16
$\begingroup$ 
I lost my toe,  
the foot went grey.  
Where I used to know,  
A hole does stay.  

I found my egg,  
in a ditch was where.  
A root now my leg,  
the trench now a pair.  

I swapped my tree.  
And "oops" in the past,  
(Where could I be?)  
became "ouch" in contrast

Where on earth am I?

Hint:

What I lost sent me from high to something just below
What I found sent me falling even further though
What I swapped sent me going between high and low

Hint 2:

Adding the letter n somewhere on the first line would give you a massive clue.

Final Hint:

It's important that you change your tune or die a critic.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
12
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Does this riddle have anything to do with ROT13(gerapu sbbg be nzchgngvbaf)? $\endgroup$
    – Kyle Williamson
    Commented Oct 17, 2019 at 20:20
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ rot13(Vg'f ernyyl hasbeghangr gung V nz tbaan qvnpevgvp, orpnhfr V pna'g znxr urnqf be gnvyf bhg bs ynathntrf jvgu nppragf. Vs qvnpevgvp vgfrys vf gur fbyhgvba, V'z tbaan nyfb qvr n pevgvp.) $\endgroup$
    – Avi
    Commented Oct 25, 2019 at 14:54
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @Avi Nice! rot13(Qvnpevgvpf ner na vzcbegnag pbzcbarag gb uryc lbh jvgu gur nafjre! Ohg abg gur nafjre vgfrys!) $\endgroup$
    – JonM
    Commented Oct 25, 2019 at 14:59
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Does this have to do with rot13(zhfvp abgrf)? $\endgroup$
    – Kyle Williamson
    Commented Oct 28, 2019 at 13:31
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ So the n you add in toe is the same as the final hint? $\endgroup$
    – Duck
    Commented Nov 20, 2019 at 5:15

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
8
$\begingroup$

I know where you are:

You're in Thailand!

I lost my toe

Well, you lost your tone.

the foot went grey.

เท้า (foot) เทา (grey - the same characters, just missing a dead critic)

Where I used to know,
A hole does stay.

Still working on this

I found my egg, in a ditch was where.

Don't have this one yet, but ditch and egg have similar pronounciations (khu vs khi)

A root now my leg,

ข่า (galangal, or thai ginger root) ขา (leg)

the trench now a pair.

คู (trench) คู่ (pair)

I swapped my tree.

Hmmm, maybe ต้น (tree, kinda) ตน (self)?

And "oops" in the past,
became "ouch" in contrast

อุ่ย (oops) อุ๊ย (ouch) Awesome riddle, thank you! It was the ouch/oops that gave it away for me, made the clues that it might be to do with a tonal language drop into place.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Excellent work! You have the answer but there is more to some of the clues. It's worth noting rot13(gurer'f zber gb gur svefg yvar bs rnpu cnentencu. vg freirf nf n zber yvgreny vafgehpgvba). $\endgroup$
    – JonM
    Commented Jan 13, 2020 at 10:51
  • $\begingroup$ You got it. The only part missing was that the traded objects in the riddle are near English homophones of the Thai words for the traded tone marks e.g. my egg (mái èk) $\endgroup$
    – JonM
    Commented Apr 28, 2020 at 10:34

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.