1,128 Hard Riddles With Answers - page 4 of 12
Flour of England, fruit of Spain, Met together in a shower of rain; Put in a bag tied round with a string, If you'll tell me this riddle, I'll give you a ring.
This old English riddle describes plum pudding: English flour and Spanish dried fruit (raisins) are mixed with liquid ("a shower of rain"), then tied in a cloth bag to be steamed.
I have seven letters and am something you eat. My only anagram can help your pain. If you remove my first 2 letters I wear things down. Removing my first 3 letters is an adjective and removing my first 4 letters leaves a measure of time. What am I?
Sausage is a seven-letter food; dropping its first letters in stages plays with 'usage,' 'sage' (an adjective), and 'age' (a measure of time), even though the 'anagram for pain' clue is a loose fit.
Patch upon patch, without any stitches, if you tell me this riddle, I'll give you my breeches.
A cabbage is built from overlapping leaf 'patches' wrapped around each other with no stitching holding them together.
A man walks out of a house that has four walls all facing north. A bird walks past him. What is it?
A house with all four walls facing north can only be at the South Pole, and the flightless bird found walking around there is a penguin.
It is able to speak because it has a hard tongue. You know what it is as soon as it has sung. What is it?
A bell 'speaks' when its hard internal clapper, sometimes called its tongue, strikes the metal, and its distinctive ring instantly identifies it.
Everyone needs this, it's great with an 'r' on the end, but you're sad when the first letter goes away. What is it?
Add an 'r' to 'love' and you get 'lover,' but remove the first letter 'l' from 'lover' and you get 'over,' which is sad because it means a relationship has ended.
There are several different kinds, but the one you pick doesn't do its job. What is it?
This is a pun: locks come in many types, but the one skill a thief needs is to 'pick' a lock, defeating its very purpose.
You can spin, wheel and twist, but this thing can turn without moving. What is it?
Milk can "turn" sour or go bad while sitting perfectly still, playing on the double meaning of "turn" (to rotate vs. to spoil).
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.
You need a key to receive an answer from me. The answer you'll find is straight from your mind. What is it?
A code is unlocked with a key, and once decoded it reveals a message straight from the mind of whoever wrote it.
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.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has a big one, Michael J Fox has a small one, Madonna doesn't have one, the Pope has one but he never uses it, Bill Clinton has one and he uses it all the time! What is it?
Schwarzenegger's surname is long, Fox's is short, Madonna performs under one name only, the Pope goes by a papal name instead, and Bill Clinton is famous for signing (using) his.
The part of the bird, that is not in the sky, which can swim in the ocean and always stay dry. What is it?
A bird's shadow stays on the ground or water's surface while the bird itself flies overhead, and it can glide right over the ocean's surface without ever getting wet.
With pointed fangs it sits in wait, With piercing force it doles out fate, Over bloodless victims proclaiming its might, Eternally joining in a single bite. What is it?
A stapler's metal 'fangs' pierce paper (not flesh, so 'bloodless') and permanently join sheets together in a single bite.
What 8 letter word can have a letter taken out and still be a word?
Removing the final 'e' from the eight-letter word 'envelope' leaves 'envelop,' which is also a real word (meaning to wrap or surround).
What number has all letters in alphabetical order when spelled out?
Spelled out, 'forty' (f-o-r-t-y) has its letters in strict alphabetical order.
A young child goes up to a wise man and shocks him by asking him "What one thing do i have that God does not?"
Since God has no parents in most religious traditions, but a child does, that's the one thing the child has.
They are many and one, they wave and they drum. Used to cover a state, they go with you everywhere.
Hands can wave hello, drum on a table, cast a vote to represent (cover) a state, and, being part of your body, they go everywhere you do.
Though it is not an ox, it has horns; Though it is not a donkey, it has packed-saddle; And wherever it goes it leaves silver behind.
A snail's eye-stalks look like horns and its coiled shell resembles a packed saddle, while its slime trail glints like silver.
I start in little but I end in full, you'll find me in half and complete.
The letter "L" appears at the start of "Little," the end of "fulL," inside "haLf," and within "compLete."
I am an English word with 3 consecutive double letters. What am I?
This word contains 'oo,' 'kk,' and 'ee' back to back, three double letters in a row.
