Line #79 Main/ARiddleWrappedInAMysteryInsideAnEnigma


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8
9	->''"It's a mystery. Broken into a jigsaw puzzle. Wrapped in a conundrum. Hidden in a Chinese box. A '''riddle'''."''
10	-->-- '''[[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]]''', ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween''
11
12	A StockPhrase typically used to describe something that is immensely puzzling to figure out or extraordinarily complex to fully understand, often relying on hyperbole and, occasionally, wit and sarcasm.
13
14	The phrase is open to great interpretation and variation. Its three distinct-yet-related nouns allow for a variety of setups and gags related to TheTriple and dependent on the RuleOfThree. Frequently, the last item of the phrase is changed to something completely different and irrelevant to mystery for RuleOfFunny, and the exact order of what's wrapped and inside what varies with almost every separate occasion the phrase is evoked. Sometimes, one of the three parts may be dropped for gags and line deliveries that require a faster pacing; conversely, additional clauses can be added for greater [[ExaggeratedTrope exaggeration]].
15
16	The [[TropeNamers trope name]] originates from a statement made by [[UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill Sir Winston Churchill]] in 1939 about what role [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets the Soviet Union]] might play in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII:
17
18	->''"I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest."''
19
20	Characters and things described by this turn of phrase may be incorporating a MultilayerFacade.
21
22	Not to be confused with RiddleForTheAges.
23
24	----
25	!!Examples
26	[[foldercontrol]]
27
28	[[folder:Advertising]]
29	* Budget Direct insurance had a parody of the "[[DefectiveDetective eccentric genius detective]] who [[BunnyEarsLawyer gets results]]" being called in to investigate some [[AgentMulder bizarre happenings]], not least being why the victims would pay so much for their life insurance.
30	-->'''DaChief:''' Why would anyone throw their money away like that?\
31	'''Detective:''' It's a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a conundrum, lost in a Scotch mist.\
32	'''TheNarrator:''' It's a mystery why anyone would pay more for insurance. Get award-winning cover for less: Budget Direct Insurance.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Comic Books]]
36	* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': The Riddler himself is an example of this--his entire identity (Mr. E. Nygma) is a pun on the phrase.
37	* In the story "A Tree Grows in Ed" from a comic book adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'', the Eds are wondering how a pair of shoes went up to a communication cable. [[TheDitz Ed ]] calls it "A riddle wrapped in an egg roll, sitting next to a fortune cookie."
38	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #26, the narrator asks, "Can Spider-Man solve this dark riddle, cloaked within a grim puzzle, hidden beneath the shadows of a deadly enigma?"
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Fan Works]]
42	* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/7258183 i'm not a riddle wrapped in a mystery, i'm you wrapped in blood]]'' is the title of an ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' [[IncestYayShipping Tommy/Thea]] fanfic by kwritten.
43	* At one point in the ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' fanfic ''Moirallegiance Is Science'', Vriska is described in this manner.
44	-->You're complicated. You're like a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery, sealed with obscurity, and shipped through the WTF postal service. [[MixedMetaphor That's just the package you come in]].
45	* ''Fanfic/TheRigelBlackChronicles'': Harry baffles her friends and teachers when she's being "Rigel Black", with her words and actions not quite adding up with their observations about "him". However, it's actually when Professor Snape meets her in her true identity that he specifically thinks this about her.
46	-->The last time Severus Snape had seen Harriet Potter, the stubborn girl had been an enigma wrapped in a mystery, covered again in a glaringly obvious white sheet.
47	* In ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager'', the crew are puzzling over a BigDumbObject that [[ArtificialGravity doesn't spin to produce gravity]], in orbit around a previously unencountered phenomenon known as a [[UsefulNotes/BlackHoles black star]]. Captain Janeway describes it as "a riddle of a space station, orbiting an enigma."
48	* ''Fanfic/SkyholdAcademyYearbook'': In ''I Must Be Going'', [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Dorian informs Solas]] that "You are an enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in no shoes."
