1,128 Hard Riddles With Answers - page 2 of 12
I am the second L in LOL. What am I?
'LOL' stands for 'laugh out loud,' and its second letter, L, stands for the word 'loud.'
A hole in a pole. Though I fill a hole in white, I'm used more by the day and less by the night. What am I?
A lightbulb screws into a socket ('hole'), glows white, and gets far more use after dark than during daylight hours.
I am a time for gathering crops. Remove the first three letters I become an object you can wear. What am I?
'Harvest' minus its first three letters ('har') leaves 'vest,' a wearable garment.
Never was, I am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will. And yet I am the confidence of all, to live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. What am I?
The future never truly 'arrives' — by the time it does, it's already the present — yet everyone lives trusting it will come.
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.
Fatherless and motherless. Born without sin, roared when it came into the world. And never spoke again. What am I?
This describes thunder as a mythic figure: it has no parents, is a natural (sinless) force, roars with a boom, and then falls silent again.
I live above a star who never burns. I have 11 neighbors but they never turn. My initials are p, q, r, and sometimes s. What am I?
On a classic phone keypad, the '7' key sits above the star (a symbol, not a burning star) with 11 other keys as neighbors and carries the letters P, Q, R, and S.
I am free the first time and second time, but the third time is going to cost you money. What am I?
People get two sets of teeth naturally at no cost -- baby teeth, then adult teeth -- but further dental work, like removing troublesome wisdom teeth, will cost you money at the dentist.
I can be heard in a court or carried with you. What am I?
A 'case' is heard in court (a court case) and is also something you carry with you (a briefcase/suitcase) -- the riddle plays on both meanings of the word.
I begin and have no end. Eventually I will be the ending of all that has begun. What am I?
Death has no end once it begins, and it is the eventual conclusion awaiting everything that has ever begun (been born).
I see what you see, feel what you feel, and hear what you hear. I know all of your moves before you make them. I even know the moves you didn't make. What am I?
The brain processes every sight, sound, and sensation you experience and generates every decision, including the ones you ultimately don't act on.
Though I am dark, Adam married me. What am I?
According to the biblical story, Eve was Adam's wife, and the riddle's 'dark' clue is a play on the word 'eve' as in evening.
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).
I am a fire's best friend. When fat, my body fills with wind. When pushed to thin, through my nose I blow. Then you can watch the embers glow. What am I?
A bellows fills with air when expanded ("fat") and, when squeezed thin, forces air out its nozzle ("nose") to fan flames and make embers glow.
I have 24 keys but cannot open any locks. Sometimes loud, sometimes soft. What am I?
The "keys" most literally belong to an instrument like a piano or music box, but the source's stated answer is "music" itself, which can indeed sound loud or soft.
I climb higher as I get hotter. I can never escape from my crystal cage. What am I?
Liquid mercury inside a glass thermometer rises up the tube as the temperature increases, but it's always sealed inside the glass "cage."
I am a rock group with four members. All dead, one was assassinated. What am I?
Mount Rushmore is carved into rock and depicts four U.S. presidents, all now deceased, one of whom (Lincoln) was assassinated -- a pun on "rock group."
I can run but not walk. Wherever I go, thought follows close behind. What am I?
A runny nose 'runs' constantly but never physically walks; the rest of the clue is a looser fit, describing the intangible way something (like a sneeze or sniffle) seems to trail right behind it.
Ripped from my mother's womb. Beaten and burned, I become a bloodthirsty killer. What am I?
Iron ore is mined ("ripped") from the earth (its "mother"), then hammered and heated in a forge to be turned into deadly weapons like blades or bullets.
My first two letters say my name. My last letter asks a question. What I embrace I destroy. What am I?
"IVY" starts with letters that sound like its own name, ends in "Y" (sounding like "why," a question word), and as a climbing plant it can strangle and kill the trees it wraps around.
I contain six letters, minus one and you got twelve. What am I?
The word 'dozens' has six letters; drop the final 's' and 'dozen' — meaning twelve — remains.
I dance on one foot and know only one shape. Someone with the same name as me is very good with directions. What am I?
A compass needle balances and spins on a single point, always pointing north, and a person nicknamed 'Compass' would be famously good with directions.
In prison I will be found, but I'll never be in court, unless there's more than one. What am I?
