Braingle: 'How Many?' Riddle

How Many?

Riddles are little poems or phrases that pose a question that needs answering. Riddles frequently rhyme, but this is not a requirement.

Puzzle ID:	#30270
Fun:	(2.95)
Difficulty:	(2.58)
Category:	Riddle
Submitted By:	warmonkey318

My first is a number, my second another,
And each, I assure you, will rhyme with the other.
My first you will find is one-fifth of my second,
And truly my whole, a long period reckoned.
Yet my first and my second (nay, think not I cozen),
When added together, will make but two dozen.

How many am I?

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Comments

OldChinaHand May 04, 2006	It took a couple of reading before I got it...a good one for sure.
warmonkey318 May 04, 2006	Thank you!!
zonarita May 04, 2006	GR8 Teaser and a fun read.
spuds May 04, 2006	I liked it
blablabla May 04, 2006	DUH!!!! i can't believe i didn't get that!!!! ya got me!
Mellew May 04, 2006	WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!wtg gurlie
o2bfishn May 05, 2006	very nice indeed. i got the 4 and 20 but didnt get score...duh
warmonkey318 May 05, 2006	Haha..ty people!!
PnutWuman77 May 05, 2006	Good one!
monkey93 May 06, 2006	I had to read it at least a couple of times to get it, but great teaser!
warmonkey318 May 06, 2006	yay!!
coltonr1 May 06, 2006	great 1 hannah
warmonkey318 May 07, 2006	yay...
hottiegurl99 May 07, 2006	Had to read it about 4 times, but awesome teaser!!!! One of my favorites!
Psychic_Master May 07, 2006	Awesome teaser, Hannah!
(user deleted) May 07, 2006	Classy all the way.
warmonkey318 May 08, 2006	Thank you people!!
PineappleMama May 08, 2006	Lincoln woulda loved it!
warmonkey318 May 10, 2006	haha, cool!! (didnt expect people to like it)
blagh May 11, 2006	Who's Lincoln? Sorry, I'm from overseas.
warmonkey318 May 12, 2006	(President) Thats ok..
osunale May 14, 2006	Wonderful. One of the best teasers I've seen in quite a while.
yoichiro May 15, 2006	i didn't get it but good job
warmonkey318 May 15, 2006	Thank you!
potch74 May 23, 2006	best teaser i came across so far... got the 4, and the 20 but i missed the score.
warmonkey318 May 24, 2006	ok, Fair enough!
mmmcla01 Jun 29, 2006	how does it it make two dozen...I don't get it................
surfxlikexaxgrl Jul 01, 2006	I DONT GET IT!
surfxlikexaxgrl Jul 01, 2006	I DONT GET IT! IF U DO CAN U PLZ PM ME?!
mmmcla01 Jul 01, 2006	Me Too............
schatzy228 Jul 05, 2006	EXCELLENT!
warmonkey318 Jul 08, 2006	thanks
sho_shao Jul 24, 2006	i think it wuz alright but still fun
tintiniscool Aug 02, 2006	Fun!
warmonkey318 Aug 15, 2006	RaD
mmmcla01 Dec 28, 2006	I totally do not understand...can someone please explain!!! After reading all the comments I get how it would be 4 and 20 but I still don't see where 'score' fits into that
lukeschett Jan 25, 2007	score is 20 and score rhymes with 4
vbguy101 Feb 17, 2007	Nice!
craniac Feb 17, 2007	To those who don't get it, especially those who aren't USA citizens -- a "score" is an archaic English term for 20 of anything, and 4 score means 4 times 20, or 80. A famous speech by President Abraham Lincoln after the Battle of Gettysburg (during the US Civil War) began "Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation. . ." -- so every USA school kid learns in history class what "four score" means. If you're not from the USA, you probably won't know that, nor can you be expected to. But it makes a good teaser, and even knowing all that is no guarantee of solving the riddle. I got the 4 and 20, but didn't come up with the phrase four score on my own.
Phalanx Feb 17, 2007	Thanks Craniac for that explanation... I was wondering myself about that score! Making out the 4 and 20 was easy... But I had no idea how I was supposed to have both rhyme! Great!
shawneeo Feb 17, 2007	Gosh, I sure do feel like a wet blanket... I'm so glad so many people love this teaser. I just , well, I also thought "4" and "20", but it said "my first is a NUMBER, my second ANOTHER" and so I didn't understand that it would have a WORD like "score" in it, although technically it's not wrong, since "score" is 20. But, I think that if it gave some indication that it's not necessarily two numerals, I might have enjoyed it more. But it's a great idea, and I think the "riddle poem" itself was excellent! Thanks for the hard work!