What is given but kept by the giver?
A mother 'gives birth,' but the fact that she gave birth remains permanently true of, and 'kept' by, her.
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.
The letters in 'begins' (b, e, g, i, n, s) appear in alphabetical order, and a boxing match 'begins' with a gong.
What's at the head of an elephant and at the tail of a squirrel?
Both 'ELephant' and 'squirr-EL' contain the letters 'EL' -- at the start of one word and the end of the other.
What was was, before was was was?
This wordplay riddle points out that the past-tense word "was" used to be the present-tense word "is" before events became past.
How can the letters OWONDER be rearranged to make one word?
OWONDER rearranges, letter for letter, into the phrase "ONE WORD" -- the answer is also the method for solving it.
If you were standing directly on Antarctica's South Pole facing north, which direction would you travel if you took one step backward?
At the South Pole, every direction you face or move is technically north, since it's the southernmost point on Earth -- so even a "backward" step still takes you north.
Susan and Lisa decided to play tennis against each other. They bet $1 on each game they played. Susan won three bets and Lisa won $5. How many games did they play?
If Susan won 3 games and Lisa's net winnings were $5, Lisa must have won 8 games (8 - 3 = $5 net), so together they played 3 + 8 = 11 games.
What would you father's only sister's sister-in-law be to you?
Working through the family relations, a father's only sister's sister-in-law circles back to being your own mother.
George, Helen, and Steve are drinking coffee. Bert, Karen, and Dave are drinking soda. Is Elizabeth drinking coffee or soda?
George, Helen, and Steve (the coffee drinkers) each have the letter "e" appearing twice in their names, matching Elizabeth's name, which also contains two "e"s -- so she is drinking coffee too.
A mother had five boys Marco, Tucker, Webster and Thomas. Was the fifth boys name Frank, Evan or Alex?
Look at just the first letters of each brother's name to spot the days-of-the-week pattern.
There is a word in the English language in which the first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four signify a great man, and the whole word, a great woman. What is the word?
"He" signifies a male, "Her" signifies a female, "Hero" signifies a great man, and the full word "Heroine" signifies a great woman -- each stage of the word builds in meaning exactly as described.
There are 500 coffins and 500 men who need them. The undertaker asks the first man to go to every coffin and open them. Then he tells the second man to go to every one and close it. The third one goes to every third coffin and so on. How many are open?
Only coffins with an odd number of divisors stay open in the end - the perfect squares - and there are exactly 22 perfect squares (1 squared through 22 squared) at or below 500.
How do you go from 98 to 720 using just one letter?
Spelling out "98" as "ninety eight" and inserting the letter x between the words creates "ninety x eight," which multiplies to 720.
Four years ago, Alex was twice as old as Jake. Four years from now, Jake will be 3/4 of Alex's age. How old is Alex?
Solving the two age equations together shows Jake is currently 8 and Alex is currently 12.
If it is two hours later, then it will take half as much time till it's midnight as it would be if it were an hour later. What time is it?
Working the algebra backward from midnight shows the current time must be 9 o'clock for the stated ratio to hold true.
Sally is 54 years old and her mother is 80, how many years ago was Sally's mother three times her age?
Solving 80-x = 3(54-x) gives x = 41, so 41 years ago Sally's mother was exactly three times her age.
If two hours ago, it was as long after one o'clock in the afternoon as it was before one o'clock in the morning, what time would it be now?
Working backward from "two hours ago," the elapsed time since 1 p.m. must equal the time remaining until 1 a.m., which only balances when the current time is 9 p.m.
In a bicycle race, the man who came two places in front of the last man finished one ahead of the man who came fifth. How many contestants were there?
If he's two places ahead of last (6th) he's in 4th, and finishing one ahead of 5th place also places him in 4th -- both conditions align only when there are 6 total contestants.
My daughter has many sisters. She has as many sisters as she has brothers. Each of her brothers has twice as many sisters as brothers. How many sons and daughters do I have?
With 4 daughters and 3 sons, each daughter has 3 sisters and 3 brothers (equal), and each son has 2 brothers and 4 sisters (twice as many sisters as brothers) -- satisfying both conditions.
