# When in Tennessee

(1)
I'm hardened yet hardly am I given a thought;
Unmoved, though moving, to give what is sought;
But throng be too eager,
I'll stop my inertia and render you caught.

(2)
I'm ripped and I'm lasered - both are quite super;
You'll find that you'll need me for something like Looper;
For services rendered;
But don't pick me up from a highway state trooper.

(3)
I am but a concept, a letter in school;
You learned me in math, for spelling's uncool;
To be or not to,
Be has me, it's true;
Just know that I mean in between as a tool.

(4)
I lurk to prevent any malfeasant endeavor;
Though some will avoid me by means that are clever;
Often I'm given,
To those who are livin';
Though sometimes I'm proffered to silence forever.

(5)
I'm repugnant and foul, quite rude and crass;
I mean to attack and rarely with class;
From striking to springing,
Never let up and you'll be me, en masse.

(6)
To grip is my purpose, else I'd be dumb;
Without me, you'd likely end up on your bum;
I stab and I sweat,
So don't you forget;
Although you'd not know if you never have run.

I grow weary of limericks. What single word am I looking for?

Note: The six limericks are to be solved entirely independently and all have different answers. They have no bearing on each other in that regard.

Hint 1: (edited)

(1) The alternate version of the second line is "Rotating often to give what is sought;"
(3) Think of some of the most basic math equations and what their variables mean;
(5) You can use the adjective, noun, or past tense verb version of the target word, and they're all equivalent for the purposes of the final answer.

Hint 2:

I, personally, am a big sports fan. But I don't live in Tennessee.

Hint 3:

All six words, aside from limerick 5, are relatively concrete entities (so no abstract concepts). Once you gather all six, hopefully there's a distinct flavor to them, though to find what exactly hides in the six words is yet another bridge to cross.

Hint 4:

(2) No one likes getting pulled over by a cop.
(4) A synonym for a stipulation meant to discourage bad behavior. There are many words for this; therefore the last line will get you the specific word since it hints at common lexicon.
(6) I draw your attention to "grip" and "run", though "stab" will get you there in a non-violent way.

• To clarify: all the limericks have the same word as a solution, just under different definitions? Or they all have separate answers that are not the same word? Feb 22 '20 at 0:00
• @KitKat Entirely separate solutions, the 6 limericks are to be solved independently of each other. But the final answer is just one word. I will edit to make that clear. Feb 22 '20 at 0:03

(1)

TURNSTILE

I'm hardened yet hardly am I given a thought;

Turnstiles offer "hardened" security to a venue, but most people don't think twice about them.

Rotating nonstop to give what is sought

Entrance to the stadium or arena is what is "sought" to get this one must enter through a rotating turnstile.

But throng be too eager, \ My gift, it is meager

The throng of fans are eager to enter, the turnstile only permits one at a time

...I'll stop my inertia and render you caught.

If the turnstile stops, particularly while you are using it, you can end up quite stuck, looking somewhat foolish.

(2)

TICKET

I'm ripped and I'm lasered - both are quite super;

Tickets can be torn on acceptance like at a movie theater, or have a barcode which is scanned (with a laser)

You'll find that you'll need me for something like Looper;

Movie Ticket

Buy me from vendors, \ For services rendered;

People sell tickets...

But don't pick me up from a highway state trooper.

Speeding tickets suck.

(3)

INTERCEPT (Credit to @mbingo)

I am but a concept, a letter in school; \ You learned me in math, for spelling's uncool;

The intercept of a line crossing the axis of a graph. Thinking of the classic linear equation y = mx + c the intercept is represented by a single letter c

To be or not to, \ Be has me, it's true;

In the quadratic equation y = ax2+ bx + c the constant b (which is in "be") is used when determining the intercepts. I think. It's been a while since I did algebra.

Just know that I mean in between as a tool.

To intercept something (particularly in sporting endeavors) one must position oneself between the other two parties attempting to transition a spherical object between them. When one does this, the others will probably consider oneself a tool.

(4)

PENALTY

I lurk to prevent any malfeasant endeavor;

Threat of penalty prevents people from being naughty

Though some will avoid me by means that are clever;

Often nefarious individuals will avoid penalties by being sneaky

Often I'm given, To those who are livin';

Usually true, yes.

Though sometimes I'm proffered to silence forever.

Death Penalty

(5)

OFFENSIVE

I'm repugnant and foul, quite rude and crass;

Almost by definition

I mean to attack and rarely with class;

To launch an offense is to launch an attack or assault. Not typically a classy move?

From striking to springing

Striking is a form of offense. One could spring a hidden offense?

