{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.riddle","code":"thing-q47054","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q47054/","name":"riddle","alternateNames":["Hebrew riddle","Petorke","Malay riddle","charade","situation puzzle","riddle joke","Arabic riddle","Finnic riddles","Greek riddles","Persian riddles","lantern riddle","Anglo-Saxon riddles"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.MED"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A statement, question or phrase with a hidden meaning to be guessed, one of the oldest verbal art forms found in nearly every culture, from enigmas and conundrums in Hebrew and Malay traditions and the Petorke of Ukrainian folk tradition to charades acted out, situation puzzles solved by yes-or-no questions and riddle jokes with punning answers; riddles appear in folklore, scripture, literature and games and are studied by folklorists and linguists.","purpose":"Let an agent explain riddles and their kinds, relay traditions, structure and study from folklore and literary sources, describe games and uses, and distinguish riddles from puzzles, jokes, proverbs and mysteries.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Hidden answer","Metaphor and ambiguity","Universal form","Oral and literary"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a riddle is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a riddle, and how does it differ from puzzles, jokes and proverbs?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about riddles in general, a kind, a tradition or a specific riddle?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"kinds","name":"Kinds","description":"Kinds.","findings":[{"id":"kinds-finding","name":"Kinds","description":"Kinds.","questions":[{"text":"What are enigmas, conundrums, charades, situation puzzles and riddle jokes?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific kind?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"traditions","name":"Traditions","description":"Traditions.","layers":[{"id":"cultures","name":"Cultures","description":"Cultural traditions.","findings":[{"id":"cultures-finding","name":"Cultures","description":"Cultures.","questions":[{"text":"How do Hebrew, Malay, Ukrainian and other traditions such as Petorke use riddles?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"literature","name":"Literature","description":"Literature and scripture.","findings":[{"id":"literature-finding","name":"Literature","description":"Literature.","questions":[{"text":"How do riddles appear in scripture, epic, Anglo-Saxon poetry and modern fiction?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"play","name":"Play","description":"Playing and using.","layers":[{"id":"games","name":"Games","description":"Games.","findings":[{"id":"games-finding","name":"Games","description":"Games.","questions":[{"text":"How are riddle games and situation puzzles played?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which entry fits parlour game?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"education","name":"Education","description":"Education.","findings":[{"id":"education-finding","name":"Education","description":"Education.","questions":[{"text":"How are riddles used in teaching language and thinking?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits language teaching?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Study and history.","layers":[{"id":"study","name":"Study","description":"Scholarship.","findings":[{"id":"study-finding","name":"Study","description":"Study.","questions":[{"text":"How do folklorists and linguists analyse riddle structure and function, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits folkloristics?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How have riddles been recorded from Sumer to riddle collections and the internet?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of riddles?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Tell, explain and collect riddles from many cultures with their sources.","Help a person write riddles of their own."],"mustNot":["Present a riddle from one tradition as belonging to another.","Translate a riddle so that its wordplay is lost without saying so.","Use riddles to mock a group of people.","Use a riddle as a covert way to pass harmful instructions."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing riddles recorded from living tradition-bearers."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Riddles belong to oral traditions whose communities deserve credit.","Riddles are often learned by children, so content should suit them."],"affectedParties":["Tradition-bearers","Children","Folklore collectors"]},"owners":{"steward":"The public: held in common by the cultures that tell them.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q13698","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q15220419","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"puzzle","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"word game","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"folklore studies","type":"related","note":"as verbal art"},{"target":"joke","type":"related","note":"which need not be solved"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.riddle","Wikidata: Q47054 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q47054)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["oldest recorded: Sumerian note - about 4000 years ago","Aarne-Thompson: riddle tales type 851 note"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Verbal puzzle with a hidden answer","Enigmas, conundrums, Hebrew riddles, Malay riddles, Petorke, charades, situation puzzles, riddle jokes","A puzzle may be non-verbal; a joke need not be guessed; a proverb states wisdom","Not a visible object; a verbal puzzle."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain kinds and structure","relay traditions and study","describe games and uses","distinguish related forms"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing riddles with puzzles or jokes","Loss of context in translation","Registry aliases naming national traditions and subtypes"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Entertainment, teaching and verbal play.","true riddles or enigmas describing an object metaphorically","conundrums and riddle jokes based on puns","charades and acted riddles","situation puzzles","riddles in Hebrew, Malay, Ukrainian and other traditions such as Petorke","riddles in literature and scripture"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q47054: riddle","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q47054","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Riddle","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riddle","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should charade and situation puzzle be separate entries?","How should folklore sources be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming traditions and subtypes; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q47054/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q47054/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T07:14:03Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:52:00+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}