1,128 Hard Riddles With Answers - page 6 of 12
Make me thy lyre, even as the forests are. What if my leaves fell like its own -- The tumult of thy mighty harmonies Will take from both a deep autumnal tone. What am I?
This alludes to Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind,' where the wind plays the forest like a lyre and scatters autumn leaves.
I can flow like a river, and come from dust, I age hard as iron, but never rust. What am I?
Wet concrete flows like liquid, is made from dust-like aggregate, and cures into a rock-hard material that doesn't rust like metal.
My first is in ocean but never in sea, my second's in wasp but never in bee. My third is in glider and also in flight, my whole is a creature that comes out at night.
Taking letters found in 'ocean' not 'sea' (O), in 'wasp' not 'bee' (W), and in both 'glider' and 'flight' (L), spells clues pointing to the nocturnal bird, the owl.
Forward and forward I go, never looking back. My limit no one knows, more of me do they lack. Like a river I do flow, and an eagle I fly. Now can you guess, what am I?
Time only moves forward, has no known limit, and people always feel they lack enough of it.
I am a path situated between high natural masses. Remove my first letter and you have a path situated between man-made masses. What am I?
'Valley' sits between mountains (natural masses); drop the 'V' and you get 'alley,' a path between buildings (man-made masses).
I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky riddle. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry. What am I?
A shadow moves wherever the bird goes, even over water, without ever getting wet.
I am strongest when you see me as round, but I am often viewed in other forms. I lift and drop the sea with my tremendous strength, and a man with a name like 'powerful bicep' was the first to tread on me. What am I?
The 'powerful bicep' man is a play on 'Armstrong' (arm + strong), referencing Neil Armstrong who first walked on the moon.
The fire shows - my kin, born. The fire grows - my kin, adorn. The fire slows - my kin, deform. The fire goes - my kin, mourn.
The 'fire' here symbolizes the sun's warmth across seasons, with the tree's fruit ('kin') being born in spring, flourishing in summer, withering in fall, and gone by winter.
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.
Why is the letter F like an incendiary?
Adding the letter F to the front of the word 'ire' creates 'fire,' just as an incendiary device creates fire.
I give you a group of three. One is sitting down, and will never get up. The second eats as much as is given to him, yet is always hungry. The third goes away and never returns. What are the three things?
A stove stays fixed in place, a fire always 'hungers' for more fuel no matter how much is added, and smoke rises and disperses, never returning.
As destructive as life, As healing as death; An institutioner of strife, Just as prone to bless. It is all that is good, Yet with an evil trend; As it was the beginning of things, It can also be the end. What is it?
Fire is described through contradictions -- it can destroy or warm, harm or help -- capturing its dual nature as both creative and destructive force.
The ghost of the mountain never to be seen, leaps like a raging fire to catch his prey...
Snow leopards are elusive ('ghost of the mountain') and pounce with explosive speed, likened to a fire's leaping flames.
I am hewn from Earth and Fire; But to the sky, I aspire. I am nothing but contented; Until my patient rage is vented.
A volcano is formed from molten earth and fire, appears calm ('contented') for long periods, and eventually erupts skyward when its 'rage' is released.
Despised I am by knave and liar. After me, the wise inquire, I rise above all death and fire.
Liars hate the truth, wise people seek it out, and it endures beyond even death and destruction, describing truth as an abstract concept.
Crimson I am born, yellow I dance, ebony I die.
The riddle traces fire's color life cycle: starting red/crimson, burning bright yellow, and leaving black (ebony) ash or char when it dies out.
I can be half without getting thinner. I can shine with no fire. I can be hidden but never taken. I can stay dry while moving the ocean.
The moon appears as a 'half moon' without losing mass, reflects light without burning, can be obscured by clouds, and its gravity moves ocean tides without ever getting wet.
If a fire hydrant has H2O inside, what does it have on the outside?
The joke reads 'K9P' as 'canine pee,' referencing dogs marking fire hydrants, playing off the chemistry notation H2O.
In olden days, the student of logic was given this problem: If half of 5 were 3, what would one-third of 10 be?
If half of 5 is redefined as 3 (i.e. the usual value plus one), then applying the same adjusted proportion to one-third of 10 gives 4.
If I say I am lying, am I telling the truth?
This is the classic liar paradox: the statement cannot be consistently true or false, so it has no logical answer.
I am known everywhere as a criminal, yet I have never done anything illegal. I always have an inside angle on you, and there are two of me for every one of you. What am I?
The 'crook' of your elbow shares its name with a criminal (a crook), forms an inside angle, and every person has two of them, one per arm.