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
52	* In ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'', General Monger refers to the top-secret prison Susan is taken to as "an [[Series/TheXFiles X-File]], wrapped in a cover-up, and deep-fried in paranoid conspiracy".
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
56	* In ''Film/HalloweenResurrection'', Freddie hypes up the premise of his reality television show filmed inside the old Myers residence as "a mystery wrapped up inside of a riddle inside of an enigma".
57	* In ''Film/HolyFlyingCircus'', Alan Dick uses the phrase "he's a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a shit" to describe Malcolm Muggeridge's unpredictability.
58	* In ''Film/{{JFK}}'', David Ferrie refers to [[WhoShotJFK the Kennedy Assassination]] as "a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma" when trying to convince Jim Garrison to drop his investigation during a paranoia-fueled rant.
59	-->'''Ferrie:''' The fucking ''shooters'' don't even know!
60	* {{Parodied\|Trope}} in ''Film/KnivesOut'' when Benoit Blanc explains his view of the mystery with an overly convoluted metaphor:
61	-->'''Benoit Blanc:''' I spoke in the car about the hole in the center of this donut. And, yes, what you and Harlan did that fateful night seems at first glance to fill that hole perfectly... A donut hole in the donut's hole. But we must look a little closer. And when we do, we see the donut hole has a hole in its center -- it is not a donut hole at all but a smaller donut with its own hole. And our donut is not a hole at all!
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Literature]]
65	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
66	** In ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', Lord Vetinari describes Uberwald as "a mystery inside a riddle wrapped in an enigma." Sergeant Colon misinterprets this and later refers to it as "[[{{Malaproper}} a misery wrapped in an enema]]."
67	** In ''Literature/MenAtArms'', the clowns ask Colon to search for their late compatriot's real nose, despite the fact that he had one. Vimes, reading the report, reflects that "the whole nose business looked like a conundrum wrapped up in an enigma, or at least in Sergeant Colon's handwriting, which was pretty much the same thing".
68	* In the ''Literature/NikkiHeat'' novel ''Heat Rises'', Jameson Rook claims, "What can I say? I'm an enigma inside a conundrum inside a condom."
69	* From ''Literature/{{Tiassa}}'', two guardsmen conversing, [[DirectLineToTheAuthor as rendered by]] Paarfi of Roundwood:
70	-->"An Easterner with an Imperial Title!"\
71	"Well," said Nill, "this is an enigma wrapped in, ah..."\
72	"Another enigma?"\
73	"Precisely."
74	* Used by Verin Sedai in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' (namely, in ''The Dragon Reborn''): "Name hidden within name shrouded by name. Secret buried within secret cloaked by secret."
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
78	* In an episode of ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'', Dick describes an imagined conspiracy as "a riddle wrapped around an enigma fried up in a conundrum with Chinese mustard dipping sauce".
79	* In ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'', Seamus calls [[HumanAliens Trance]] "an enigma wrapped in a riddle with a tail in the middle".
80	* In the ''Series/BurnNotice'' episode "[[Recap/BurnNoticeS2E15SinsOfOmission Sins of Omission]]", Victor calls Michael "an enigma wrapped in a schizophrenic". (Michael had taken advantage of Victor spying on him to help sell his cover ID to a mark, which involved gunfire.)
81	* When Creator/StephenColbert uncovers [[http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/166955/april-23-2008/the-lost-o-reilly-tapes-pt--1 "lost footage"]] from an interview with Creator/BillOReilly in ''Series/TheColbertReport'', Stephen introduces it as "a conundrum wrapped in a riddle covered with a spicy enigma sauce".
82	* In ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration'', when hanging out with Imogen, Clare describes Eli with the trope name. Imogen comments that he sounds like a burrito.
83	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
84	** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E12NightmareInSilver Nightmare in Silver]]", the Doctor refers to Clara as "a mystery wrapped in an enigma squeezed into a skirt [[DistractedByTheSexy that's just a little bit too... tight]]".
