either way, +1 from me, this was a great answer. $\endgroup$
    – Hazel へいぜる
    Aug 20, 2018 at 21:34
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Are you

an eyefloater?

At first I sneak around but I, don't ask why.

they sneak around your vision and noone really understands what they are and why they appear sometimes (except those who read the wikipedia article)

The next three times I hover or drag.

trying to blink or moving the eye doesnt help, they just hover to another place in your vision

In, the very end, I'm still not out.

there is no real technique to get them out

Overall, I'm a brother to gristle and hair.

it looks like hair. (don't know what it has to do with gristle)

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Is it

cobwebs / spider silk / fibroin?

At first I sneak around but I, don't ask why.

Spiders are sneaky

The next three times I hover or drag.

No idea about the 3 times, but spiders hover and drag silk around as they spin webs

In, the very end, I'm still not out.

Spider silk comes out of a spider's spinneret, which is on its "end" - but as it comes out, it's still attached

Overall, I'm a brother to gristle and hair.

Fibroin is a scleroprotein like cartilage (gristle) and keratin (hair)

Hint 1 part A:

I'm hard to get a hold of, but easy to find - maybe it's easy to find cobwebs but they tend to be in places that're hard to actually reach/touch

Hint 1 part B:

Look in an abandoned corner and find me there - cobwebs for sure match this

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    $\begingroup$ Closest yet. You're on the right track but think more riley. $\endgroup$
    – tox123
    Aug 21, 2018 at 1:24
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Wild throw here,

snot, though this ain't exotic

At first I sneak around but I, don't ask why.

most of the time you don't notice your snot because it's doing its job up there undisturbed.

The next three times I hover or drag.

Don't know why three would be specially important, but snot can hang out of your nose and if you wipe it like a 5-year-old you drag it across your face instead of getting rid of it.

In, the very end, I'm still not out.

sometimes that snot just won't come out.

Overall, I'm a brother to gristle and hair.

another type of bodily item

I'm hard to get a hold of, but easy to find Look in an abandoned corner and find me there

used tissue left on the floor?

Notes:

I definitely follow suit that it is some sort of gross thing created and left behind by the human body. The only things I can think of left in the carpet are all nasty things :(

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I'm not sure how, but along the lines of Overall, I'm a brother to gristle and hair:

Skin

Another thought was along the lines of:

Epidermis

Since you stated you're looking for something more exotic. I'm still looking, and if either are the answer then great! If not, then maybe I can find it somehow.

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Are you a:

Corneocyte (component of dust)?

At first I sneak around but I, don't ask why.

uh, idk...

The next three times I hover or drag.

dust hovers in air

In, the very end, I'm still not out.

Skin cells at the end of your epidermis are still stuck to you?

Overall, I'm a brother to gristle and hair.

Corneocytes are related to cartilage and keratin

Hint 1 A:

I'm hard to get a hold of, but easy to find - dust floating in air is easy to find, but you can't just grab it

Hint 1 B:

Look in an abandoned corner and find me there - Corneocytes are a major component of indoor dust

Hint 2:

I, both a letter and myself - corneo sounds like cornea - part of the eye

RE comments:

Also, being the very outer layer of the epidermis, this would definitely be exotic in a literal sense.

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  • $\begingroup$ RE: hint 2 - I'm pretty sure it's this or something to do with rot13(fpyren - cneg bs gur rlr, nyfb pybfr gb fpyrebcebgrva (juvpu pnegvyntr naq xrengva ner)) $\endgroup$
    – peaceoutside
    Aug 21, 2018 at 23:04

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