Indicates that something is over (it's not over until...). Maybe cluing at offEND but I feel like I'm stretching here.

Never let up and you'll be me, en masse.

?

(6)

CLEATS (soccer shoes). Building on the answer of SOLO and refining to fit the theme, and the very helpful hint from Anodyne.

To grip is my purpose, else I'd be dumb;

A shoe without grip (perhaps specifically a tennis shoe) would be a bit dumb

Without me, you'd likely end up on your bum;

Without a grippy spiky cleat, over you go!

I stab and I sweat, \ So don't you forget;

Stabbing is refers to the studs or spikes on the cleats. Shoes tend to make your feet sweat.

Although you'd not know if you never have run.

Runners are intimately acquainted with the importance of correct footware

TITANS (Credit @mbingo)

Reading diagonally, or using the riddle number as an index to the answer, we arrive at:

(T)URNSTILE
T(I)CKET
IN(T)ERCEPT
PEN(A)LTY
OFFE(N)SIVE
CLEAT(S)

Which happens to be a Gridiron team from Tennessee!

Thanks to Anodyne for the great riddle (and all the hints!)

• 2) :D 3) see the other partial answer for some help. 4) shoot, I forgot to account for this; I meant the more common phrase. Feb 24 '20 at 22:55
• Thanks @anodyne - I think that has given me (1) and (6). That just leaves me to ponder (3), and of course the final answer. I'll be back... Feb 25 '20 at 3:05
• The final answer is rot13(GVGNAF, ernq bss bs gur qvntbany bs gur nafjref. Gur nafjref ner nyy Nzrevpna sbbgonyy grezf; Graarffrr'f ASY grnz vf gur Gvgnaf. V guvax 3 vf VAGREPRCG). Feb 25 '20 at 6:50
• @mbingo Looks like a bingo to me. I think it's only fair Johnson gets the bounty, but I'll wait for an edited answer Feb 25 '20 at 7:25
• Thanks @mbingo - that makes much more sense - I had almost made Coefficient fit but couldn't quite do the last line. All tidied up now. Feb 25 '20 at 19:44

It's been a few days with almost no progress, so here's a partial answer to hopefully jumpstart someone else:

1:

?
Something hard that spins around until it catches something... maybe figurative, like a security camera? I don't think I'm close on this one.

2:

DVD (or, possibly, Blu-Ray, disc, CD or LaserDisc)
Media discs are "ripped" to computer files and read with lasers; "Looper" is a movie, which would be distributed on a DVD or similar; pirating is illegal, people should buy discs from legitimate stores

3:

b
The single letter b is the symbol for a variable in algebra class; the letter b is literally the first half of the word "be", so the word "has" b; hint #1 led me to the a quadratic equation, and when one of those is written in the standard form, the b term is generally placed "in between" the a term and the c term

Alternatively, this could be Euler's constant, a math term usually written as e; that's the other half of the word "be", and it's a number between the integers 2 and 3; it doesn't show up in the "most basic" equations, though

4:

?
The first part makes me think it's something like "the law" or "undercover cop", but that doesn't fit the second half... I'm obviously not close on this one, either.

5:

?
I feel like I'm close on this, thinking along the lines of a synonym for "boor", "churl", "scoundrel" or "blackguard", but I can't come up with one that has all the grammatical forms in hint #1 (noun, adjective, past-tense verb); "murderer" almost works (verb "murdered", adjective "murderous"), but it doesn't have the uncouth connotation, nor does it fit the final line of the limerick

6:

foot (or feet)
The soles of the feet, and especially the toes, "grip" the ground; without feet, or with non-grippy feet, people would fall over a lot ("on [their] bum"); feet are well-known for producing "sweat"; and running too much leads to stabbing pain in the feet

??????
I don't see how hint #2 helps at all, yet. I'm guessing it becomes more useful after nailing four or five of the limerick answers. Maybe it's a reference to "When in Rome, do as the Romans do"? Or it's hinting at sports teams in some of the eight states bordering Tennessee?

• Thank you for the stab at it! All I will say is that 3 is the closest in its approach via "b" (though I'd rather have a full word). The rest are unfortunately a ways off. Feb 24 '20 at 22:04
• I take that back. 6. is likely in second place in terms of closeness. :) Feb 24 '20 at 22:20
• ...huh, I was actually most confident in #2. Thanks for the feedback, I'll reconsider.
– SOLO
Feb 24 '20 at 22:25
• I liked your 2, actually. Its only fault was not taking into account "highway", I suppose Feb 24 '20 at 22:32

Update: I am unable to comment on Johnson's answer, but number 3 is Median..