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People, demons, deities--
These three love to follow me.

Starving, penniless--where reside thee?
I may satiate or be half your need.

Cupboards, crumbs, committees--
Those are different yet still come with me.

Always carousing, happy and merry;
Yet wake me up and you may see:

Disaster, alarm, anxiety--
All those come out when I shriek.

Hints 1-4

1. It also makes sense if you replace 'people' by 'diseases.' (This hint used to say it also makes sense if you replace 'diseases' by 'people' but the new ordering is more consistent with what I want to convey)
2. These are all associated with the tag:

  • these three love to follow me
  • those are different yet still come with me
  • where reside thee
    3. I am three letters long.
    4. "These three love to follow me" -> If you put these 3 behind me, you get 3 words.

    • Update: User477343 is correct that the intended answer is

    PAN

    However, there are still lots of clues left to be solved! Below you can find a diagram (a very badly made one) that shows which clues are unsolved/solved. (I've pulled the clues from the answers, so everyone can see what is left to solve)

    Line 1/2 -> pandemic (somebody), pandemonium (mdlha), pantheon (mdlha)
    Line 3/4 -> ______, pan (kitchen tool) (user477343)
    Line 5/6 -> pantry (mdlha), panko (mdlha), panel (mdlha)
    What makes the clues from lines 5/6 different from those from 1/2? ______
    Line 7 -> Pan (Greek god) (JonMark Perry)
    Line 8/9/10 -> ______

    Improve this question
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    • 1
      $\begingroup$ The title is not a clue. I just phrased it that way so it partially rhymes with everything else. $\endgroup$
      – 1848
      Jan 8, 2019 at 5:03
    • $\begingroup$ So hexomino's answer is incorrect? $\endgroup$
      – Brandon_J
      Jan 12, 2019 at 4:08
    • 1
      $\begingroup$ Yes; I'm looking for an answer that places a higher emphasis on the language tag for some of the hints. $\endgroup$
      – 1848
      Jan 12, 2019 at 5:10
    • $\begingroup$ I noticed that (ROT13) Lbh hfr fbzr nyyvgrengvba. Sbe rknzcyr, "qvfrnfrf, qrzbaf, qrvgvrf" naq "phcobneqf, pehzcf, pbzzvggrrf" ohg sbe gur ynfg bar, vg qbrfa'g unir gur gev-nyyvgrengvba: "Qvfnfgre, nynez, nakvrgl". Qbrf guvf zrna jr jbhyq unir gb ercynpr "qvfnfgre" jvgu nabgure jbeq yvxr jr qvq sbe "crbcyr"? V nz thrffvat jr ercynpr "qvfnfgre" jvgu "nppvqrag" be fbzrguvat ;) $\endgroup$
      – Mr Pie
      Jan 12, 2019 at 7:45
    • 1
      $\begingroup$ Is anyone still working on the clues? I was thinking of posting my intended solutions, since it's been a while. $\endgroup$
      – 1848
      Jan 15, 2019 at 1:18

    5 Answers 5

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    6
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    I think the answer is actually

    Water (agreeing with bw1984)

    Disease,

    Waterborne diseases are very common.

    demons,

    There are several examples of water demons in different mythologies such as the Rusalka

    deities--

    Wikipedia has an extensive list of water deities

    These three love to follow me.

    These things are very often associated with the existence of water

    Starving, penniless--where reside thee?

    If you reside near a river or lake then water is essentially free.

    I may satiate or be half your need.

    Water will quench your thirst but not satisfy your hunger.

    Cupboards,

    Water closets

    crumbs,

    Bread and water

    committees--

    Committees are often set up to regulate water supply

    Those are different yet still come with me.

    They are not directly linked to water but have derived associations through human interaction.

    Always carousing, happy and merry;

    I think this is metaphorical - the gentle flow of a river or the movement of the sea

    yet wake me up and you may see:

    Human activity can cause serious flooding (through poorly-planned building or global warming, for example)

    Disaster, alarm, anxiety--

    These relate specifically to water-related disasters, either on a local or national scale.

    all those come out when I shriek.

    Again metaphorical, could be a river that breaks its banks or a tsunami coming into shore.

    Improve this answer
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    6
    +25
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    Is the answer

    PAN?

    People, demons, deities——
    These three love to follow me.

    Pan's People; Pan (demon and god/deity figure).

    Starving, penniless——where reside thee?
    I may satiate or be half your need

    You can use pans to cook food (if you are starving), and there is also a thing called gold panning to find gold (if you are penniless).

    Since you used the archaic word "thee" then I will use the archaic definition of "satiate" which is to be satisfied to the full. Talking about starving, when people are full, it usually means they have eaten and are not hungry anymore; they are satisfied. Of course, if you want food, you can look in the pantry, for which half that word is "pan".

    Edit: Thanks to @stuartstevenson, the French annunciation of "pain" is "pan", and "pain" means "bread". This part is important particularly for the following sandbox, but also it ties in to Jesus Christ's command that "man shall not live by bread alone, ..." when Jesus was fastening and poor (starving and penniless) during his temptation from Satan (here).

    Edit: You can use regular pans to fry eggs and satisfy your hunger, referring to "starving", and to panhandle means to beg on the street, which would refer to being "penniless". Panhandle is a compound word made up of pan and handle, so I guess pan is half of the entire word in the context of it being compound.

    Cupboards, crumbs, committees——
    Those are different yet still come with me.