Whiling away the hours of flowers, Walking through fields of gold. Preening and pruning in lights fading hours, For petals to freeze in the cold. What is it?
The imagery moves through spring flowers, golden summer fields, autumn pruning as light fades, and finally frozen winter petals — the four seasons.
What two reasons why whispering in company is not proper?
The riddle relies on two puns: 'not aloud' sounds like 'not allowed,' and 'private earing' sounds like 'privateering,' a form of piracy.
Thursday, Nick and Rick went to a restaurant for dinner. The bill came out to $27. Nick and Rick each paid $9…but then, who paid the remaining $9?
'Thursday' is actually the name of a third friend at dinner, not the day of the week, so Thursday paid the remaining nine dollars.
What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
The letter "m" appears once in "minute," twice in "moment," but not at all in "thousand years."
I am a word that begins with the letter 'i'. If you add the letter 'a' to me, I become a new word with a different meaning. What am I?
Adding an "a" before "isle," a small island, spells "aisle," a walkway, an entirely different word.
What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?
This describes a person's life stages: crawling as a baby (four legs), walking as an adult (two legs), and using a cane in old age (three legs).
I am taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost every person. What am I?
Pencil "lead," graphite, is mined from the earth and permanently encased in a wooden pencil, yet used constantly for writing.
The Pope has it but he does not use it. Your father has it but your mother uses it. Nuns do not need it. Your lady friend's husband has it and she uses it. What is it?
The Pope keeps a surname he no longer goes by, while a wife takes on her husband's.
Oh, what a surprise! Oh, what a miracle! It sprouted without a seed, It stood without a trunk. What is it?
The riddle poetically describes the Earth's mysterious formation, sprouting into existence without a seed and standing without a visible support.
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.
A rubber ball is tossed off the top of a 90 foot building. Every time it bounces, it goes back up half way. How many bounces will the ball take before it stops?
If it always rebounds exactly half the remaining height, mathematically it approaches zero but never truly reaches a final stop, making the bounces infinite in an idealized sense.
I'm from the Old World, and my name from Latin; I can be cured, or served with au gratin. What am I?
The word "beef" derives from Latin, cattle originated in the Old World, and beef can be cured, like corned beef, or served au gratin.
Endlessly, I hunger, Lazily, I sleep. Murderous, I thunder, Desires, I do seek. Hoarding countless treasures, so my stature I retain, Envious of others whose feet on Earth remain. What am I?
Each line encodes one of the seven deadly sins in order: gluttony, sloth, wrath, lust, greed, pride, and envy.
My first is appropriate, my second 'tis nine to one if you guess it. My whole elevates the sole above the earth. What am I?
"Pat" means fitting or appropriate, and "ten" plays on odds of "nine to one," combining into "patten," an old shoe device that raised the foot off muddy ground.
What can emit an umbra on the earth, provide phosphorescence for all it's creatures. All while altering the visual surface of itself within phases?
The moon casts a shadow (umbra) during eclipses, glows faintly (phosphorescence-like) at night, and its visible shape changes through lunar phases.
On Earth, I am dead, Though I live on the moon. I am in no crater, And I'm in every boom. What am I?
A wordplay riddle built around the letter "O" — present in "moon" and "boom," but absent from "Earth," "dead," and "crater."
I shake, but unlike the strength of an earthquake. You can find me both high and low, usually out of control. I can be considered both good or bad, sometimes used for both happy or sad. What am I?
A singer's vocal pitch can "shake" with vibrato, rising and falling emotionally, unlike the destructive shaking of an earthquake.
Even though the odds are always in favor of the gambling house, why does the establishment insist on a house limit on stakes?
Betting limits protect the casino from a gambler's doubling strategy, which could theoretically bankrupt the house given unlimited funds and no cap.
I am older than earth and am still living. I am a person. What am I?
Wordplay — anyone claiming to be "older than earth" while alive must be lying, making them literally "a liar."
I lie in the earth, and under the ground; A map may reveal me for journey's abound; I can be found in squares, to reduce down to size; Or at the end of a strand, where attachment lies. What am I?
Roots grow underground, can appear on certain diagrams, exist in mathematical "square roots," and anchor the end of a hair strand.
I am black of eye and bright of hair. I fast in to the ground and follow my lord as he races around the world. What am I?
A sunflower has a dark central 'eye' and bright yellow petals, is rooted in the ground, and turns to follow the sun ('lord') across the sky.
What has 1 in every corner, 2 in every room, but only 1 in the world?
The letter "o" appears once in "corner," twice in "room," and once in "world."
