The 100 Best Riddles With Answers
One hundred riddles chosen from the whole collection: the classics everybody half-remembers, the ones with the cleanest misdirection, and the handful that are worth memorising because they work on absolutely anyone.
These are ranked by how thoroughly they are explained rather than by how hard they are, so the list is a good mix - some will fall in seconds and some will not fall at all.
Every riddle has its answer and an explanation of the reasoning on this page.
With me you are blind, To others and what they are, Over me you cannot see, Even though I'm in your head, I am full of myself, I think I'm better than you, I'm a horrible thing to be, Can you tell me, What am I?
The official answer is ignorance -- being blind to the truth about others and unaware of one's own blind spots -- though the line "I think I'm better than you" arguably fits arrogance or pride even more closely; the source's stated answer is used here since willful ignorance often produces that same dismissive, superior attitude.
During what month do people sleep the least? (Also asked in this range as "What month do people sleep the least?")
With the fewest days of any month, February gives people the least total sleep time across the month, even at a normal nightly pace. NOTE: riddle #996 in the source ("What month do people sleep the least?") is a near-identical restatement of this same riddle and answer; it has been merged into this single row.
This baked dish consists of an open-topped pastry case with a savory or sweet filling.
The clue clearly describes an open-topped pastry (properly called a "tart"), but the source's own answer key lists "fan" for this entry — likely a misaligned or erroneous line in the original worksheet. We keep the source's stated answer as instructed, though "tart" is the far better fit for the wording.
In wealth I abound; in water I stand; As a fencer I'm valued all over the land; At Venice I'm famous; by farmers I'm prized; Respected by law, yet huntsmen despised; Consternation and ruin ensue when I break; And the beasts of the forest advantage won't take.
This riddle plays on multiple meanings of "bank": a financial bank (wealth), a riverbank (stands in water, valued by farmers for irrigation and fencing land), the famous canal banks of Venice, and the collapse of a riverbank causing floods, which even wild animals avoid crossing during a break.
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?
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.
I come in many colors, some are blue and white. While some people annoy me, I am not much for the fight. I live where people rarely tread, but you will find me close to bed. What am I?
The official answer key gives 'whales' here, but the riddle's imagery — many colors, found near the bed, rarely stepped on — actually describes something like slippers far better than an ocean mammal; this looks like an error in the source worksheet, which we've preserved as printed.
Though it be cold, I wear no clothes, the frost and snow I never fear; I value neither shoes nor hose, And yet I wander far and near: My diet is forever good, I drink no cider, port, nor sack, what Providence doth send for food, I neither buy, nor sell, nor lack.
The source's answer key lists 'fish' here, though this classic English riddle (no clothes, immune to frost, wandering far and near, living on whatever providence sends) is traditionally solved as a wild bird - we keep the source's stated answer as instructed while noting the weaker fit.
What eight letter word has 'kst' in middle, in the beginning and at the end?
The intended answer, INKSTAND (from "ink" plus "stand"), does contain the letters K, S and T clustered near its middle, though the printed clue about that pattern repeating at the very start and end appears distorted by scanning errors and doesn't check out cleanly letter-by-letter.
I am a fruit, but also a shape. If you had two of me, I would sound just the same. If you rearrange my letters, it could be a crime. Add me to a montage and I can become a different fruit. Remove my head and you can still listen; take away the end and I can still be eaten. Without a piece of the centre, I am still a word; take away all of the middle and I am just an acronym. What am I?
PEAR sounds like 'pair' when doubled, rearranges into 'rape' (a crime), loses its head to become 'ear' (used to listen), loses its tail to become 'pea' (still edible), drops a middle letter to become 'per,' and stripped to its outer letters becomes 'PR,' a common acronym.
My first is in some but not in all. My second is into but not in tall. My third in little but no in big. My fourth in port but not in pig. My whole is made in nature's way. For clothing, rugs used every day.
The first three letters spell S-I-L from 'some,' 'into,' and 'little,' matching silk, the natural fiber woven into clothing and rugs daily; the final clue pairing 'port' and 'pig' is a weaker fit for the letter it should supply, an apparent slip in the original wordplay.
