Riddle:
I have your ohs and your wishes, Your life force and your death gasp. You can visit me, or we can get stuck together; Either way, you'll arrive pale and leave quenched. What am I?
Answer: A well.
“Your ohs”: The interjection “oh, well” uses “well” as a conversational filler. “Your wishes”: A “wishing well” is where people toss coins and make wishes. “Your life force”: Wells hold water, essential for life; drinking from a well sustains you. “Your death gasp”: “Farewell” (said at life’s end) contains “well,” and grief often “wells up” as tears. “You can visit me”: A literal water well is a place you go to draw water. “We can get stuck together”: “As well” means “together/also,” and “well… well” is a phrase people repeat when stuck or hesitating. “Arrive pale and leave quenched”: A pun on “pail/pale”—you come with a pail to the well and leave with thirst quenched and the pail filled; or you come looking drained (“pale”) and leave revived by water. All clues point to “well” through its literal meaning (water source) and its many idiomatic uses.