I begin the earth and end the eclipse, I occur in seconds and minutes, but never in a hand although I am in a lifetime. What am I?
'E' starts 'earth', ends 'eclipse', appears in 'seconds' and 'minutes', is absent from 'hand', but present in 'lifetime'.
I'm first on earth, second in heaven, I appear twice in a week, and once in a year, I'm in the middle of the Sea. What am I?
'E' is the first letter of 'earth', the second letter of 'heaven', appears twice in 'week', once in 'year', and is the middle letter of 'sea'.
I am in the beginning of the earth. I am at the end of the time. I appear two times in a week. I appear once in a year. What Am I?
The letter "e" begins "Earth," ends "time," appears twice in "week," and once in "year."
What is always traveling, has life, has sense but doesn't live?
Earth constantly orbits (travels), supports life, and has 'senses' in a poetic sense, yet is not itself a living being.
I come right in front of Earth, at the end of time, and twice in a week. What am I?
The letter 'E' starts 'Earth,' ends 'time,' and appears twice in the word 'week' if you count loosely as the puzzle intends... actually it appears in 'week' and 'Wednesday.'
A cloud was my mother, the wind is my father, my son is the cool stream, and my daughter is the fruit of the land. A rainbow is my bed, the earth my final resting place, and I'm the torment of man. Who Am I?
Rain forms from clouds, is carried by wind, feeds streams, and nurtures crops, ending its journey on the earth.
My first is high, My second damp, My whole a tie, A writer's cramp. What am I?
"High" plus "damp" (fen, a damp area) combine into "hyphen," the punctuation mark that ties words together.
I am the king's, given by the people; Used by the king, on the people who gave him; everyone obeys him because he has me. What am I?
Authority is granted to a ruler by the people, yet is then used to govern those same people.
I am very important to all living creatures. I was firstborn in the sun. I am a chapter in textbooks and I am not made of fire. I make the sun-worthy. Too much of me may kill you. But humans can still prevent me. What am I?
Heat originates from the sun, is studied in science textbooks, and can be deadly in excess yet is manageable by humans.
Why was the student's homework in his father's handwriting?
An absurd non-sequitur answer, since borrowing a pen would not actually change one's handwriting.
A prisoner is told, 'If you tell a lie we will hang you; if you tell the truth we will shoot you.' What can he say to save himself?
If he says "you will hang me," it can't be confirmed true or false without contradicting itself, a paradox that spares him either penalty.
What can double in number, but is still singular?
Doubling the letter "u" gives "uu," which is exactly how the letter "W" got its name, "double-u," while U itself remains a single letter.
What can grasp the world's edges with great precision, yet always perceive the imagery as vague conceptions?
Peripheral vision detects movement and shapes at the edges of sight but never renders them in sharp detail.
What can emit an umbra on the earth, and provide phosphorescence for all its creatures, all while altering the visual surface of itself within phases?
The moon casts a shadow (umbra) during eclipses and reflects glowing light that changes as it moves through phases.
If every second equals a minute every minute equals an hour every hour equals a day every day equals a month and every month equals a year. What can equal one year?
Following the doubling chain of equivalencies given, tracing back from "year" leads all the way down to "one second."
I'm two for one, I speckle and I sparkle, I give and I take, and I come in many forms. Who or what can I be?
A "present" can mean a gift, being in attendance, or the current moment, fitting its many different forms and meanings.
What can be seen in the middle of March and April that cannot be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
The letter "r" sits in the middle of both "March" and "April" but not at either word's start or end.
John was very tired after a long day of work. He went to bed at 10 p.m., wound his alarm clock, and set it for noon the next day. Since John fell asleep almost immediately, how many hours of sleep did he get before the alarm woke him?
A wind-up alarm clock's dial only goes up to 12 hours, so it would ring at 10 a.m. (2 hours later), not noon the next day.
There are two moms and two daughters. One mom is the daughters mom. The other mom is the mom's mom. One daughter is the mom for the little daughter. One daughter is the little daughter. How many people are all together?
The three generations (grandmother, mother, daughter) each fill two roles at once, so only three actual people exist.
I have 10 books and I label them with their number. I take seven out to read. How many books are left?
Since the books are labeled by number, taking out 'book number seven' removes only one book, leaving nine.
A new medical building containing 100 offices had just been completed. Mark was hired to paint the numbers 1 to 100 on the doors. How many times will Mark have to paint the number nine?
Counting every appearance of the digit 9 (both as a tens digit in 90-99 and as a units digit) across 1-100 totals 20.
I went to city OZ on the way I saw four women, with four bags, who had four kittens. Each woman had two children with her. How many people went to the city OZ? (count correctly)
The narrator only met the women and their children on the way; nothing states they were also traveling to Oz.