Sleeping during the day, I hide away. Watchful through the night, I open at dawn's light. But only for the briefest time, do I shine. And then I hide away. And sleep through the day.
The imagery of something hidden by day and briefly shining at dawn points to sunrise, though the poem's talk of being "watchful through the night" and repeating daily fits a recurring natural cycle only loosely -- the source key gives "sunrise" as the intended answer.
My first is in some but not in all. My second is into but not in tall. My third in little but not in big. My fourth in pork but not in pig. My whole is made in nature's way. For clothing, rugs used every day.
Each clue isolates one letter present in the first word but absent from the second, spelling S-I-L-K -- the natural fiber woven into clothing and rugs. (The source text's "port" appears to be a scanning error for "pork," which is what actually supplies the letter K.)
At the end of my yard there is a vat, four-and-twenty ladies dancing in that; Some in green gowns, and some with blue hat; He is a wise man who can tell me that.
The source's answer key lists 'fax' here, but this classic old English riddle (ladies dancing in a vat, green gowns, blue hats) is traditionally solved as 'cabbages' growing in a garden - an apparent mismatch in the original worksheet, preserved here as instructed.
I go from house to house, a messenger small and tight. Whether it rains or snows, I sleep outside at night. What am I?
The source gives "road" as the answer -- a road connects every house and stays outdoors through all weather, though the imagery of a "small and tight messenger" fits a road only loosely; a mail carrier or letter might seem a more literal match to that phrase.
Although I'm not an insect, some people found me very difficult to exterminate. They called me something like 'insane priest.' The first half of my name means the same as 'scrape,' & my last three letters are a metal. Who am I?
The clues spell out "Rasputin": the first part evokes "raze" (scrape/tear down) and the last three letters, "tin," are a metal. Grigori Rasputin was infamous for surviving repeated assassination attempts, making him legendarily "difficult to exterminate."
A harvest sown and reaped on the same day In an unplowed field, Which increases without growing, Remains whole though it is eaten Within and without, Is useless and yet The staple of nations.
This classic riddle describes war: it can be started and ended ("sown and reaped") within a single day, grows through destruction rather than cultivation, consumes nations from within and without, and has tragically been a grim "staple" of human history.
His eyes were raging, that scraggly beast. His lips were bursting, with rows of angry teeth. Upon his back a razor was found. It was a fearsome battle we fought, my life – or his, one would be bought. And when we were through, and death chilled the air, we cut out his heart, and ate it with flair.
A wild boar has fierce eyes, sharp tusks bared like angry teeth, and a bristly "razor"-like ridge along its back, and after being hunted down in a dangerous fight, its meat -- including the heart -- was traditionally eaten as a trophy of the kill.
A third from the sun, and not much else since the world's begun. Some may weigh a metric ton. Is a synonym for fun. Made a zeppelin take flight. A big thing at Isle of Wight.
This riddle layers wordplay: "rock" the mineral has existed since Earth (third from the sun) began and can weigh tons, while "rock" the music genre is slang for fun, launched acts like Led Zeppelin, and headlines the famous Isle of Wight Festival.
1. Where do fish go on vacation? 2. Where do songbirds go on vacation? 3. Where do zombies go on vacation? 4. Where do Thanksgiving Birds go on vacation? 5. Where do geometry teachers go on vacation? 6. Where do locksmiths go on vacation?
Each destination is a pun on the traveler: fish go to Finland (fins), songbirds to the Canary Islands (canaries), zombies to the Dead Sea, Thanksgiving birds to Turkey, geometry teachers to Cuba (cube), and locksmiths to the Florida Keys (keys).
My first part compliments people. My second part makes things known. My third part hurts feelings. My fourth part holds a previous treasure. My fifth part is used when sharing fancy beverages. What am I?
This charade riddle points to the word "hand": lending a hand compliments, information gets handed over, a backhand can hurt, heirlooms are handed down, and drinks are handed round -- though the fit for each clue is loose in the source material.