The letter S appears in "priSon" but not in "court" -- only in the plural "courtS," i.e. "unless there's more than one."
I am the ultimate killing machine, used not once but twice, I can be made by humans. What am I?
This refers to war broadly — humanity has waged World War I and World War II, both devastatingly deadly and entirely man-made.
In my life I must bare, my bloodline I must share. What am I?
A sibling shares a portion of your family bloodline throughout life, whether you like it or not.
My first half means container. Not a lot of people understand my language. What am I?
Binary starts with 'bin,' meaning a storage container, and its strings of 1s and 0s are a 'language' only computers and specialists truly understand.
I am a mother from a family of eight. Spins around all day despite my weight. Had a ninth sibling before finding out its fake. What am I?
Earth is one of eight planets orbiting the sun, spins on its axis daily, and once had a supposed 'ninth sibling,' Pluto, until it was reclassified as a dwarf planet.
I flow from the mouth of Homer when he sees doughnuts. What am I?
The name Homer Simpson is famous for drooling over doughnuts, making 'drool' flow from his mouth at the sight of one.
Shoot at me a thousand times and I may still survive; one scratch from you and me will find your prospects take a dive. What am I?
In pool, the eight ball can be struck many times safely throughout a game, but sinking it prematurely, or scratching while pocketing it, immediately ends the game in a loss.
I know a thousand faces, and count the tailed heads, feasting bright upon the eyes, of many who have died. Wielding well a mighty power, who hath but humble stature. Masses fall upon their knees, to scarce behold my only side. What am I?
Coins bear the faces ("heads") of countless historical figures, are prized by masses seeking wealth, and each coin has only two sides, one of which people commonly favor face-up.
I am the ruler of shovels, I have a double, I am as thin as a knife, I have a wife. What am I?
In a deck of cards, the king of spades rules the spade suit, has a mirrored 'double' image printed on the card, is flat as a knife, and is paired with a queen — his 'wife.'
I am used to bat with, yet I never get a hit. I am near a ball, yet it is never thrown. What am I?
You can "bat" your eyelashes (flirtatiously blink), and they sit right next to the eyeball ("ball") without ever touching or hitting it.
I have a hundred legs but cannot stand, a long neck but no head; I eat the maid's life. What am I?
A broom's bristles are its 'hundred legs,' its handle is a headless 'long neck,' and traditionally it was the housemaid's constant chore ('life').
I'm a king that speaks for my country. At birth I am protected by no one. As I grow my father gives me 2 soldiers to protect me. As I get matured many more are given to me. And at my full age my father gives me 32 white soldiers to guard me and protect me. What am I?
The tongue 'speaks' for the country, and its royal guard is teeth — none at birth, two at first, and a full set of 32 by adulthood.
To unravel me, you need a key. No key that was made by locksmith's hand, but a key that only I will understand. What am I?
A cipher (secret code) can only be 'unlocked' or understood with the right key to its pattern, not a physical locksmith's key.
Take away my first letter and I remain the same. Take away my last letter and I remain unchanged. Remove all my letters and I'm still me. What am I?
This riddle plays on identity rather than spelling: no matter what mail is taken away -- his first delivery, his last delivery, or all of it -- he is still called a mailman.
He has one and a person has two, a citizen has three and a human being has four, a personality has five and an inhabitant of earth has six. What am I?
'He' has one syllable, 'person' has two, 'citizen' has three, 'human being' counts to four, 'personality' has five, and 'inhabitant' has six -- each word matches its own syllable count.
Four golfers named Mr. Black, Mr. White, Mr. Brown and Mr. Blue were competing in a tournament. The caddy didn't know their names, so he asked them. One of them, Mr. Brown, told a lie. The 1st golfer said "The 2nd Golfer is Mr. Black." The 2nd golfer said "I am not Mr. Blue!" The 3rd golfer said "Mr. White? That's the 4th golfer." And the 4th golfer remained silent. Which one of the golfers is Mr. Blue?
Testing each golfer as the possible liar (only Mr. Brown lies) against all three statements is only consistent when the 3rd golfer is revealed to be Mr. Blue.
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.
Two in a whole and four in a pair. Six in a trio you see. Eight's a quartet but what you must get is the name that fits just one of me. What am I?
