HardLong Riddle
A prisoner is told: "If you tell a lie, we will hang you and if you tell the truth, we will shoot you". What did the prisoner say to save himself?
Riddle
A prisoner is told: "If you tell a lie, we will hang you and if you tell the truth, we will shoot you". What did the prisoner say to save himself?
Choose an answer
A."I will tell the truth."
B."I will tell a lie."
C."You will shoot me."
D."You will hang me."
Hint: It's a 4-word phrase with 13 letters, starting with """.
Answer
"You will hang me."
Why this is the answer
Claiming 'You will hang me' creates an unresolvable paradox: hanging him would make the statement true (so he told the truth and should have been shot instead), while shooting him would make it a lie (so he should have been hanged instead) - so the captors can carry out neither punishment.
This riddle is filed under Long Riddles and rated Hard.