I follow the orders of only two. I respect the work of only two. I am in constant battles with many, Though one surpassed them all. With forces joined, We created hell, Until our mutual enemy fell. Who am I?
Peeves the Poltergeist, from the Harry Potter series, answers only to the Bloody Baron and the Hogwarts Headmaster, causes mischief throughout the castle, and joined forces with others to help bring down Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts.
What is the thing that stays the same size, but the more it's used the more it decreases?
The source lists 'iron' as the answer here, though the description of shrinking with use actually fits an item like a bar of soap far better; this appears to be a weak or mismatched answer in the original worksheet, which we retain as given.
I love to twist and dance. Though wingless, I fly high up into the sky. What am I?
A kite twists and dances on the wind and, despite having no wings, soars high into the sky. A near-identical riddle, #924 in the source, repeats this wording almost verbatim with the same answer and was merged into this entry as a duplicate.
People are hired to get rid of me. I'm often hiding under your bed. In time I'll always return you see. Bite me and you're surely dead. What am I?
House cleaners are hired to remove dust, which constantly settles again under beds and furniture no matter how often it's cleared; the source's "bite" line is a looser fit for dust, more evocative of the tiny dust mites that live within it.
In marble halls as white as milk, lined with a skin as soft as silk. Within a fountain crystal-clear. A golden apple doth appear. No doors there are to this stronghold, yet thieves break in and steal the gold.
This famous Tolkien riddle describes an egg: its white shell ("marble halls"), the soft inner membrane ("skin like silk"), the clear egg white ("fountain"), and the golden yolk -- which has no door, yet can be "stolen" by cracking it open.
What becomes too young the longer it exists?
A portrait captures a person at one fixed age forever; the longer it exists, the further behind -- 'younger' -- it falls compared to how old the real person becomes. This is a loosely worded riddle that relies on a somewhat poetic reading.
Sometimes it glitters, but often not; May be cold, or may be hot! Ever changing though the eye can't measure, concealed within are many treasures. Some find safety beneath its gate, while some may die beneath its weight! Old and broken, it brings forth life.
Rock formations can glisten with minerals or sit dull, feel cold or (as lava) scorching hot, hide gems and treasures inside, offer shelter in caves, prove deadly in a landslide, and break down over time into soil that supports new life.
I am whole but incomplete. I have no eyes, yet I see. You can see, and see right through me. My largest part is one fourth of what I once was.
A skeleton is a whole set of bones yet incomplete without flesh; its empty eye sockets let light pass through, and its largest single part, the skull, forms from far fewer fused bones than the many separate ones a baby's skull once had.
My head and the point are made from same. I am held by what's taken apart from the grain. I am atop of a great ocean beast. My swing will let fire and lead release. What am I?
The riddle describes a hammer: its head and claws are one piece of metal, its handle is wood (from grain), it tops a whale (great ocean beast, i.e., a hammerhead), and its swing can strike a flintlock to release fire and a lead bullet.
Silently I drink and dive in fluids dark as night. I beat the mighty warrior but never in fight. The black blood in my veins your thirst for knowledge slakes. My spittle is more venomous than that of poison snakes.
A pen "drinks" dark ink silently, and though it never physically fights, "the pen is mightier than the sword," outlasting warriors -- its ink quenches thirst for knowledge, and its words can be sharper and more damaging than any venom.
What's large on Saturday and Sunday. Small on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and disappears on Monday and Friday?
The letter "S" appears capitalized (prominent, "large") at the start of Saturday and Sunday, appears lowercase and hidden ("small") within Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and doesn't appear at all ("disappears") in Monday or Friday.
I can be quick and then I'm deadly, I am a rock, shell and bone medley. If I was made into a man, I'd make people dream, I gather in my millions By ocean, sea and stream.
Sand can shift quickly and even be deadly as "quicksand," it's made of ground-up rock, shell, and bone fragments, forms the Sandman of dreams when personified, and collects by the billions of grains along oceans, seas, and streams.
Sharp and long, flag of the world. What is it?
This riddle's wording is a bit garbled in the source, but it points to a tall, sharply-pointed tower (like the Eiffel Tower) that has become an iconic, world-famous landmark or 'symbol' -- the fit is looser than most riddles here.
