In the olden days, I was feared, for my name meant certain death

Question

here is another riddle I came up with.

In the olden days, I was feared, for my name meant certain death.

Nowadays I describe the gentle wind's cold breath.

when you are young, you hate me, for I always mean more work,

when you are older, you appreciate me, the craftsman's handiwork.

I am quite the riddle, for I am both wet and dry.

So tell me, puzzle solvers: What am I?

Good luck to everyone except @QuantumTwinkie.

EDIT

I have added the wordplay tag as a bit of a hint, I should have had that before.

"Good luck to everyone except @QuantumTwinkie."= the meaning of life — Duck, Aug 09 '18 at 18:03

score 32 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 09 '18 at 19:11

32

Are you...

A Draft?

In the olden days, I was feared, for my name meant certain death.

Being drafted into a war is certainly dangerous to say the least

Nowadays I describe the gentle wind's cold breath.

A draft is another word for a gentle breeze

when you are young, you hate me, for I always mean more work,

Young people don't like creating rough drafts before starting a project

when you are older, you appreciate me, the craftsman's handiwork.

However, older people may appreciate the effort that went into planning ahead

I am quite the riddle, for I am both wet and dry.

Not too sure about this one. Wet could mean a draft beer?

So tell me, puzzle solvers: What am I?

This is the first time I've actually figured one of these out first. Pretty sure about this one, anyway.

answered Aug 09 '18 at 19:11

Kyle

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Well done! Both the craftsman's handiwork and the wet and dry refer to a draft beer. Nicely done, and thanks for stealing the win away from my nemesis – Cubemaster Aug 09 '18 at 19:15
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Well, certain death might be stretching it, most people survived it. – vsz Aug 10 '18 at 06:07
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Works for Americans; UK English has different spellings of – Mawg says reinstate Monica Aug 10 '18 at 06:46
@Cubemaster - What on earth is a dry beer? Or do you rate beer the same way as you rate wine, on a dry-sweet scale? – AndyT Aug 10 '18 at 10:18
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@AndyT According to dictionary.com, a dry beer is "beer brewed to have a higher alcohol content and a less bitter aftertaste than normal". – nick012000 Aug 10 '18 at 11:32
Could the "olden days" part mean a cold chill running down/past you, meaning a spirit is close? – PlanetAlexanderProjects Aug 12 '18 at 01:24

score 11 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 09 '18 at 18:21

11

You are

Chills, specifically referring to a sickness.

In the olden days, I was feared, for my name meant certain death.

If you got sick with chills, you died.

Nowadays I describe the gentle wind's cold breath.

Winter chill.

when you are young, you hate me, for I always mean more work,

You get sick with chills, stay home from school, and are forced to make up the work when you get back.

when you are older, you appreciate me, the craftsman's handiwork

When people get chills, it can represent being moved emotionally by something, rather than being sick.

I am quite the riddle, for I am both wet and dry.

You have chills, which cause sweating. And then you have emotional chills, which stand your hair up on end and is dry.

answered Aug 09 '18 at 18:21

Joe-You-Know

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Not what I had in mind, but I like this answer too! For the right answer, think wordplay ;) – Cubemaster Aug 09 '18 at 18:35
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I don't really like any of the answers on this page, because I think it's too vague at best and too inaccurate at worst, but I'm struggling to come up with how this answer is any less about "wordplay" than the accepted one? – moopet Aug 10 '18 at 14:44
Well, I thought it fit well, as well. :) – Joe-You-Know Aug 10 '18 at 14:46
Nm the OP. This is the correct answer. – Jamie Clinton Aug 10 '18 at 18:41
Is it now? Huh, I didn't realize that – Cubemaster Aug 10 '18 at 21:37
@moopet yep the whole puzzling is mostly "can someone else guess my brilliant idea and thus stroke my ego." – mathreadler Aug 11 '18 at 15:33

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 09 '18 at 18:05

5

Are you

Snow/ice/cold?

In the olden days, I was feared, for my name meant certain death.

They did not have very good warm clothes

Nowadays I describe the gentle wind's cold breath.

Cold breeze/ what happens in a blizzard?

when you are young, you hate me, for I always mean more work,

Collecting fire wood or indoor chores?

when you are older, you appreciate me, the craftsman's handiwork.

Igloos? snowflakes

I am quite the riddle, for I am both wet and dry.

It is hard solid water but it melts!

So tell me, puzzle solvers: What am I?

I am not 100% sure.

answered Aug 09 '18 at 18:05

Goose

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Haha this is what I had originally thought too..... – El-Guest Aug 09 '18 at 18:12
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Muahahahah. Try again with the new "hint", if you could call it that – Cubemaster Aug 09 '18 at 18:32

score 4 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 09 '18 at 18:09

For a broad approach,

The weather

In the olden days, I was feared, for my name meant certain death.

bad weather of any kind can kill- hypothermia from rain, thunder strikes, any natural disaster, etc.

Nowadays I describe the gentle wind's cold breath.

Usually "how's the weather?" produces a mediocre answer- gentle, you'd say.

when you are young, you hate me, for I always mean more work,

If the weather is good, you have no reason to not work outside (earn those allowances off of lawns, kids!).

when you are older, you appreciate me, the craftsman's handiwork.

You've lived through some bad weather, so when it is good, you appreciate it as is. Rain is good because it waters your plants, and you don't have to pay for water or get the hose yourself.

I am quite the riddle, for I am both wet and dry.

weather could be wet, and it can be hot and dry.

So tell me, puzzle solvers: What am I?

Or perhaps... it is a specific type, like mentioned above? – iiiidk Aug 09 '18 at 18:11 — iiiidk, Aug 09 '18 at 18:11

score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 09 '18 at 18:09

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Are you a cold? I the olden days it meant certain death (medicines weren't very developed). Colds are now referring it's cold outside. Colds mean you can be absent from school and the work will pile up. When you grow up you will know how to treat colds better.

answered Aug 09 '18 at 18:09

Duck

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I though this but I read the line that "when you are older, you appreciate me, the craftsman's handiwork." :D +1 – Goose Aug 09 '18 at 18:18

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Aug 09 '18 at 18:02

1

Are you a lecture? Teachers were rough in the olden days, with whips. When you are young you obviously hate them, when you grow old you love saying them.

answered Aug 09 '18 at 18:02

Duck

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Aug 10 '18 at 23:08

In the olden days, I was feared, for my name meant certain death.

Brick. Getting stoned was a common method of execution.

Nowadays I describe the gentle wind's cold breath.

"It's brick!" is a common way to describe a cool atmosphere.

when you are young, you hate me, for I always mean more work,

Bricks are used to lay the foundation. Education is laying a foundation. Thus more schoolwork!

when you are older, you appreciate me, the craftsman's handiwork.

The craftsman uses bricks.

I am quite the riddle, for I am both wet and dry.

Bricks can be wet or dry.

So tell me, puzzle solvers: What am I?

A bit of a stretch but !

BRICK

Welcome to Puzzling.SE! An interesting take on it, but this has already been solved. You might benefit from taking the tour. — Chowzen, Aug 10 '18 at 23:41

In the olden days, I was feared, for my name meant certain death

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