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Riddle me this:

I'm in a pillow, but not in a blanket;
In a piano, but not in a crotchet;
In a picnic, but not in a basket;
Close to four, but far from a quartet.

I'm not for treasure, but am for the pirate;
In a picture, but not in the camera;
I'm not for a plane, but am for the pilot;
How quickly can you pick up the answer?

The answer might serve useful for my previous puzzle.

Hint:

You cannot put me on pizza,
But without me it would not exist;
Nonetheless, if you put margherita,
Instead of pineapple, then I will be missed.

Community
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Mr Pie
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2 Answers2

13

It's

Pi

I'm in a pillow, but not in a blanket;
In a piano, but not in a crotchet;
In a picnic, but not in a basket;

The words "pillow", "piano" and "picnic" contain "pi".
"Blanket", "crochet" and "basket" don't.

Close to four, but far from a quartet.

Pi is 3.14, which is close to 4.
The word "quartet doesn't contain "pi".

I'm not for treasure, but am for the pirate;
In a picture, but not in the camera;
I'm not for a plane, but am for the pilot;

"Pirate", "picture" and "pilot" all contain "pi".
"Treasure", "camera" and "plane" don't.

Title: You Can Find Me in a Pickle Jar, But Not if There's Cookies (By Far!)

"Pickle jar" contains "pi".
"Cookie jar" doesn't.

Jafe
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  • Either all my friends are bad at riddles, or you are amazing at them. It's about time I start making them a bit more difficult, particularly for this site. I mean, you have the answer, but you got it so quickly! I was thinking of writing the verse, "Half in purple, half in violet" to make it more ambiguous, but I believe you would have still found the answer. Although I spent a short while on making this riddle, great job! :) – Mr Pie Aug 03 '18 at 09:12
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    Perhaps the riddle would have been harder if the thing we look for wouldn't have been right at the beginning of all the words that contain it. – M Oehm Aug 03 '18 at 09:29
  • @MOehm Yeah true. I will try making my riddles a little bit more "scattered", if you know what I mean. – Mr Pie Aug 03 '18 at 09:31
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    Until the second-to-last line I was actually sure the answer would be rot13[gur yrggre c] :) – Jafe Aug 03 '18 at 09:50
  • Yes, that is what I wanted people to think. My friends guessed it was a Rot13$[$srngure$]$, and then one of them changed his answer to Rot13$[$fvyx$]$ because of that very line. None of them — not even one of my math(s) teachers! — answered it correctly... but you did :) – Mr Pie Aug 03 '18 at 10:01
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    Here I was trying to decide if it was the letter p or the letter i. It was both! Haha. – Devsman Aug 03 '18 at 19:02
  • Well, Saturdays are now very busy for me, so I am not going to be very active on those days... which is why I did not have time to accept this answer! Congratulations! :D $;\color{green}{\checkmark}$ – Mr Pie Aug 04 '18 at 09:25
1

The answer to your puzzle is pi.

Jaap Scherphuis
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user2923627
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    Make sure you hide the spoilers! Feel free to take the tour and earn your first badge! – elarr Aug 03 '18 at 14:41
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    Welcome to Puzzling! (Take the [Tour]!) Unfortunately, your answer lacks an explanation of why you think it is correct, so may be deleted. Answers should be a thoughtfully considered attempt to solve the puzzle that was posed, with an explanation of how you arrived at the solution and/or why you believe your solution is correct. We're looking for quality answers, not a one-line response containing the first thing that leapt to mind. Please take some time to look around and familiarize yourself with the kinds of answers that are well-received here, ideally before you post any more answers. – Glorfindel Aug 03 '18 at 14:47