This wordplay riddle counts by twos - a whole holds two halves, a pair holds four, a trio six, a quartet eight - always doubling the count, with 'half' being the name that fits just one single unit.
The floor's on top, the roof's beneath, and from this place I rarely leave. Yet with the passing of each day. A new horizon greets my gaze.
Aboard ship a sailor's world is turned around - the deck above serves as his 'roof,' the hull below as his 'floor' - and every day at sea brings a fresh horizon into view.
I heard of a wonder, of words moth-eaten. That is a strange thing, I thought, weird. That a man's song be swallowed by a worm. His blinded sentences, his bedside stand-by rustled in the night - and the robber-guest. Not one wit the wiser. For the words he had mumbled.
This Old English riddle (the 'Moth' riddle from the Exeter Book) describes a bookworm that literally eats through a manuscript's words while its meaning goes unnoticed.
Halfway up the hill, I see you at last, lying beneath me with your sounds and sights. A city in the twilight, dim and vast, with smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights.
This poem describes gazing down at a twilight city from a hillside as if it were a memory - a metaphor for looking back on the past.
When people come for me to meet, they come to me with heavy feet. The one I hold, when I get my chance, will turn and spin, and start to dance.
People approach the gallows with dread ("heavy feet"), and the condemned person it "holds" is hanged, causing the body to swing and twitch ("turn and spin, and start to dance").
My first a blessing sent to earth, of plants and flowers to aid the birth; my second surely was designed to hurl destruction on mankind; my whole a pledge from pardoning heaven, of wrath appeased and crimes forgiven.
'Rain' nurtures plants and flowers, 'bow' (as in bow and arrow) is a weapon of destruction, and together 'rainbow' is the biblical sign of God's promise never to flood the earth again.
My first is in riddle, but not in little. My second is in think, but not in brink. My third is in thyme, but not in time. My fourth is in mother, but not in brother. My last is in time, but not in climb.
Each clue hides one letter of RHYME - R from riddle, H from think, Y from thyme, M from mother, and E from time - spelling out the poetic device this very riddle relies on.
My head and tail both equal are, my middle slender as a bee. Whether I stand on head or heel Is quite the same to you or me. But if my head should be cut off, the matter's true, though passing strange directly I to nothing change.
The numeral 8 has two equal round loops joined by a slim waist, looks the same right-side up or upside-down, and if you slice off its top loop, what remains is simply a 0.
I shift around, though always slowly. I never move more than a few inches at a time. A large movement by me can kill many people. I am huge, yet unseen by humans. What am I?
Tectonic plates drift only inches per year, yet a sudden major shift can trigger a devastating, deadly earthquake - enormous forces moving unseen beneath our feet.
The wave, over the wave, a weird thing I saw, Through-wrought, and wonderfully ornate: A wonder on the wave-water became bone.
This old riddle describes frozen water - waves turned to hard, intricately patterned ice that looks almost carved like bone.
When the day after tomorrow is yesterday, today will be as far from Wednesday as today was from Wednesday when the day before yesterday was tomorrow. What is the day after this day?
Working through each relative day-shift in the riddle - the day after tomorrow, the day before yesterday - and solving for consistency with Wednesday pins the day in question down to Thursday.
My first brace Nelson yielded, midst the jar of angry battle, and the din of war; my second, when from labor we retreat, far from polite, yet offers us a seat; my whole is but my second more complete.
ARM (which Admiral Nelson famously lost in battle) plus CHAIR (where we rest after labor) combine into ARMCHAIR - a chair made 'more complete' with armrests.
As a whole, I am both safe and secure. Behead me, I become a place of meeting. Behead me again, I am the partner of ready. Restore me, I become the domain of beasts.
STABLE beheaded becomes TABLE (a meeting place), beheaded again becomes ABLE (paired with 'ready'), and restoring the S returns to STABLE - literally a barn, the domain of beasts.
My first, if you do, you'll increase; my second will keep you from heaven; my whole, such a human caprice, is more frequently given than taken.
ADD (which increases a total) plus VICE (a sin that keeps you from heaven) combine into ADVICE - notoriously given far more often than it's actually taken.
My first is to be seen every day in the firmament; My second conquers kings and queens; And my whole is what I would offer to a friend in distress.
