Riddled with Presidential Candidates
In this issue of “The Truth Today”, your less than humble editor has prepared a list of 27 “riddles” based on the names of those who are currently (or were) running for the 2020 Presidential Election. Your editor briefly (maybe 10 seconds) considered creating a crossword puzzle, but:
- Many of the hints are puns. Puns are more a quality of riddles than of crossword puzzles.
- Laying out a crossword puzzle seemed like a lot of work.
Rules of the Game
- There 27 hints … presented in no particular order.
- Each hint is related to a different candidate.
- Most, but not all, of the hints refer to the candidate’s last name.
Each hint is followed by an “Answer” link in purple. When you think you know the candidate (or when you give up), click on the link to see the candidate … and, if necessary, an explanation of how the hint relates to the candidate’s name. Each answer is followed by a “Continue” link (also in purple). Clicking on that link will take you to the next question.
Perhaps you haven’t been paying attention to the Presidential election that is still almost 16 months in the future. (You have a life beyond politics? Your editor is shocked!) If you need a crib sheet, click on this link to open a list of the names and pictures of the 2020 Presidential Candidates.
Here we go …
- You may have to clean up after this candidate.
Answer
- Small stones won’t hurt this candidate.
Answer
- This is how little Benjamin might tell you that he’s finished his dinner.
Answer
- This candidate is good at moving from side to side or forward and backward.
Answer
- This candidate likes to cut cloves.
Answer
- The river is black when this candidate is around.
Answer
- This candidate holds two pieces of metal together.
Answer
- This candidate may be descended from the child of a saint.
Answer
- This candidate likes to torment the President.
Answer
- This candidate might be the head of the German-American “Mafia”.
Answer
- This candidate describes the state of the rocks that form lava.
Answer
- This candidate describes a tall shoe sitting in a corner.
Answer
- This candidate might be a pig farmer.
Answer
- This candidate is a member of a group of specialists among those who make furniture.
Answer
- This candidate’s first name is the same as a bird’s last name.
Answer
- This candidate is just waiting.
Answer
- This candidate probably keeps track of debits and credits … or, hires theatrical performers.
Answer
- This candidate’s last name might make you think we’re referring to Bill’s boy?
Answer
- This candidate is not related to any dictator.
Answer
- You might want to gamble on this candidate.
Answer
- This candidate is active as a matter of principle.
Answer
- This candidate makes a home for rabbits.
Answer
- This candidate could prove to be quite illustrious.
Answer
- This candidate has the means for imprisoning a male bovine.
Answer
- This is a recently made-up word for the choking and coughing you get when you take too big of a bong hit.
Answer
- This candidate bears the mark of a well-known saloon that’s now located in the Cedars district of Dallas, Texas.
Answer
- This candidate talks about Shakespeare a lot.
Answer
Jay Inslee 
(The bird on the right is a Blue Jay. Governor Inslee’s first name is Jay. The bird’s “last name” is Jay.)
Continue
Don Trump 
(Don is a title given to a crime boss. Irony is alive and well.)
Continue
Cory Booker 
(Booker is British slang for a bookkeeper or a theatrical hiring agent.)
Continue
Julián Castro 
(He’s of Mexican-American descent; not Cuban.)
Continue
Elizabeth Warren 
(A warren is a group of holes in the ground connected by tunnels in which rabbits live.)
Continue
Steve Bullock 
(Bull Lock)
Continue
Michael Bennet 
(If you asked little Benjamin, “Did you eat?”, he might say, “Ben Et.”)
Continue
Marianne Williamson 
(William’s Son)
Continue
Amy Klobuchar 
(Clow … a British word equivalent to clove … Butcher)
Continue
Tom Steyer 
(Sty-er … A sty is a pig pen.)
Continue
Bill de Blasio 
(De means “about” in Latin and “of” in several of the romance languages. Blasio is a derivative of the surname “Blaise”. Saint Blaise was a physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia.)
Continue
Kirsten Gillibrand 
(“Gilley” Brand) The original Gilley’s was a bar/honky tonk founded in 1971 by country singer Mickey Gilley in Pasadena, Texas. It was the central location in the 1980 film Urban Cowboy.
Continue
Kamala Harris 
(Harass)
Continue
John Delaney 
(Delaney is a derivative of the Gaelic
Ó Dubhsláine, Dubh meaning black and Slaine for the River Slaine.)
Continue
Bill Weld 
(A weld is a joint formed by touching two pieces of metal together; heating the point at which they touch until the metals melt; and letting them cool to create a permanent bond.)
Continue
Bernie Sanders 
(Without someone to sand the furniture, it would be rough and might give you splinters.)
Continue
Seth Moulton 
(Lava is molten rock.)
Continue
Mike Gravel 
(Gravel is a bunch of small stones.)
Continue
Tim Ryan 
(Although the original meaning is obscure, popular sources typically suggest that the name Ryan means “little king” or “illustrious”.)
Continue
Joe Biden 
(Until he officially announced his candidacy on April 25, 2019, Joe was just bidin’ his time.)
Continue
Tulsi Gabbard 
(Gab[s] about the Bard of Avon.)
Continue
Beto O’Rourke 
(Bet on O’Rourke)
Continue
John Hickenlooper 
(Because he was Governor of Colorado when it became the first state in the Union to legalize recreational marijuana, his last name has become urban slang.)
Continue
Andrew Yang 
(In Chinese philosophy, Yang is the active force; Yin is the receptive force.)
Continue
Pete Buttigieg 
(Boot-edge-edge) That’s Mayor Pete’s description of how people can learn to pronounce and remember his name.
Continue
Eric Swaiwell 
(Sway Well) Not long after the 1st pair of Democratic Party candidate debates, Representative Swaiwell dropped out of the Presidential Race. He plans to concentrate on his re-election to the House.
Continue
Wayne Messam 
(Mess ’em … as in Mess ’em up.)
Continue
How did you do?
Are you tired of groaning at the puns …,
… and cursing at obscure connections?
You were warned.
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My Less Than Humble Opinion 
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