85	** In a writing competition where the contestants had to come up with a description of Creator/MattSmith's Doctor InTheStyleOf Creator/TerranceDicks, the winning entry was the following:
86	--->'''Ian Hewett:''' A slim mismatched jigsaw of a man, paintbrush hair atop a young face with ancient eyes, an enigma wrapped in a bow tie.
87	** And this runner-up:
88	--->'''sammorgan 11:''' He looked like an alien crammed into the body of a human who had been crammed into the clothes of a maths teacher.
89	* In ''Series/{{Elementary}}'', Sherlock Holmes' description of [[spoiler:Moriarty]] from the episode "[[Recap/ElementaryS02E12TheDiabolicalKind The Diabolical Kind]]":
90	-->'''Sherlock:''' The woman is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma I've had sex with. I would be lying if I said I was the strongest assessor of her motives at this point.
91	* In ''Series/{{Eureka}}'', when the characters are trying to shut down an extremely powerful DeathRay DoomsdayDevice in the episode "[[Recap/EurekaDrNobel Dr. Nobel]]", Henry calls the weapon "a riddle inside an enigma wrapped in ten inches of titanium alloy".
92	* In ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'', Robert once describes himself as "an enigma wrapped in a mystery". Ray promptly replies that Robert is more of "an idiot wrapped in a moron".
93	* In ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'', when Munch and Kellerman work on a case involving a suicide jumper killed by a stray shotgun blast on the way down from a tall building, Munch describes it as "a riddle, surrounded by a mystery, wrapped inside an enigma, and stuffed inside a body bag".
94	* A segment of the "La Leyenda del Tio la Vara" series of sketches from ''Series/LaHoraDeJoseMota'' has Father Tornices saying the trope name word for word.
95	* In ''Series/HumanTarget'', Chance once tells Winston, "You're like a... mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in... cashmere."
96	* In ''Series/LostGirl'', thus spake Kenzi: "It is a riddle, cloaked in a mystery, wrapped in layers of ''[[EatingTheEyeCandy hot, hot manliness]]!''"
97	* ''Series/Lucifer2016'' describes Ella as "an enigma wrapped in a hoodie under a jaunty ponytail".
98	* In one ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode, Jonah Heston calls the 1961 film ''The Mask'' "a riddle wrapped in a mystery seen through a migraine-inducing idea of 3D glasses".
99	* In ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', Tony once refers to Abby as "A paradox wrapped in an oxymoron, smothered in contradictions in terms."
100	* In ''Series/NewsRadio'', Jimmy James once refers to himself, saying:
101	-->''"I am a cipher -- a cipher, wrapped in an enigma, and smothered in secret sauce."''
102	* A transgender woman Liz befriends in the first season of ''Series/NipTuck'' is called "a conundrum wrapped in a riddle".
103	* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', Emma describes newcomer August as "a typewriter wrapped in an enigma wrapped in stubble".
104	* In ''Series/OneTreeHill'', Lucas once observes that despite Peyton's desire to express herself through her art, she doesn't want anyone to know it's her. Peyton responds to this, "I'm just a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a bitch", but Lucas sees something else: A troubled artist.
105	* In ''Series/{{Psych}}'', Shawn once speaks of Juliet as being "an enigma wrapped in a little blonde riddle".
106	* In one episode of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', Elaine and Jerry get into a discussion about the nature of Newman.
107	-->'''Elaine:''' Maybe he's an enigma -- a mystery wrapped in a riddle.\
108	'''Jerry:''' He's a mystery wrapped in a ''Twinkie.''
109	* The ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS6E6Riddles Riddles]]" sees The Doctor refer to the Vulcan brain as "a puzzle wrapped inside an enigma housed inside a cranium".