'Sol' is the sun seen daily in the sky, an 'ace' beats kings and queens in cards, and together they form 'solace' -- comfort offered to a struggling friend.
I am the beginning of sorrow, and the end of sickness. You cannot express happiness without me, yet I am in the midst of crosses. I am always in risk, yet never in danger. You may find me in the sun, but I am never seen out of darkness.
The letter S starts 'sorrow' and ends 'sickness,' sits inside 'happiness' and 'crosses,' pairs with 'risk' but not 'danger,' and appears in 'sun' but never outside 'darkness.'
My first is a heir; My second's a snare; My whole is the offspring of fancy; Which I sent, out of play, Upon Valentine's day, As a token of love, to my Nancy.
An 'heir' is often a 'son,' and a 'snare' is a 'net' -- combine son plus net to get 'sonnet,' a poem born of imagination and a classic Valentine's gift.
I am essential to life on earth! I am split into thirds. Two thirds are the same. One of the thirds is 8. The other two are 1 each. What am I?
Water (H2O) is made of two hydrogen atoms (each atomic number 1) and one oxygen atom (atomic number 8) — 'two thirds the same' and 'one of the thirds is 8.'
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.
Six letters do my name compound; Among the aged oft I'm found; The shepherd also, by the brook, Hears me when leaning on his crook; But in the middle me divide, And take the half on either side, Each backward read, a liquor tell, Ev'ry gay toper knows it well.
Split 'murmur' down the middle into 'mur' and 'mur,' and each half read backward spells 'rum' - the liquor every heavy drinker ('toper') knows well.
It is more feared than fear itself, And no one can escape it. It takes no sides and does not judge, it does not know to hold a grudge. It is the most clearest result, Of how life beats you by default.
Death is universal, unavoidable, and impartial, everyone eventually experiences it regardless of who they are, making it the inevitable end result of life.
It's true I bring serenity. And hang around the stars. But yet I live in misery, you'll find me behind bars. With thieves and villains I consort. In prison I'll be found. But I would never go to court. Unless there's more than one.
Adding the letter S turns 'star' into 'stars,' 'bar' into 'bars,' and 'court' into 'courts' - it only shows up when there's more than one of something, fitting every clue in the riddle.
My first is ocean but not in sea, My second in milk but not in me. My third is in three but not in throw, My fourth in vow but not in crow. My fifth is in eight but not in night, My last is in wrong and also right. My whole is praise for thoughts or men; Or women, too, or tongue or pen.
Each line hides one letter of CLEVER - C from ocean, L from milk, E from three, V from vow, E from eight, R from wrong - spelling out a word of praise for sharp thinking.
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.
Physicists have built devices to move me very fast. My last seven letters can be commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and journals. What am I?
Physicists accelerate subatomic particles to tremendous speeds, and dropping the leading letter from 'particles' leaves 'articles' - the written pieces found in newspapers, magazines, and journals.
I saw a fight the other day; A damsel did begin the fray. She with her daily friend did meet, then standing in the open street, she gave such hard and sturdy blows, he bled ten gallons at the nose; yet neither seemed to faint nor fall, nor gave her an abuse at all.
This old riddle's 'fight' and 'bleeding' are a playful disguise for two people working a water pump - the 'blows' and 'ten gallons' describe pumped water, not real violence.
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 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.'
In the land of the green glass door there are riddles but no answers, sheets but no blankets, and books but no words. Name something found in the land of the green glass door.
This classic party riddle allows only items whose name contains a double letter - 'riddles,' 'sheets,' and 'books' all qualify, just like the example word 'letters.'
I'm a word, six letters long; I sometimes enter with a gong. All in order from A to Z, I start with the letter B. What is the word?
"Begins" has six letters, starts with B (the second letter of the alphabet), and events such as boxing matches often "begin" with the sound of a gong.
I come when the weather is at its prime, Though, it might be wise to leave nothing on the street. But, in the wintertime My name is obsolete What am I?
Hail typically forms during warm-season storms and can be hazardous to leave things exposed to, but once true winter cold sets in, precipitation falls as snow instead, so the term becomes obsolete.
You use me for multiple reasons, I am many colored, and many shaped. I may or may not also tell you your sexual preference. What am I?
