27

I'm a European country, can you find me?

I share a border with France
I'm bigger than Belgium
I have red in my flag
I'm smaller than Poland
I'm south of Denmark
I have no cross in my flag
I have direct access to the Atlantic ocean
I have a "R" in my name
I'm not Portugal

And of course, I lied only once.

bobble
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Keelhaul
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  • Clarification: the North Sea is not considered to be "direct access to the Atlantic Ocean". I know there might be debates about that, but it was not intended as such. – Keelhaul Dec 18 '20 at 10:05
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    Clarification 2: a country is not considered to share a border with itself, to be bigger or smaller than itself or south of itlsef. – Keelhaul Dec 18 '20 at 10:12
  • Possible entry for FTC? – Stiv Dec 18 '20 at 10:41
  • If you think it's relevant, but this puzzle is not centered on flags, it's just a part of it – Keelhaul Dec 18 '20 at 10:52
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    Well, the brief only said puzzles which 'use the flags tag' - and (since I retagged it!) your puzzle certainly qualifies that way. If you feel it doesn't revolve around flags 'enough' then that's fine to keep it entirely separate. Your call :) (Just wanted to point out that was the theme for this fortnight in case you hadn't spotted it...) – Stiv Dec 18 '20 at 10:55

6 Answers6

24

You are:

SURINAME in South America!

I share a border with France

Suriname borders French Guiana, an overseas territory of France.
enter image description here

I'm bigger than Belgium
I have red in my flag
I'm smaller than Poland
I'm south of Denmark
I have no cross in my flag

Suriname is bigger than Belgium but smaller than Poland. The flag contains a red central stripe between white and green stripes, with a yellow star (no cross). Being situated only just north of the equator, it is much further south than Denmark.
enter image description here

I have direct access to the Atlantic ocean
I have a "R" in my name
I'm not Portugal

Being on the northern shores of South America, Suriname has direct access to the Atlantic (see the map at the top of this answer again). Its name contains an 'R' and (obviously) it is not Portugal!

So the lie was:

that you were looking for a European country!

Stiv
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7

You are

the Netherlands

I share a border with France

It does, via the Caribbean island of Saint Martin - the northern half is part of France and the southern half is part of the Netherlands

I'm bigger than Belgium

41,865 sq.km vs Belgium's 30,689 sq.km

I have red in my flag

enter image description here

I'm smaller than Poland

Again, 41,865 sq.km, vs. Poland's 312,696 sq.km

I'm south of Denmark

Lies between latitudes 50N and 54N, Denmark lies lies further north at 58N and 54 33' N (discounting Greenland)

I have no cross in my flag

Nope; refer back to the image under "I have red in my flag"

I have access to the Atlantic Ocean

As per OP's clarifications, this is the lie, as the Netherlands borders the North Sea, not the Atlantic

I have an "R" in my name

Netherlands (not Holland! That's only one province!)

I'm not Portugal

You sure ain't!

F1Krazy
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    This fits pretty well but rot13(Treznal vf qverpgyl fbhgu bs Qraznex naq nyfb svgf nyy ohg bar pyhr) – DeNick Dec 18 '20 at 10:03
  • Sorry, but I don't consider the North Sea as the same as the Atlantic ocean, I'll add a clarification – Keelhaul Dec 18 '20 at 10:03
  • Realised there's still a way this country could be considered to meet the terms of the puzzle... one moment, please... – F1Krazy Dec 18 '20 at 10:09
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    I did not think of Saint Martin, indeed. A bit more of a stretch than the intended answer, but well played nonetheless. If I had a half-checkmark I would award it to you ;) – Keelhaul Dec 18 '20 at 10:21
  • Does the Netherlands not have direct access to the Atlantic as soon as you take Saint Martin into account?! – Retudin Dec 18 '20 at 16:30
  • @Retudin Yeah, that occurred to me shortly after I made the change... never mind! – F1Krazy Dec 18 '20 at 16:35
3

I was thinking about

France

Technically this shares borders with France, all borders

The lie would be

I'm smaller than Poland -> France is bigger than Poland

DeNick
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2

Not as good as the accepted answer, but I thought of

West Germany
The sneaky part is that is is not a country anymore, but only the "I have direct access to the Atlantic ocean" is a lie.

Retudin
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2

There's also

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Plenty of "R's. Definitely not Portugal.

Shares a border with France:

It's a water border, but still a border. And if you don't like that, consider the one in the Chunnel.

Has direct access to the Atlantic Ocean:

Cornwall, the Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland, and Rockall

Larger than Belgium and smaller than Poland

Belgium: 30,689 km2. UK: 244,820. Poland: 312,696.

South of Denmark:

The southernmost point of Denmark is 54°33´N near Gedser. The southernmost point of the UK are some rocks off the the Isles of Scilly at 49°51´, unless you count Jersey which is 49°8´

Finally the flag:

Union Jack Clearly has red in it, and the lie is the lack of a cross.

Spencer
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0

Alternative answer:

Liberia

The lie being:

Shares a border with France

Mike
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    Welcome to Puzzling! Could you provide more explanation for how Liberia fits the other clues? As you can see with the other answers, a line-by-line explanation is useful to see how your answer fits. – bobble Dec 20 '20 at 19:29
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    Oops, I missed the "I'm a European country"! Sorry. – Mike Dec 20 '20 at 19:36