There are 25 red balls, 47 green balls and 3 blue balls in a basket. There is a blind man. What is the minimum number of balls that the blind man has to pick to make sure that there are at least 2 balls of different colors?
In the worst possible case, the blind man could draw all 47 green balls in a row before finally getting a red or blue one, so 48 draws guarantee at least two different colors.
How can you add eight 8's to get the number 1000?
Try combining the 8's into different-length numbers (888, 88, 8) rather than adding eight separate 8's.
The combined age of Jack and John is 49. Jack is twice as old, as John was when Jack was as old as John is now. How old are the brothers?
Jack's age (28) is twice what John's age was seven years ago (14), which is exactly the gap between their ages now (28 - 21 = 7), and 28 + 21 = 49 as required.
What is the value of 1/2 of 2/3 of 3/4 of 4/5 of 5/6 of 6/7 of 7/8 of 8/9 of 9/10 of 1000?
Multiplying the fraction chain 1/2 x 2/3 x 3/4 ... x 9/10 causes every numerator and denominator to cancel except the very first and last, leaving 1/10 of 1000, which is 100.
Dean Sam and Castiel are three brothers. Interestingly their current age is prime. What's more interesting that difference between their ages is also prime. How old are they?
Ages 2, 5, and 7 are all prime numbers, and the differences between them - 3, 2, and 5 - are also all prime, satisfying every condition in the riddle.
How can you give someone $83 using exactly 7 bills, without using any one dollar bills?
A $50 bill, a $20 bill, a $5 bill, and four $2 bills together total $83 using exactly seven bills and no $1 bills.
If Mr. Flynn is 90 centimeters plus half his height, how tall is he?
If 90 cm equals half his height, his full height must be double that, or 180 centimeters.
A bat and a ball cost $1.10. The bat costs one dollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
If the ball costs 5 cents, the bat costs $1.05 (one dollar more), and together they total $1.10 -- the common wrong intuitive answer of 10 cents doesn't satisfy the 'one dollar more' condition.
Which eight-letter word still remains a word after removing each letter from it?
Removing one letter at a time from "starting" yields a chain of real words: starting → staring → string → sting → sing → sin → in → I.
I know a word of letters three, add two and fewer there will be?
The three-letter word 'few' becomes 'fewer' (five letters, two more) when you add 'er,' and 'fewer' means a smaller quantity -- matching the riddle's own wordplay.
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.
I am the reason you run. I am the reason you scream. I am the cause of your pain. I am a cage from which you will never be free.
Your body drives you to run from danger, to scream in fear or pain, and to suffer physically - a 'cage' you can never truly escape while alive.
In 1990, a person is 15 years old. In 1995, that same person is 10 years old. How can this be?
The years given are B.C. dates, which count downward, so a birth in 2005 B.C. makes the person 15 in 1990 B.C. and 10 in 1995 B.C.
Who makes it, has no need of it. Who buys it, has no use for it. Who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?
A coffin-maker doesn't need one, buyers purchase it for someone else, and the deceased who "uses" it can no longer see or feel anything.
I am your mother's brother's only brother in law. Who am I?
Your mother's brother is your uncle, and your uncle's only brother-in-law (through his sister's marriage) is your father -- a family-logic riddle.
An apple is 40 cents, a banana is 60 cents and a grapefruit is 80 cents. How much is a pear?
Each fruit's price equals its number of vowels times 20 cents -- apple (2 vowels) = 40c, banana (3 vowels) = 60c, grapefruit (4 vowels) = 80c, and pear (2 vowels) = 40c.
There was a plane crash and every single person died. Who survived?
This riddle plays on the word 'single': every single (unmarried) person died in the crash, implying it was the people who were not single -- married couples -- who survived.
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.
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."
I can be flipped and broken but I never move. I can be closed, and opened, and sometimes removed. I am sealed by hands. What am I?
A deal can be 'flipped' (renegotiated) or 'broken' without ever physically moving, opened or closed as negotiations proceed, and traditionally sealed with a handshake.
Once I'm 24. Twice I'm 20. Three times I'm inappropriate. What am I?
"X" is the 24th letter of the alphabet, "XX" is the Roman numeral for 20, and "XXX" is a rating label for adult content.
From the beginning of eternity To the end of time and space To the beginning of every end And the end of every place. What am I?