What word is that, which, deprived of its first letter, leaves you sick?
This relies on an old, loose pun: removing the first letter from 'MUSIC' leaves 'USIC,' which said aloud sounds a bit like 'you sick' (as in 'are you sick?'). It's a stretch of wordplay rather than an exact letter-for-letter fit.
I am full of holes but still holds water. What am I?
A sponge is riddled with tiny holes yet can still soak up and hold water within its structure. (A near-identical riddle, #977 in the source, repeats this exact question and answer and was merged into this entry as a duplicate.)
A useful thing, hard, firm, and white, outside in shaggy robe bedight; Hallowed within right cleverly, it goes to work both white and dry. When after labor it comes back, you'll find it moist and very black; for service it is ready ever, and fails the hand that guides it never.
This old riddle describes a quill pen: a hard white feather shaft in its "shaggy robe" of down, hollowed out and cut to a nib, dipped white and dry into the inkwell, and returning from writing ("labor") stained black with ink.
I am not alive but seem so, because I dance and breathe with no legs or lungs of my own. What am I?
A flickering flame or a piece of animated art can seem lifelike, 'dancing' and 'breathing' with movement despite having no legs or lungs — though the riddle's link to fame specifically is an unusually loose fit worth noting.
Stealthy as a shadow in the dead of night, cunning but affectionate if given a bite. Never owned but often loved. At my sport considered cruel, but that's because you never know me at all.
Cats prowl silently at night, can be loving despite their independent streak, and though famously never truly "owned" by humans, they're beloved companions -- their hunting instincts just get an unfair reputation for cruelty.
123=0, 4235=0, 656=2, 5390=2, 8890=6, 1001=2, 19235=1. What is 123456789?
Each digit's value equals its number of closed loops (as in 0, 6, 8, and 9); among the digits 1 through 9, only 6, 8, and 9 have one loop each and 0 (not present here) has one too, so 123456789 totals 4 closed loops overall.
Noah survived one and it was great.
This refers to the Great Flood in the Bible, which Noah and his family survived aboard the ark. (The source prints this answer as 'food' due to an OCR ligature glitch that drops the letter 'l' from 'flood'; corrected here.)
A forest exists somewhere on Earth. This forest has no life except for trees. After a storm, a tree was hit by lightning and falls. What sound would it make?
This is the classic philosophical riddle: with no living creature present to perceive it, whether the falling tree technically makes a 'sound' is debatable, and the riddle takes the position that sound requires a listener.
We travelled the sea far and wide. At one time, two of my sailors were standing on opposite sides of the ship. One was looking west and the other one east. And at the same time, they could see each other clearly. How can that be possible?
Standing back-to-back at opposite ends of the ship (bow and stern), one facing west and the other facing east, they would actually be facing toward each other along the length of the ship and could see one another clearly.
I moan, I groan, I chase after you. I never seem to rest. Time's up for you. What am I?
The source's answer here loosely evokes labor pains -- moaning, restless contractions that chase toward a final moment -- ending in the arrival of children; it's a weaker, more figurative fit than most riddles in this set.
I can be found after you remove 6 letters from BSAINXLEATEARS. What am I?
This is a hidden-word letter puzzle; after removing the extra letters from the scrambled string, the source's intended remaining word is "banana" (the scrambled text itself appears somewhat garbled by the PDF extraction).
It can be white or blue or black, humped or have a horn. And when it talks it sings its menuets, as it's travelling the depths.
Various whale species vary in color (white, blue, or black), some have humps (humpback whale) and one relative has a horn-like tusk (narwhal), and whales communicate through complex "songs" as they swim the ocean depths.
A serpent swam in a silver urn, A golden bird did in its mouth abide, The serpent drank the water, this in turn, Killed the serpent. Then the gold bird died.
In this old riddle, the "serpent" is the burning wick drawing up oil (the "water") from the lamp's silver reservoir, while the "golden bird" is the flame -- once the oil (the serpent's life) runs out, the flame dies too.
