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ふたりで一人前いろんなものをまっぷたつにするのは何?

What is the thing that can cut in half various things when the to parts become one?

This is my interpretation, but I think is wrong.
Can someone explain?
Especialli the bold で.
Is it the continuative of です or the で of means?

2 Answers 2

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  • That で in bold is the continuative form of the copula だ, as in "私は会社員、妹は大学生です". So it's basically "and".
  • 一人前 in this sentence means full-fledged, mature, etc.
    What is the etymology of 一人前?
  • ふたりで一人前 literally means "(becomes) full-fledged by two people" or "full-fledged when there are two people". Riddles often use personification like this, and it just means "works fine only in pairs".

The whole sentence roughly means "What is the thing that works fine only in pairs and cuts various things in two?"

The answer of the riddle is probably "scissors".

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I interpret the given sentence literally as;

“What is the thing that can cut various things in a (perfect) half when two parts of it work together as a complete unit”

And the answer would be "a pair of scissors."

Kenkyusha's “新和英中辞典- New Japanese English Dictionary - 5th Edition” gives definitions of "一人前" as follows:

  1. a portion for one person.
  2. grown-up, adult, independent, self-supporting, full-fledged.

I think the definition 2 fits the word, “一人前” meaning "self-supported,"“by itself” in the quote.

“で” here can be rephrased with “….となって,” and means “two become one,” or “stand-alone.”

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