The letter 'E' sits at the end of 'time' and 'space,' appears throughout 'eternity,' and marks 'the end' of both 'every end' and 'every place.'
In two years I know, I'll be twice as old as five years ago, said Tom. How old is Tom?
If x is Tom's current age: x+2 = 2(x-5), which solves to x = 12.
Add me to myself and multiply by 4. Divide me by 8 and you will have me once more. What number am I?
Doubling a number and multiplying by 4, then dividing by 8, always returns the original number, so it works for any number.
There is a three digit number. The second digit is four times as big as the third digit, while the first digit is three less than the second digit. What is the number?
The second digit must be 4 times the third digit and the first digit must be 3 less than the second -- with digits 1, 4, and 1, that gives 141 (4 = 4x1, and 1 = 4-3).
The day before two days after the day before tomorrow is Saturday. What day is it today?
Working through the wording step by step shows "today" must be one day before Saturday, which is Friday.
How many 9's are there between 1 and 100?
Counting the digit 9 in every number from 1 to 100 -- ten times in the units place (9, 19, 29...99) and ten times in the tens place (90-99) -- totals 20.
The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?
No one wants to need a coffin, families often buy one in advance, and the person who will eventually need it is, by definition, no longer around to know it.
Always wooden and covered in paint. It can make you laugh or hide, because something dark is inside. What is it?
A pencil's wooden body is coated in painted lacquer, and its dark graphite 'lead' inside lets you draw jokes or erase and hide mistakes.
Whoever makes it, tells it not. Whoever takes it, knows it not. Whoever knows it, wants it not. What am I?
This is a twist on the classic 'counterfeit' riddle: poison is made quietly, taken unknowingly by its victim, and once someone realizes they've been poisoned, they certainly don't want it.
Not born, but from a Mother's body drawn, I hang until half of me is gone. I sleep in a cave until I grow old, then valued for my hardened gold. What am I?
Cheese is made from milk drawn from a cow, hung or pressed to lose moisture, aged in cellars or caves, and fine aged cheeses become more prized ("hardened gold") over time.
Dreaming of apples on a wall. And dreaming often, dear. I dreamed that, if I counted all, How many would appear?
This is a whimsical nonsense-verse riddle where the answer simply echoes the dreamlike, arbitrary rhyme of the question.
To have one-third you must give, without me not long you shall live!
People spend roughly one-third of their life asleep, and going without sleep entirely is not survivable long-term.
Formed long ago, yet made today, Employed while others sleep. What none would freely give away. Nor any wish to keep. What is it?
A bed is made (tidied) daily, used while people sleep, and no one wants to permanently give up or keep making it.
I am six letters. When you take one away I am twelve. What am I?
"Dozens" has six letters, and removing the final "s" leaves "Dozen," which equals twelve.
The letters of the alphabet but only just a few; It's hard to say if I was invented or just discovered by you. What am I?
Music, like the alphabet, is built from a limited set of "notes" or symbols, and it's debated whether it was invented or discovered.
My shallow hills are the faces of kings. My horizon is always near. My music sends men to the grave. My absence sends men to work. What am I?
Coins are stamped with kings' faces in shallow relief, jingle like "music" tied to greed and death, and their scarcity forces people to labor.
I cannot be felt, seen or touched; Yet I can be found in everybody; My existence is always in debate; Yet I have my own style of music. What Am I?
"Soul" is both the intangible essence believed to exist in every person and the name of a distinct music genre.
I am a fruit. If you take away the first letter of my name I become a crime. Take away the first two letters of my name I become an animal. Take away the first and last letter of my name and I become a form of music. What am I?
"Grape" minus G is "rape" (a crime), minus "Gr" is "ape" (an animal), and minus first and last letters is "rap" (music).
I can travel from there to here by disappearing, and here to there by reappearing. What am I?
Wordplay: removing the letter T from 'there' leaves 'here', and adding it back to 'here' makes 'there'.
Which word is the odd one out: Seventy, Brawl, Clover, Proper, Carrot, Swing, Change, Travel, Sacred, Stone?
Removing the first and last letters from every word except 'Carrot' leaves a valid smaller word (e.g., Seventy -> Event); Carrot leaves 'arro', which is not a word.