Perfect with a head, perfect without a head; Perfect with a tail, perfect without a tail; Perfect with either, neither, or both.
The source's answer likely alludes to historical wigs, some styled with a tail (queue) and some without, and worn as full head-coverings or partial hairpieces -- a fairly obscure, loose fit compared to most riddles here.
The higher I climb, the hotter I engage. I cannot escape from my crystal cage.
As in the earlier thermometer riddle in this set, this describes mercury inside a glass ("crystal") tube, rising higher as the temperature increases -- the two riddles share almost identical wording and the same answer.
There are two meanings to me. With one I may need to be broken, with the other I hold on. My favorite characteristic is my charming dimple. What am I?
'Promise' can mean a pledge you keep ('hold on') or a habit you must break, and its noun form even contains a hidden 'dimple' — 'promise' has the word 'promis' but really the pun is on breaking vs. keeping a promise.
I am gold and can be black and white, I'm a symbol for a nation, when freedom took flight. What am I?
The eagle is the national symbol of the United States (associated with freedom), and its coloring includes golden-brown feathers along with black and white markings; describing it as simply "gold" is a slight stretch.
Some live in me, some live on. And some shave me to stride upon. I rarely leave my native land. Until my death I always stand. High and low I may be found. Both above and below ground.
A tree houses animals inside its hollows and on its branches, is felled and planed into wooden walkways to "stride upon," stays rooted in one place its whole life, and grows both above ground and underground as roots.
Of these things I have two. One for me and one for you. And when you ask about the price, I simply smile and nod twice.
The riddle personifies the idea of sharing, giving one of a pair to someone else, and notes that sharing has no price, only a warm smile in return; this poem's imagery is a fairly abstract match for its stated answer.
What has wings, but can not fly. Is enclosed, but can outside also lie. Can open itself up, or close itself away. Is the place of kings and queens, and doggerel of every means. What is it upon which I stand? Which can lead us to different lands.
A theater stage has side 'wings' it can't fly with, sits enclosed indoors though outdoor stages exist too, opens and closes with the curtain, and has hosted royalty and every kind of verse throughout drama's history.
Your mother's brother's only brother-in-law is asleep on your couch. Who is asleep on your couch?
Working through the family logic: your mother's brother is your uncle, and his only brother-in-law (assuming your mother has no other siblings) is the man married to his sister -- your mother -- which is your father.
It was a tradition long ago, When the world was dark and full of woe. When men turned darkness into light, By mixing, melting and decanting in the night, To seek for youth and gold and riches, Just to be burned as witches.
Alchemists of old mixed, melted, and distilled substances in secret, chasing the mythical elixir of youth and the power to turn base metal into gold -- practices that sometimes got practitioners condemned as witches.
A hundred years I once did live, and often wholesome food did give, yet all that time I ne'er did roam, so much as a half a mile from my home, my days were spent devoid of strife, until at last I lost my life. And since my death – I pray give ear, I oft have traveled far and near.
A tree can live for a century without ever moving from where it's rooted, providing shade and fruit through its life, but after being cut down and made into lumber -- a ship's timbers, say -- it can travel the world.
Six legs, two heads, Two hands, one long nose. Yet he uses only four legs Wherever he goes.
Combine a horse (four legs, one head, one nose) with its rider (two legs, one head, two hands) and you get a horseman with six legs and two heads total -- though only the horse's four legs actually touch the ground.
Known as a great deceiver, it is evil's incarnation, once used for veneration, the root of all procreation. All you can do is shiver, when it begins to slither.
The snake is cast here as a deceptive, evil figure from mythology (the Garden of Eden serpent) yet also an ancient symbol of fertility and worship elsewhere - and its slither alone can send shivers down your spine.
I am the third from a sparkle bright, I thrive throughout the day and night. Deep in the path of a cows white drink. I've had thousands of millions of years to think. But one of my creatures is killing me. And so the question I ask to thee, is who am I?
Earth is the third planet from the sun ("sparkle bright"), sits within the Milky Way galaxy ("a cow's white drink"), has existed for billions of years, and is now being harmed by humanity, one of its own creatures.