110	* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode "[[Recap/SupernaturalS05E03FreeToBeYouAndMe Free to Be You and Me]]", when Sam takes a TenMinuteRetirement and tries to live a "normal" life, a girl curious to learn about Sam's past but at a loss of words to describe his peculiarity gives Sam the opportunity to quip that he's "a riddle wrapped inside an enigma wrapped inside a taco".
111	* Mozzie from ''Series/WhiteCollar'' sometimes describes himself as this.
112	* In an early episode of ''Series/WillAndGrace'':
113	-->'''Grace:''' ''[to Will]'' You know, I thought I knew everything about you. But you're a mystery. Wrapped in a riddle. Surrounded by enigma. Growing boobies.
114	* In the {{Pilot}} for ''Series/{{Witchblade}}'', after the titular artifact gauntlet bonds with Sara, she has the following exchange with Kenneth about what the artifact is.
115	-->'''Sara:''' What is this thing? What is the Witchblade?\
116	'''Kenneth:''' A mystery, wrapped in a riddle, and cloaked in a conundrum.\
117	'''Sara:''' That doesn't help very much.
118	* ''Series/TheXFiles'': The episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS05E13PatientX Patient X]]" contains a variant on the trope phrasing. Agent Mulder, who has grown skeptical of the existence of extraterrestrials but, instead, believing the alien conspiracy to be a lie purported by the military to hide ''a different'' and all more sinister scheme, describes his belief in "a conspiracy wrapped in a plot inside a government agenda."
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Magazines]]
122	* One white-paper front cover for ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' greatly {{exaggerate\|dTrope}}s this trope [[PlayedForLaughs for laughs]].
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Music]]
126	* The song '"For You" by Music/BarenakedLadies:
127	-->''An enigma wrapped in a mystery,"''\
128	''Or a fool consumed by fear.''
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:Newspapers]]
132	* An article from January 2008 in ''The New York Times'' that explains why fortune cookies are absent from Chinese restaurants in China was titled "Solving a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside a Cookie."
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
136	* Wrestling/{{Jigsaw\|Wrestling}}'s RedBaron is "A Wrestling Riddle Wrapped In An Enigma".
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
140	* ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'': Both the Uktena ({{Magical Native American}}s) and the Stargazers (ascetic Far Eastern monks) have been described as such.
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:Video Games]]
144	* ''VideoGame/{{Brawlhalla}}'': The description for the legend of Orion is "A riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in Ivaldic battle armor."
145	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
146	** The ''Dragonborn'' expansion for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' has Neloth sending you on a FetchQuest for a Black Book that he believes he has located:
147	--->'''Neloth:''' Now, it's only a rumor of a whisper of a conjecture...
148	** In the Mages Guild questline from ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'', [[MadGod Sheogorath]] describes the trials needed to get his books as "a contest, wrapped in a mystery, with an enigma glaze".
149	* ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash'': Wario's official profile states that he is "a puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in yellow."
150	* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'': One of the title screen quips that appears after starting up the game is "A riddle wrapped in a mystery!"
151	%%* ''VideoGame/Mother3'': During Chapter 2:%%Quotes aren't acceptable context.
152	%%-->'''Wess:''' The Hummingbird Egg is a ball of secrets inside secrets that are inside even more secrets... Or something like that, supposedly, apparently.
153	* ''VideoGame/NintendoWars'': In ''Advance Wars'', [[BigBad Sturm]]'s description is "A riddle within a shadow, revealing nothing."
154	%%* ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheDiabolicalBox'':%%Quotes aren't acceptable context.
155	%%-->'''Wurtzer:''' How she [Granny Riddleton] does it is a conundrum wrapped in an enigma-stuffed mystery. Or, y'know, a mystenigdrum.
156	* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction'': Zephyr describes the Lombax Secret as "a cipher, wrapped in an enigma, smothered in super secret sauce!"
157	%%* ''VideoGame/{{Spectrobes}}'': This is the description for Mossax.
158	* Creator/{{Valve\|Software}}'s description of The Spy on the ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' website begins, "He is a puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, shrouded in riddles, lovingly sprinkled with intrigue, express mailed to Mystery, Alaska..."
