This is one of the first riddles I was able to remember consistently and I got it from my Dad. A man looks at a portrait and says, "Brothers and sisters, I have none. But that man's father is my father's son." What is the relationship of the man in the portrait to the speaker?
Solution:
The official solution is that the man in the portrait is the son of the speaker. However, an anonymous commenter pointed out that the man in the portrait could be the son of a deceased brother of the speaker, making him the speaker's nephew. This depends on interpreting "Brothers and sisters I have none" as leaving open the possibility that the speaker once did have a brother.
That man is my son!
ReplyDeleteWhy would it be son? if he said "But that man's father is my father's son" so his son came from his father?
DeleteNo, you're stupid. Read it again.
DeleteI have this riddle game and this wasn't the answer
DeleteThats rude dont call people stupid
DeleteOr it's the nephew of a deceased brother... It doesn't say "Brothers and sisters, I have never had." But that could be cause it would ruin the rhyme.
ReplyDelete"Brothers and sisters I have never had. But that man's father is the son of my dad!"
You've got a point. And I like your own version if the riddle!
DeleteThat's exactly what the original sounds like. Like his father had a son. Grandpa lol
DeleteThat's good
ReplyDeleteAnonymous has a good point about the deceased brother, but it would be his son, my nephew, not his nephew. And I like his revision to keep it rhyming.
ReplyDeleteI was given this riddle in the 6th grade, I'm just now getting it and I'm 30
ReplyDeletethat is obviously Benjamin Franklin Dur. ;)
ReplyDelete"But that man's father is my father's son.". why cannot it be a oertrait of himself he is looking at?
ReplyDeleteI agree
DeleteThe man viewing the portrait and speaking the riddle cannot be looking at a portrait of himself: if it WAS a portrait of himself, then he would have to say "That man (the man in the portrait) is my father's son."
DeleteBut what he does say is "That man's FATHER is my father's son." Replace the phrase "my father's son" with one word - who is "my father's son"? If the man talking had no brothers, then "my father's son" refers to the man viewing the picture and speaking the riddle.
So now we have a simplified riddle: The man viewing the subject of the portrait says "... That man's father is me." Therefore the man in the portrait is his son.
I figured this out many years ago, but to this day, my husband will not accept that the answer is "my son", but insists that it is "himself" in the portrait.
DeleteIt is Jesus!
DeleteCuriously, the solution that he is looking at himself is the solution often given for this riddle. It is, however, not accurate at all. It can't be himself.
ReplyDeleteAs in a maze, sometimes it is easier to work backwards, therefore:
ReplyDeleteMy fathers son = me (I have no brothers or sisters) and I am the father of “this man.” This man is my son.
The best way to solve a riddle is not to read too much into it (eg possibility of deceased siblings)as there really is one answer. I do like the revised version re "Brothers and sisters I never had" - it works well :) The beauty of the riddle is in the writing.
I have no brother or sister, that mans father is my fathers son, who am i: I have no bro or sis but that man father is my father son meaning its my son.my father is the grandfather while im the father
ReplyDelete"my father is the grandfather while im the father" because I have no siblings (of either or both genders))---- I AGREE!!!
Deletethe key to this is that the person speaking is looking at a portrait or picture....imagine him looking into a mirror! Who would the speaker then be?
ReplyDeleteIt's the person himself thats saying the riddle. In otherwords it would be me if I was the one saying the riddle.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot possibly be your own son.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBrothers and sisters I have none, BUT this man's father is my father's son.
ReplyDeleteI think the emphasis should be on the word "but"... it shows a tempering the absolute, "...I have none."
Might it be a step brother to the speaker?
Just a thought after 2 cups of morning coffee
It's a portrait of himself
ReplyDeleteCould be his dead brother..."that man's father...is my father's son"
ReplyDeleteThe way I remember it was "brothers and sisters have I none"
ReplyDeleteThat makes so much sense.
Delete"Brothers and Sisters I have none" = I am an only child.
ReplyDeletePointing at the picture saying "that man's father is my father's son.".
That mans father = my fathers son.
That picture is me, the son of my father.
Your 'equal' sign is a fine substitute for the word "is", but does not answer the question being asked. Try it again by substituting "That" with you 'equal' sign.
DeleteWow, what a logic fail. You sounded so sure, too. Let's look at your answer. You say the picture is the speaker, or, in your words, "me".
DeleteYou use this equation:
That man's father = my father's son
Now, if the picture is of the speaker, then you can interchange "me" with references to the picture.
The reference to the picture you use is "That Man". So, if we substitute, then:
That man's father = my father's son
becomes:
My father = My father's son
Your father can't be his own son, so your answer is wrong.
Now, suppose you took the right answer, which is that the picture is of the man's son.
Let's switch that in now and see what happens.
That man's father = my father's son
becomes:
My son's father = my father's son
Oh snap, willis. That's a true statement. And it is also the correct answer.
AWESOME!!!!- Wunderbar!
DeleteThe answer is simple: no brothers and sisters, therefore completely discount. This Man = Answer; IS my father's son = me, a portrait of myself. Ignore all the blinds and work from answer backwards.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that there could be any other answer than I/My/This Man/Me ... The riddle clearly states that this man "is" my father's son. If this man had a brother, the riddle would say, this man "was" my father's son. Although, it is sentimental to refer to your deceased son (or brother) like this, it would be logically incorrect.
ReplyDeleteIt does not say that this man is my father's son. It says that this man's FATHER is my father's son. Therefore If my father's son is me, then I am the father. That boy=Me. Brothers and sisters I have none, but my father is my father's son. That is just not right.
DeleteThe riddle does not state this man is my fathers son, it states this mans father is my father's son.
ReplyDeleteSon < Father < Grandfather
This man<This man's father(my fathers son)< My father
=
This man<Me<My father
So 'this man' is my son
Since I have no brothers or sisters, the phrase "my father's son" must be me. Therefore:
ReplyDeleteThis man's father = my father's son
This man's father = me
This man must be my son. QED
This might be the BEST RESPONSE(???!!)
DeleteI think its a woman speaking. The man is her husband. Her father accepts him as his son while she doesn't count him as a brother.
ReplyDeleteSon-in-law and father-in-law.
ReplyDeleteso uhm whats the answer?
ReplyDeleteThat man (me, myself, my, I)'s (possessive) father = my father('s) (possessive again) son. Take the word father and possessive out from both sides of the equation and you get: That man (me, myself, my, I) = son.
ReplyDeleteThe version I heard , oh so many years ago had nothing to do with a picture, the "who was he" was asked about a VISITOR the man had, so it could not have been himself....somewhere along the line someone wanted to make it trickier I guess.
ReplyDeleteIt's JESUS! He's everyones Father and we are all his children. Not that hard. Lol
ReplyDeleteSame as Stephen Sabbath- I like it!!
DeleteGosh guys, it is so easy and full of sadness and happiness somehow. I have no brother and sisters ( he is sad) but I have a son....the man in the picture.
ReplyDeleteWrong picture people and a pic was never involved in the riddle. H; Brothers and Sisters, I (being male or female does not matter) have none, But this man's Father (God, Our Father) is my Father's Son. (Jesus, our Lord and Savior) Who is this man ? Jesus Christ of course !
ReplyDeleteI could see this coming!!!!😁😁😁
Deletemy question is about the phrase "my fathers son" has to be a guy looking at himself somehow. other wise we're talking incest right?
ReplyDelete