I am the minerals vital for your good health. What am I?
The riddle labels them "minerals," but the answer given is vitamins, essential substances the body needs for good health; strictly speaking vitamins and minerals are different things, so the wording is a loose fit.
I am bigger than elephant but lighter than a feather. What am I?
This is a loose fit — the classic version of this riddle usually answers "nothing" or "a shadow," but the source lists "wind," reasoning that a storm can dwarf an elephant in scale while having no weight to hold.
My first is second in line; I send shivers up your spine; not quite shining bright I glitter in the light.
Ice sends a chill up your spine on contact and glints and glitters rather than truly shining -- the "second in line" clue is a looser fit, though it hints at ice's letter I standing near the front of the alphabet.
I saw the dead bring forth the living. I saw the living bring forth the dead. What did I see?
The source lists 'funeral' as the answer to this deliberately poetic and ambiguous riddle, though the imagery of the dead producing the living (and vice versa) is a looser fit than most riddles in this collection.
Blend a teapot shot so the pearlies won't rot!
"Pearlies" refers to teeth (pearly whites), and toothpaste is used to keep them from decaying ("rot"). Note: the riddle's own phrasing is oddly worded in the source, but the intended answer is clearly toothpaste.
What do rich people have that can be changed into the law.
This is a loose fit in the source material -- a sharper pun would be 'bill' (a dollar bill / a legislative bill that becomes law), but the stated answer, 'wealth,' points to how the wealthy can shape legislation.
When I am visible to you, you cannot see me, but when I am invisible, you long to see me. I am plenty with someone patient, but all the more scarce with a hasty one. I am greater than all, but still in the control of those who value my existence. Who am I?
When time is passing normally you don't notice it, but once it feels like it's running out you wish you could see more of it; patient people feel they have plenty, while impatient people feel it's always scarce.
There is not wind enough to twirl that one red leaf, nearest of its clan, which dances as often as dance it can.
This passage more naturally describes a single trembling autumn leaf; the source lists "sun" as the intended answer, though the connection between a lone red leaf and the sun is a genuine stretch worth flagging.
I have joy in bringing two together, but darning my existence! My life hangs by a thread, filled with ups, downs and resistance!
A sewing machine joins fabric pieces together, its needle constantly moves up and down ("ups, downs"), and it literally works with thread -- "darning" and "hangs by a thread" are puns on its stitching function.
It is a part of us, and then replaced. It escapes our bodies, to a better place. The world becomes its sizeable home. Its passions unrestrained, the planet it roams.
Water makes up much of the human body and is constantly replenished as it leaves us through sweat and breath, rejoining the planet's much larger water cycle -- rivers, oceans, and rain -- where it roams freely.
I fly to any foreign parts, assisted by my spreading wings. My body holds an hundred hearts, Nay, I will tell you stranger things when I am not in haste I ride, and then I mend my pace anon. I issue fire from my side. You witty youths, this riddle con.
This old riddle describes a sailing ship: its sails are "wings," its crew are the "hundred hearts" aboard, it can anchor and "ride" at rest before resuming its pace, and its cannons "issue fire" from its sides.
This mother comes from a family of eight, Supports her children in spite of their weight, Turns around without being called, Has held you since the time you crawled.
Earth is one of eight planets in our solar "family," supports every living thing on it despite their weight, rotates on its own without prompting, and its gravity has held you since before you could even crawl.
I can be dropped from the tallest of buildings and survive, but drop me from the smallest ship and I won't. What am I?
A piece of paper flutters gently and survives a fall from even the tallest skyscraper, but dropped into the water beside the smallest ship it would get soaked and ruined -- the real danger is water, not height.
Gold in a leather bag, swinging on a tree, money after honey in its time. Ills of a scurvy crew cured by the sea, reason in its season but no rhyme.
An orange hangs on a tree in its golden peel, was once traded for good money, and its vitamin C famously cured sailors of scurvy -- and notoriously, "orange" is one of the few English words with no true rhyme.
I march before armies, a thousand salute me. My fall can bring victory, but no one would shoot me. The wind is my lover, one-legged am I. Name me and see me at home in the sky. What am I?
