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This question of mine was recently closed due to being off topic because it is speculative.

The hold explanation includes a reference to this meta question from a couple of years ago, and I find some of the criteria a little vague. Taken too far, this reason could (IMO) be used to close almost any riddle as well as many other types of questions that rely on the interpretation of the puzzle.

Can we specify more stringent criteria for this close reason, and (on a more personal request) can an outside viewpoint tell my biased self where this puzzled strayed into this territory?

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  • $\begingroup$ As of 2016-08-22 17:48:02, the Riddle Sandbox is available! No more strange closure reasons for riddles! $\endgroup$
    – EKons
    Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 9:23
  • $\begingroup$ @ΈρικΚωνσταντόπουλος This wasn't a riddle, and it was originally posted over a year ago. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 10:01
  • $\begingroup$ I commented just for reference. $\endgroup$
    – EKons
    Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 10:02

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I think the comment by @MasonWheeler on the selected answer kinda explains it best. The girl is the guy's wife. If she said "Hey Honey, I'm going to be at work all day" or "I'm going to xyz's house for the night" the husband would know where to go.

The assumption that this question hinges on is that the husband has no idea where his wife is. You can't answer the riddle if that changes, and this wasn't addressed. It would, honestly, be less likely that the husband didn't know (you probably know where at least most if not all of your household are right now, yes?)

In regards to the closing reason, it addresses that; The question is posed such that there are assumptions necessary to answer it. You want to ask the questions in such a way that when the answer is revealed, everyone goes 'Oh yeah that's the one true answer.' The answer in this case still depends on information that isn't included in the question that isn't guaranteed to be true in general.

Even if that was resolved, to me (i.e. this part is more an opinion of mine, and less important than the above) this is more of a 'Gotcha!' sort of trick than a puzzle requiring alternative interpretations or problem-solving. It verges on a punchline of a joke more than the answer to a problem to be solved.

The second part is up for debate, I'll agree, but I think the first part really makes a concrete case.

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  • $\begingroup$ I would argue that to differing opinions, most riddles or puzzles could be (whether they should be or not) considered as punchlines. Either way, check the puzzled again (if you don't mind) and see if the edits have resolved that issue. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Aug 24, 2016 at 11:48
  • $\begingroup$ If we start rejecting "Gotcha" style questions, then that eliminates pretty much the entire wordplay tag $\endgroup$
    – David Starkey
    Commented Aug 26, 2016 at 20:09
  • $\begingroup$ @DavidStarkey Wordplay has to do with clever or alternate interpretations of explicitly written text, not story-contextual, factual assumptions that have to be made based on information left out. $\endgroup$
    – Avik Mohan
    Commented Aug 26, 2016 at 20:13
  • $\begingroup$ @AvikMohan I updated the puzzle. Would you mind checking it again to see if the problem still exists. $\endgroup$
    – Aggie Kidd
    Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 17:35
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Isn't solving a riddle always kinda like a set of assumptions? In the process of solving somone would work out an assumption based on a clue and see if it holds up until the end - along with other assumptions they will have collected along the way.

So I'd suggest to ask the OP to narrow down the number possibilites a bit rather than closing the question. Also the answer here is very satisfying and clearly shows the unique way of solving including some kind of twist.

OPs sometimes say: "You will know when your answer is correct". And I think this is the case here. So I agree, there are other questions which deserve closing as much as the question in question here (or even more).

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    $\begingroup$ The case where the OP needs to edit to narrow down the question is exactly what putting questions on hold is designed for - hence the flow, "put the question on hold until OP edits it sufficiently." $\endgroup$
    – user20
    Commented Aug 20, 2016 at 10:35

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