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I'm a Russian book that inspired a year,
And used by the Queen in everyday speech.
Doubled, I'm small in the land of the north,
And then may be also found in the loo.

Just in time, I'm half of seven;
Fun when that seven has ended.
Two letters, but either may be doubled;
Am I using the wrong word all along?

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1 Answer 1

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I'm a Russian book that inspired a year,

We - a dystopian novel by Russian writer Yevgeny Zamyatin which inspired George Orwell's 1984.

And used by the Queen in everyday speech.

The 'royal we' which monarchs use instead of 'I'.

Doubled, I'm small in the land of the north,

Wee - doubling the 'e' means small in Scotland & N. Ireland.

And then may be also found in the loo.

Wee meaning pee.

Just in time, I'm half of seven;

The seven of time may be week, which 'we' is half of.

Fun when that seven has ended.

If the same seven, the weekend is often a fun time.

Two letters, but either may be doubled;

W is double-u, and e is doubled in above clues.

Am I using the wrong word all along?

May refer to you using 'I' for one word, though we/e are two.

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  • $\begingroup$ Perfect answer and explanations, but the title and last line refer to the pronouns rather than the number of words. (Out of curiosity, which clue was the giveaway?) $\endgroup$ Mar 3, 2019 at 10:43
  • $\begingroup$ Line 2 then 3 (this word is so overused in my location). It was nice finding out about the first line. $\endgroup$
    – Tom
    Mar 3, 2019 at 10:50
  • $\begingroup$ I didn't see this until it had already been solved, but for me the first two lines gave it away. There aren't that many Russian books that are widely known in the West, "inspired a year" is a curious turn of phrase indeed, and the quirks of the Queen's speech are well known. $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan
    Mar 3, 2019 at 11:44
  • $\begingroup$ @Gareth Was half-expecting you to be the one to solve this, being British and well-read :-P I expected the first line to make people wonder if I meant "inspired by a year", but I should certainly have obfuscated the second line a bit more. $\endgroup$ Mar 3, 2019 at 13:10
  • $\begingroup$ Yeah, I'd have got it if it hadn't been for you meddling kids^W^W^WTom seeing it long before I did :-). (Not that Tom solving a puzzle like this should be any sort of surprise either.) $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan
    Mar 3, 2019 at 13:28

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