A flag leads troops into battle and is saluted by soldiers, lowering it can symbolize surrender or victory, it flutters for the wind, stands on a single pole ("one-legged"), and belongs flying high in the sky.
It cannot be seen, it cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, Lies behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. Comes first follows after, Ends life kills laughter.
Darkness is undetectable by any of the senses, exists beyond starlight and beneath the ground, fills empty spaces, precedes and follows every moment of light, and can figuratively "end life" and snuff out joy.
I am the outstretched fingers that seize and hold the wind. Wisdom flows from me in other hands. Upon me are sweet dreams dreamt, my merest touch brings laughter.
A feather's barbs catch the wind like fingers, quill pens (made from feathers) once wrote down wisdom, feather pillows cradle sleepers' dreams, and a feather's light touch famously tickles and causes laughter.
My first is in blood and also in battle. My second is in acorn, oak, and apple. My third and fourth are both the same. In the center of sorrow and twice in refrain. My fifth starts eternity ending here. My last is the first of last, Oh Dear!
Each clue spells one letter of BARREL - B from blood and battle, A from acorn/oak/apple, R doubled from the center of 'sorrow' and twice in 'refrain,' E starting 'eternity,' and L, the first letter of 'last.'
I have a frame but no pictures. I have poles but not standing up. What am I?
This is a loose fit -- 'glasses' have a frame but no pictures in it, and their side arms are only loosely likened to 'poles'; the wording fits a tent more naturally, but the source's stated answer is glasses.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's is really long. Michael J. Fox's is short. Daffy Duck isn't human. Madonna doesn't have one. What am I?
Each clue refers to a person's last name: Schwarzenegger's is long, Fox's is short, Daffy Duck is a cartoon (not human) with a last name 'Duck,' and Madonna performs under a single mononym with no last name.
Often found in doctor's offices and pirate flags.
Skeletons (or X-rays of them) are common in doctor's offices, and pirate flags display a skull and crossbones. Technically the flag shows just a skull, not a full skeleton, so the fit here is a little loose.
Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it. Five in the middle is seen. First of all figures, the first of all letters. Take up their stations between. Join all together, and then you will bring before you the name of an eminent king.
D (500 in Roman numerals) starts and ends the name, V (5) sits in the middle, and A (first letter of the alphabet) and I (the first Roman numeral) fill the remaining spots, spelling DAVID, the biblical king.
Above all things have I been placed Thus have I, a man disgraced. I describe sunlight or lock But after all, I'm just a rock.
The moon is set high above all things in the night sky and lends its name to describe a soft "moonlit" glow or being "moonstruck" (disgraced/love-mad), yet astronomically it's really just a rocky satellite.
I look flat, but I am deep, Hidden realms I shelter. Lives I take, but food I offer. At times I am beautiful. I can be calm, angry and turbulent. I have no heart, but offer pleasure as well as death. No man can own me, yet I encompass what all men must have.
The ocean looks flat from the surface but harbors vast, hidden depths; it takes lives through drowning yet provides food through fishing, and it belongs to no single person while sustaining all of humanity.
It is destruction made out of thin air, You hear it howl and give a prayer, Through barns and houses it will tear. It is a deadly funnel, Of violent and twisting air.
The poem's imagery of a howling, tearing, twisting funnel of air actually fits a tornado slightly better than a hurricane, but the source names it a hurricane -- the answer is a loose fit for its own clues.
A three-letter word I'm sure you know, I can be on a boat or a sleigh in the snow, I'm pals with the rain and honor a king, But my favorite use is attached to a string. What am I?
"Bow" names the front of a boat and the curved runner-tip of a sleigh, forms a rainbow with rain, is offered as a gesture of respect to a king, and is also the string-holding weapon used to shoot an arrow.
When it shines, its light is hazy. Makes the oceans swell like crazy. It makes moods seem more romantic, But it makes the ladies frantic.
Moonlight is hazy, the moon's gravity causes ocean tides ("makes oceans swell"), and moonlit nights are classically associated with romance -- and, in old folklore, with women's monthly cycles ("frantic").