    Cupboards and crumbs are once again involved with the pantry or just normal pans. There is a thing called pan-regions which might involve committees. Pantries, pans, and pan-regions are all different.

    Edit: Perhaps it could be referring to pan racks for "cupboards", regular pans for "crumbs", and the Pan-African Parliament for "committees".

    Always carousing, happy and merry;
    Yet wake me up and you may see:

    Always carousing can cause a pandemonium, and someone who is happy and merry (especially because he never grows up) is a familiar guy called Peter Pan.

    Disaster, alarm, anxiety——
    All those come out when I shriek.

    Well, a pandemonium can cause a disaster, anxiety and be quite alarming. Also, when Peter Pan wakes up Wendy, and her brothers John and Michael, the parents are grief-stricken over their disappearance. The kids of course disappear when they fly out their home and shriek in the air towards Neverland.

    Edit: thanks to @KateGregory: "pan pan" is what people on boats would say in the case of an emergency, a step down from saying "mayday" (here).

    Title:

    Say My Name Please

    An anagram of say my name please is Me? Pan? Yes! Lame, say. Does this mean anything? Title is not a clue.

    Hint 1:

    Louise Clark, the person who founded Pan's People, died at 63 of heart failure (coronary artery disease). And don't worry, the link will not contain a dead body.

    Hint 2:

    Pan the demon and God were mainly apart of Roman and/or Greek mythology, which are languages. Pan's People was also a British dance troupe, so that language was English. But I can't fit the other clues.

    Hint 3:

    PAN is $3$ letters long.

    Hint 4:

    You can "pan out" with the $3$ words?

    Improve this answer
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      $\begingroup$ I think as part of the language hint, pan is also the French pronunciation of "pain" meaning bread. Bread can satiate or be half your needs, i.e. "man can not live on bread alone". And if you burn bread (shriek) then the smoke alarm may sound. $\endgroup$
      – Leonhard Euler
      Jan 12, 2019 at 13:29
    • 1
      $\begingroup$ cna cna vf na nynez pnyy n fgrc qbja sebz znlqnl $\endgroup$
      – Kate Gregory
      Jan 12, 2019 at 20:16
    • 1
      $\begingroup$ @user477343 precisely $\endgroup$
      – Kate Gregory
      Jan 13, 2019 at 13:12
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      $\begingroup$ Pandemic for diseases/people. "these three love to follow me" being related to the language tag might mean all three have "pan" as prefix. Although I have to say given that Pan is already a demon and a deity it's a little hard to find which other figures starting with pan are a demon and deity respectively $\endgroup$
      – somebody
      Jan 16, 2019 at 0:27
    • 1
      $\begingroup$ Also, I'm surprised pantry isn't correct. hmmmm. Oh, and just realized "If you put these 3 behind me, you get 3 words.". So the clued words form more words when appended to "PAN". And ignoring that fourth hint, "pantheon" might work for gods $\endgroup$
      – somebody
      Jan 16, 2019 at 0:34
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    People, demons, deities -

    Don't know for people, but for demons it could be pandemonium and for deities it could be pantheon.

    Cupboards, crumbs, committees - it could be:

    Pantry, panko (as in panko breadcrumbs), panel

    Improve this answer
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    3
    • $\begingroup$ could you please explain your answer? Thanks! $\endgroup$
      – Omega Krypton
      Jan 15, 2019 at 23:34
    • $\begingroup$ Just trying to find words that match to the clues. $\endgroup$
      – mdlha
      Jan 16, 2019 at 0:14
    • $\begingroup$ All correct! It would be great if you could explain the roots to the first set of words you wrote. Bonus if you explain how the words in the second set are different from the words in the first set. $\endgroup$
      – 1848
      Jan 16, 2019 at 2:04
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    Is 7:

    Pan? Always cavorting with nymphs, drunk, happy, scary, etc...?

    Improve this answer
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    2
    • $\begingroup$ That's what I thought! I won't put the idea in my answer though because you brought it up first :P $(+1)$ $\endgroup$
      – Mr Pie
      Jan 15, 2019 at 9:47
    • $\begingroup$ Correct; that's what I had in mind. $\endgroup$
      – 1848
      Jan 16, 2019 at 2:06
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    Since there hasn't been any progress in a while, I thought I should post the intended answer. Portions of the clues were solved already, and credit is distributed accordingly.

    The answer is

    PAN (user477343)

    People, demons, deities--
    these three love to follow me.

    PANDEMIC (somebody), PANDEMONIUM (mdlha), PANTHEON (mdlha)
    demic -> people, demonium -> demons, deities -> theon

    Starving, penniless--where reside thee?
    I may satiate or be half your need.

    PAN (bread in Spanish), PAN (cooking tool) (user477343)
    If you are in a Spanish speaking country, bread is all you need. If you are in an English speaking country, you still need something to cook.

    Cupboards, crumbs, committees--
    those are different yet still come with me.

    PANTRY (mdlha), PANKO (mdlha), PANEL (mdlha)
    for those words, PAN is not a root but just happens to be start the word.

    Always carousing, happy and merry;

    PAN (Greek deity) (JonMark Perry)

    Yet wake me up and you may see:

    Disaster, alarm, anxiety--
    all those come out when I shriek.

    PANIC
    If you wake PAN (Greek deity) up, he may utter a terrifying scream. The word PANIC comes from this story and is associated with disaster, alarm, and anxiety.

    Improve this answer
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