My first is often at the front door. My second is found in the cereal family. My third is what most people want. My whole is one of the United States. What am I?
The riddle builds the word from a doormat, the grain rye, and money, spelling out "matrimony," itself a kind of "united state."
What is the difference between a dollar and a half and thirty five-cents?
"Thirty five-cents" (thirty coins each worth five cents) equals $1.50, the same as "a dollar and a half," unlike "thirty-five cents" which is only $0.35.
How can you give someone $63 using six bills, without using any one dollar bills?
One $50, one $5, and four $2 bills sum to $63 across exactly six bills without any $1 bills.
Joe has ten coins totaling $1.19. From these coins, he cannot make exact change for a dollar, half-dollar, quarter, dime, or nickel. What are the coins?
This combination totals exactly $1.19 in exactly ten coins, yet lacks the right denominations to make exact change for a dollar, half-dollar, quarter, dime, or nickel individually.
You and four other people robbed a bank for 200,000,000 dollars you evenly split the money for every person you get 25% of the money how much do you get.
The riddle's own math states each of the 4 named shares is 25%, and four 25% shares add up to the full 100%, an intentional trick in the wording.
If you take me four steps forward from the ball you will see something making a noise. but if you take me four more steps you will need to pay money. Who am i?
Shifting the vowel in "ball" alphabetically turns it into "bell," then "bill," a word tied to paying money.
A robber came into my store and stole $100 from the register without my knowledge. A few minutes later, the same guy came back with the $100 he stole and purchased $70 worth of items and I gave him $30 in change. How much money did I lose?
The $100 was stolen outright; the later purchase just moved the same stolen bill around the register and gave away $70 in goods plus $30 change, netting a $100 loss overall.
A bottle costs a dollar more than a cork. Together they cost 110 cents. How much does the bottle cost and how much does the cork cost?
If the cork is x, the bottle is x+100; together 2x+100=110, so x=5 cents and the bottle is 105 cents.
I start off red, then I am halved, and turn blue. I am then halved once again, and turn pink. What am I?
The riddle traces Australian banknote colors as their denomination halves: $20 red, $10 blue, $5 pink.
A man goes to work at the same time each day and travels part of his journey facing forwards and the remainder facing backwards. When he returns at the end of his working day, he only faces forwards. How can this be?
Picture climbing down ladders backward for safety versus walking normally on a flat deck.
There were 5 men traveling down a road and it started to rain and 4 men sped up, the 5th did not, but they all arrived at the same place at the same time but all of them were wet besides the 5th. How?
The fifth man wasn't walking at all; he was being carried, sheltered from the rain.
Peter celebrated his birthday on one day, and two days later his older twin brother, Paul, celebrated his birthday. How could this be?
Think about how crossing a time zone or a leap year date could reorder birth dates for twins.
How many times does the long hand of the clock pass the short hand between midnight one day and midnight the following day? As both hands are together at the starting time of midnight this does not count as a pass.
The hands overlap roughly every 65 minutes rather than exactly every hour, giving fewer than 24 passes.
I have two coins, one is marked George I and one is marked George IV. One is genuine but one is a forgery. Which is the forgery?
Numbering a king "the First" only makes sense retroactively once a second ruler of that name exists, so no coin from his own reign would call him "George I."
Two hours ago it was as long after one o'clock in the afternoon as it was before one o'clock in the morning. What time is it now?
Find the midpoint time that's equally spaced from 1am and 1pm, then add two hours.
I am not your boss but I guide your decisions, I am not your trainer, but I dictate your pace, I am not a Judge but I measure your success. Who Am I?
This riddle is open-ended, pointing to an inner force that shapes choices without formal authority.
A frog fell into a 12-foot-deep well. He could jump 3 feet, but every time he jumped 3 feet, he fell back 2 feet. How many times did he have to jump to get out of the well?
Each jump nets only 1 foot of progress, except the final jump which clears the well.
Man gave one son 10 cents and another son was given 15 cents. What time is it?
10 cents plus 15 cents makes a quarter, hinting at 'a quarter to two'.
How can you measure nine minutes with have two hourglasses, one four minute and one seven minute?
Track the moments each timer runs out and flip the appropriate one to build up to nine minutes.