What must be in the oven yet cannot be baked? Grows in the heat yet shuns the light of day? What sinks in water but rises with air? Looks like skin, but is fine as hair?
Yeast goes into oven-baked bread without itself being 'baked' as food, ferments and grows in warm darkness, and makes dough rise with the gas it produces even though the yeast itself settles out in liquid.
Something wholly unreal, yet seems real to I. Think my friend, tell me where does it lie?
The mind can create thoughts and illusions that feel completely real even though they exist only internally, and the riddle plays on "where does it lie," both meaning location and the act of telling a lie.
What does an old tan broken down house wear outside?
This plays on "coat" meaning a layer of paint -- an old tan house wears a "tan coat" (of paint) on its exterior. Note: this is a fairly loose, awkwardly worded pun, but it is the source's intended answer.
Halo of water, tongue of wood. Skin of stone, long I've stood. My fingers short reach to the sky. Inside my heart men live and die.
A castle is ringed by a water-filled moat ("halo of water"), has a wooden drawbridge ("tongue"), stone walls ("skin"), short towers reaching skyward, and inside, generations of people have lived and died.
I have a title and many pages I am a genteel of genteel descent I am a killer veteran of war I am a slave to my lord Pledged to his service.
A knight holds a noble title ("genteel descent"), is a battle-hardened warrior, and is sworn in loyal service to his lord -- the "many pages" evoke both his title and the chivalric records written of him.
This could make wooden boy's noses grow.
This refers to Pinocchio, whose wooden nose grew whenever he told a lie -- a 'fib.' (The source prints this answer as 'fb,' an OCR artifact from the fi-ligature dropping its 'i'; corrected here to 'fib.')
My first is high, My second damp, My whole a tie, A writer's cramp.
This charade splits "hyphen" into "hy" (sounding like "high") and "phen" (sounding like "fen," a damp marsh) -- and a hyphen joins words together like a tie, often causing writers grammatical headaches.
I grow for a surface, even if you cut me. I continue to grow even after death.
Hair keeps growing from the scalp regardless of cutting; the claim that it keeps growing after death is a popular myth, though -- the apparent growth actually comes from skin dehydrating and retracting.
Double my number, I'm less than a score, and half of my number is less than four. Add one to my double when bakers are near, days of the week are still greater, I fear. What am I?
Doubling 6 gives 12 (less than a score/20), half of 6 is 3 (less than 4), and doubling 6 plus 1 gives 13, a baker's dozen, which is still less than the 7 days of the week... the clues all point to six.
Always well dressed, but I never fly. Black and white, sometimes in a tie. I swim and slide, and dance and glide, with one person by my side. What am I?
A penguin's black-and-white feathers look like a tuxedo ("well dressed... in a tie"), it can't fly, and it swims, slides on its belly, and even "dances" during courtship, often with a mate at its side.
My love, when I gaze on thy beautiful face. Careering along, yet always in place, the thought has often come into my mind. If I ever shall see thy glorious behind.
This classic riddle describes the moon: it appears to travel across the sky yet is always "in place" orbiting Earth, and because the same side always faces us, we can never see its far side ("behind").
When liquid splashes me, none seeps through. When I am moved a lot, liquid I spew. When I am hit, color I change. And color, I come in quite a range. What I cover is very complex, And I am very easy to flex.
Skin is waterproof against splashes yet sweats liquid when you're active, bruises and changes color when struck, comes in a wide range of tones, covers the body's complex systems, and stretches easily.
I am small, but, when entire, of force to set a town on fire; Let but one letter disappear, I then can hold a herd of deer; Take one more off, and then you'll find I once contained all human kind.
This letter riddle removes one letter at a time: "spark" (can ignite a fire) becomes "park" (can hold a herd of deer), and drops another letter to become "ark" (Noah's Ark, said to hold all humankind).
What starts with a P, ends with an E and has a million letters in it?
'Post office' starts with P and ends with E, and it processes vast volumes of mail -- effectively holding a 'million letters' at once, using the same double meaning of 'letter' as the envelope riddle.
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