Thursday Morning Riddle

I’m a family of fishes – bright orange, my roe;
They collect me by dipping a net where I grow;
I’m the way you get metal when ore rock must go;
And I’m how you inspected your vintage Bordeaux.

Who am I?

UPDATE: Riddle solved by Brian. See comments for answer.

4 Responses to “Thursday Morning Riddle”

  1. Brian Says:

    Smelt?

  2. Andrew Says:

    Smelt!! Yay, I’m the first!!

    (Brian questioned his response, so it doesn’t count.)

  3. Bill Says:

    SMELT is correct! Way to go, Brian!

    And nicely confirmed by Andrew!

    Honestly, I thought this would be one of the harder ones. Well done!

    Line 1: Smelt are a family (in the taxonomic sense) of fish, the Osmeridae family. They produce those tiny bright orange eggs you see in sushi platters.

    Line 2: Smelt Dipping is a popular pastime up North.

    Line 3: As a verb, “to smelt” is to melt the metal out of ore rock…

    Line 4: …but “smelt” is also the past tense form of “to smell” which is how one might inspect a fine wine.

    It’s worth noting that each of the four lines ends in a different letter. Also, I get class points for not including this line:

    And when seeking who dealt it, I’m one way to know.

  4. Brian Says:

    Sorry, Andrew. I smelt it, so I dealt it.

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