bestgirl Feb 17, 2007	good one! enjoyed it.
marschie Feb 17, 2007	That was wonderful! Thank you!
sftball_rocks13 Feb 17, 2007	That was really creative Great teaser
katjojo Feb 17, 2007	You got me on tht one!!
campfirecutie Feb 17, 2007	Great teaser!! It took me back to my school days in history class!! Way to go!!
bradon182001 Feb 17, 2007	Good teaser. I didn't get it, but after seeing the answer, makes sense. Isn't that the way it always is?
speedqueenkmw Feb 17, 2007	well, I didn't get it but I'm glad for the explanation. Nice job.
brainiac9865 Feb 17, 2007	It was so good,I sent it to five people.
vlerma Feb 17, 2007	Very nice job. I got the 4 and 20 right away, but had to think a while and put on my stove pipe thinking cap. Ha ha. Neighbor kid hit my cap off my head with a snowball and yelled "Score!",, Aha says me. Not really, but this one was very good.
FatHead Feb 17, 2007	The third and sixth lines turned it into an algebra problem, and gave it away. Now I just had to find out how 4 and 20 rhymed. That wasn't too hard.
yuki2396 Feb 17, 2007	You lost me
HScott13 Feb 17, 2007	Fun and well written, but as the term 'score' meaning 20 is not used very often the answer could do with an explanation.
larkep Feb 17, 2007	Excellent! I didn't get it but that was half the fun! I shoulda!! Well done! Keep 'em comin!
lmurray Feb 17, 2007	XIN NIAN KUAI LE! (HAPPY NEW YEAR) HEN HAO! (VERY GOOD!)
breathesunshine Feb 17, 2007	I couldn't for the life of me find a rhyme to go with this and then was kicking myself when I saw the answer. Great stumper!
wheesmack320 Feb 18, 2007	great
tonjawithaj Feb 20, 2007	good one!
Qrystal Feb 26, 2007	Yayyyy I got it I got it!! (and am not American, though I guess I get some of their culture, living right next door) I was so sure that the algebraic approach wouldn't work, but I went for it anyways, because I couldn't see anything else to try... and then like FatHead said above, I just had to find out how 20 rhymed with 4 -- and then gleefully, I saw how it would! SCORE!!!!!
coltonr1 Mar 17, 2007	Awsome Hannah one of the best I loved it. ~Coltonr1~
elentir Feb 18, 2010	I realize that it is probably to late for this, but it would have probably benefited to somehow incorporate into the riddle or as a hint that four score also equalled 80. Just a suggestion... great riddle otherwise!
doehead Feb 18, 2010	Poor selection for a teaser, If you are not American you probably have no idea what four score is!!!
fatster Feb 18, 2010	Great teaser! Doehead obviously believes any teaser she gets is too easy and if she doesn't get it, its horrible.
patiencewithaP Feb 18, 2010	You got me! Great teaser and well written!
TallTimber Feb 18, 2010	Very clever.
auntiesis Feb 18, 2010	Great teaser.
gargph Feb 18, 2010	I've never heard of 'score' before..
jaycr Feb 18, 2013	Clever.
cutebug Feb 18, 2013	I have to agree with doehead,although I got it.
gaylewolf Feb 18, 2013	I didn't get the riddle, but I LOVED reading the comments!
Maggiethe8th Feb 18, 2013	I was with BreatheSunshine-didn't take the time, but appreciated it once I knew!
thedavincigame Feb 18, 2013	Brilliant riddle, took me a long time to get the 4 and 20 as I focused on the rhyme rather than the maths, then when I realised the only answer was '4' and '20' I suddenly thought '4 score'! Very clever!
allythebuterfly Feb 18, 2013	Haha, like many others I missed it because I didn't know score meant 20. After I googled "fourscore" it made much more sense! Learned something at least!
gghali Feb 18, 2013	Good teaser! It took a second reading to really get all the nuances. Very well done!
thecatladycac Feb 18, 2013	I came up with the 4 and 20 also - but I rationalized by reciting "four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie!" Since that is part of a poem - that should satisfy the rhyming part! I know - that was a stretch of the imagination! Great Teaser!!!
jaycr Feb 18, 2013	Sybil.