A scarf comes in endless colors, shapes, and uses for warmth or fashion; the riddle's final line is a wink at real-world scarf color codes some subcultures use to signal orientation.
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.
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.
We travel much, yet prisoners are, and close confined to boot. Yet with any horse, we will keep the pace, and will always go on foot. What are they?
Spurs are fixed to a rider's boot and never leave it, yet they travel wherever the horse carries the rider, always staying at foot level.
Begotten, and born, and dying with noise, The terror of women, and pleasure of boys, Like the fiction of poets concerning the wind, I'm chiefly unruly, when strongest confined.
A cannon is 'born' with a deafening blast, terrifies onlookers, delights boys who play at soldiers, and is most dangerous when its powder is tightly confined.
I am the fountain from which no one can drink. For many I am considered a necessary link. Like gold to all I am sought for, but my continued death brings wealth for all to want more.
Oil gushes like a fountain but isn't drinkable, is a vital economic "link" fueling industry, is highly sought after like gold, and its ongoing depletion ("death") only drives up demand and profit.
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.
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.
My first, though water, cures no thirst, My next alone has soul, And when he lives upon my first, He then is called my whole.
The charade combines "sea" (salt water that can't quench thirst) with "man" (a being with a soul), and a man who lives and works upon the sea is called a seaman.
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 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.
Man of old, it is told would search until he tired, not for gold, ne'er be sold, but what sought he was fire. Man today, thou mayst say, has quite another aim, in places deep, he did seek, to find me for his gain!
Ancient man searched for a way to make fire, while modern man drills deep underground in search of oil for profit -- both driven by the same resourceful pursuit across different ages.
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).
We are little airy creatures, all of different voice and features, one of us in glass is set. One of us you'll find in jet. Another you may see in tin. And the fourth a box within. If the fifth you should pursue, it can never fly from you. What are we?
This classic riddle points to the five vowels: A in glAss, E in jEt, I in tIn, O in bOx, and U -- which can never fly from "yoU" since it's part of the very word "you."
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.
It holds most knowledge that has ever been said. But is not the brain, is not the head. To feathers and their masters, it's both bane and boon. One empty, and one full.
Paper has recorded most of humanity's knowledge without being a brain itself, and to a writer with a quill ("feathers"), a blank sheet is a daunting "bane" while a filled one is a satisfying "boon."
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.
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.
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.
Every dawn begins with me. At dusk I'll be the first you see, and daybreak couldn't come without. What midday centers all about. Daisies grow from me, I'm told. And when I come, I end all code, but in the sun I won't be found. Yet still, each day I'll be around.
The letter D begins 'dawn,' 'dusk,' and 'daybreak,' sits at the center of 'midday,' starts 'daisies,' ends 'code,' and is missing entirely from 'sun' - yet found in 'day' itself.
Four wings I have, which swiftly mount on high, on sturdy pinions, yet I never fly; And though my body often moves around, upon the self-same spot I'm always found, and, like a mother, who breaks her infant's bread. I chew for man before he can be fed.
A windmill's four sails ("wings") spin high in the air without ever leaving the spot it's built on, and it grinds grain into flour -- "chewing" the food -- before people can bake it into bread.
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.
It's in the church, but not in the steeple; It's in the parson, but not in the people; It's in the oyster, but not in the shell; It's in the clapper, but not in the bell.
The letter R hides inside 'church,' 'parson,' 'oyster,' and 'clapper,' but is missing from their paired words 'steeple,' 'people,' 'shell,' and 'bell.'
With thieves I consort, With the Vilest, in short, I'm quite at ease in depravity, Yet all divines use me, And savants can't lose me, For I am the century of gravity.
The letter V is tucked inside every key word here - thie-V-es, V-ilest, di-V-ines, sa-V-ants, and gra-V-ity - the hidden-letter trick behind this riddle.
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.
Plow and hoe, reap and sow, What soon does every farmer grow?
This riddle is a play on words -- after endlessly plowing, hoeing, reaping, and sowing, every farmer inevitably grows "weary" from the constant labor.
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.
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.
A single syllable do I claim, black was my most famous name; Fetal to mortals here below, thousands have I slain in a single blow.
"Plague" is one syllable, its most infamous outbreak was known as the "Black" Death, and it proved fatal to mortals, wiping out thousands in devastating waves.
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").