159	[[/folder]]
160
161	[[folder:Webcomics]]
162	* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', WV comments to himself that women are "a riddle draped in a mystery wrapped in post-apocalyptic shroudwear".
163	* ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'':
164	** When Helen explains to Artie that she hopes sparing Dave what she went through will make up for the terrible things she's done, before adding "And then I can destroy those fools at the Symposium and RULE THE WORLD!", Artie comments "You're just a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a peculiar sense of ethics, aren't you?"
165	** The Director's Cut commentary says that while there's a backstory explaining why Helen is the way she is, Mell is "a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a very short skirt".
166	* In ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'', when someone references Raven's indecipherable status (is she just a [[TheDitz Ditz]] given to being unusually insightful, or a GeniusDitz with ObfuscatingStupidity?), Raven responds, "I'm a mystery wrapped in an enigma [[BigBreastPride wrapped in an AWESOME rack]]!"
167	[[/folder]]
168
169	[[folder:Web Originals]]
170	* Bunchies, the [[MemeticMutation memetic]] four-legged green llama-like creature, was described on its [[http://www.wildpixels.com/bunchies official website]] (now defunct) as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a glossy green skin".
171	* In one of his reviews of nostalgic commercials, WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic describes UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} as "like a riddle inside an enigma inside a please and thank you".
172	* In one ''WebAnimation/WeeblAndBob'' short, Bob describes the flat-packed pie they bought from [[FictionalCounterpart Piekia]] as "a conundrum wrapped in an enigma wrapped in pastry, wrapped in a lie".
173	* In Website/WrestleCrap's induction for TNA's Last Rites Match from 2007, on the matter of [[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/induction%20files/lastrites/lastrites1.mp3 Sting describing death as a "choice" where one of those choices is, in fact, life,]] RD calls the meaning and exact point of Sting's remarks a "riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a crummy TNA storyline".
174	[[/folder]]
175
176	[[folder:Western Animation]]
177	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/BromwellHigh'', as Mrs. Jackson is explaining her separation from her husband to the main characters:
178	-->'''Mrs. Jackson:''' As Churchill said, Martin is "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in an enigma".\
179	'''Keisha:''' Wrapped in a cocksucker.\
180	'''Mrs. Jackson:''' I don't think Churchill said that.
181	* In the ''WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk'' episode "[[Recap/DragonsRidersOfBerkS4E9EdgeOfDisasterPart2 Edge of Disaster Part 2]]", Tuffnut says about Heather, "One might say she's an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in yak bacon."
182	* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'', the Eager Young Space Cadet describes the title character this way.
183	-->'''Cadet:''' He's so complicated, l-l-l-like a mystery wrapped in a r-r-r-riddle inside an enigma.\
184	'''Manobrain:''' I'd say he's more like a halfwit wrapped in a hot dog bun inside a coloring book.
185	* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}''. UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill is shown saying the trope quote, and then we zoom out to reveal that he's behind the counter of a fast food restaurant.
186	* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E18MaudPie Maud Pie]]", Rainbow Dash [[ParodiedTrope parodies this phrase]] to describe Pinkie's sister Maud, whose only outstanding characteristic seems to be her obsession with rocks.
187	-->'''Rainbow:''' That pony is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an igneous.\
188	'''Rarity:''' Don't you mean 'inside an ''enigma''?\
189	'''Rainbow:''' No, I mean ''igneous''. It's a kind of rock. [[SarcasmMode Ask me how I know that]].
190	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'': In "All Choked Up", Skipper calls Alice "a riddle, wrapped in mystery, and dunked in nasty sauce".
191	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E7LisasDateWithDensity Lisa's Date with Density]]", Lisa describes Nelson as "a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a vest".
192	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'', our titular hero says that something is "a riddle, wrapped in an enigma and smothered in secret sauce".
193	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ARiddleWrappedInAMysteryInsideAnEnigma