RIDDLE 1
I sit behind the scenes and feed rules into a machine; I shape what happens though you cannot always see me.
implicit
I’m a quiet hint that lies under a big idea — you feel me but I’m not spoken.
parameters
I am the whisper that guides action, though never spoken. Remove me and people are lost, though they never knew I was there.
implicit
I am the soft hand that makes a hard thing easier to hold; I remove the worst edge so you can stand.
alleviate
I measure the stretch from start to stop; a truth clock for each brief or long thing.
duration
I’m the fee paid for work done by people who help a project move forward.
commissions
I set how words and pieces sit on a page or file — the frame that makes the shape readable.
format
I match one list to another — I am the reply that fits, the box that lines up, the answer that pairs with the question.
corresponds
I fold one idea into another so both live inside the new thing — it keeps pieces whole while making them part of something larger.
incorporates
I sit where plans meet limits — the line that says "this far, no farther," and forces new routes to be found.
constraint
I am the work done by one pair of hands or one set of keys — no engine, no short cut, just you and the task.
manually
I am the span from first bell to last bell — a set of ticks that says when something began and when it ends.
duration
I’m a belief that sticks to one side and won’t bend, even when new facts knock at the door.
ideologically
I take loose parts and make one machine that runs — different pieces trade places and learn to fit.
integrated
I am the silent frame around a picture — unseen, yet without me the whole canvas spills over.
parameters
I turn marks on a page into power — I free the mind to read signs, find work, and join the talk of grown people.
literacy
I take the better chair as if the room itself agrees — not always kind, but used to the view.
superior
Hands make things happen and eyes check the sum — I am the small share paid to the helper who moves a deal forward.
commissions
I choose without care for reason or past habit; I can make a coin flip fair or make a sudden rule seem strange.
arbitrary
I stand a little taller in the room — not rude, but used to having the last word, the better seat, the louder voice.
superior
I change scratches on a page into power and steps — without me, the map stays a mystery.
literacy
I set the edges of a task: not the main thing, but without me the job drifts. I can be a small note or a hard line that the rest must follow.
parameters
I sit where you can't point a finger — not said out loud, yet the plan bends to my will. I hide inside rules and shapes what everyone thinks is normal.
implicit
I am the twin that fits a form — the left glove to the right hand, the voice that answers and proves the pair.
corresponds
I am the bank of signs that says “no more,” the rope tied at the road’s end. Invent around me if you must — I will wait.
constraint