As I was going to the fair, I saw a man with golden hair. He had 3 sons each with another one. How many people were going to the fair?
The narrator only says they met the man and his sons on the way, not that the group was also headed to the fair.
In a stable there are men and horses. In all, there are 22 heads and 72 feet. How many men and how many horses are in the stable?
Solving the system (heads: h+m=22, feet: 4h+2m=72) gives 14 horses and 8 men.
A tree doubled in height each year until it reached its maximum height over the course of ten years. How many years did it take for the tree to reach half its maximum height?
Since the height doubles every year, the tree was at half its final height exactly one year before reaching full height, i.e. year nine.
If you're 8 feet away from a door and with each move you advance half the distance to the door. How many moves will it take to reach the door?
Since each move only closes half the remaining gap, an infinitely small distance always remains - a classic illustration of Zeno's paradox of motion.
If a boy blows 18 bubbles, Then pops 6 eats 7 and then He pops 5 and blows 1. How many are left?
Tracking each step (18 - 6 - 7 - 5 + 1) leaves exactly one bubble remaining.
Little Tommy Tittletat took two Ts, to tie two ups to two tall trees, to torment the terrible little tat. How many T's in all of that?
The question asks for the T's in the word 'that' specifically, not in the whole rhyme, and 'that' contains exactly two T's.
While on my way to St. Ives, I saw a man with 7 wives. Each wife had 7 sacks. Each sack had 7 cats. Each cat had 7 kittens. Kittens, cats, sacks, and wives. How many were going to St. Ives?
The riddle only says the narrator was traveling to St. Ives; the man and his group were merely met along the way, not necessarily heading there too.
In the backyard, there is a hollow stump, that contains six ears of corn. If a healthy squirrel carries out only three ears each day, how many days will it take to empty the stump?
The squirrel's own two head 'ears' are miscounted alongside the corn's ears, so only one real ear of corn leaves per day, taking six days total.
My first is twice in an apple but not once in the tart. My second is in liver but not in heart. My third is in giant and also in ghost. Whole I'm best when I am roast. What am I?
Taking the letter P (in apple twice, not tart), I (in liver, not heart), and G (in giant and ghost) spells 'PIG', best eaten roasted.
I went to city OZ on the way I saw four women, with four bags, who have four kittens. Each woman had two children with her. How many people went to city OZ? (count correctly)
Only the narrator ('I') is stated to be going to Oz; everyone else was merely seen along the way.
When the below was jerking, the above was preferring. When the below was hurting, the above was happy rejoicing. What is that?
The fish below jerks and is hurt while the fisherman above enjoys ('prefers' and rejoices in) the catch.
Part carbon, part water, I am poison to the fishes. Many have falsely claimed my name, for I am the pause that refreshes. What am I?
Soda is made of carbonated water (carbon and water) and is harmful to fish, and 'the pause that refreshes' was a famous Coca-Cola slogan.
A professional fisherman caught 30 fish during a 5-day tournament. Each day, he caught three more fish than the day before. How many fish did the fisherman catch on the first day?
The five daily totals must form an arithmetic sequence with a common difference of 3 that sums to 30, which works out to 0, 3, 6, 9, 12.
A dog had three puppies, named Mopsy, Topsy, and Spot. What was the mother's name?
The riddle secretly asks 'What was the mother's name' as a play on the word 'What' itself being the answer, since it isn't listed among the puppy names given.
Which has more tails? A. 1 Dog B. 2 Dogs C. 3 Dogs D. No Dog
This plays on the double meaning of 'no' — as in zero dogs, but also as a play on 'no dog has MORE tails' than one tail each.
How do you put nine dogs in eight kennels?
This is a letter-counting trick: the word 'NINEDOGS' has exactly eight letters, so it literally fits into eight spaces.
Four hang, four sprang, two-point the way, two to ward off dogs, one dangles after, always rather dirty. What am I?
Each clue maps to cow anatomy: four legs hang, four udders/teats sprang, two horns point the way, two ears ward off flies/dogs, and a tail dangles, muddy from the field.
How can you say - "Robert and Richard Purchased A Rottweiler" without using any Rs?
Replacing each R-containing word with an R-free synonym (Robert to Bob, Richard to Dick, Purchased to bought, Rottweiler to dog) solves the constraint.
What do these three things have in common: Diamonds, Dogs, and Double plays?
Each item completes a well-known 'best friend' saying: diamonds for girls, dogs for men, and double plays for pitchers in baseball.
Walk on the living, they don't even mumble. Walk on the dead, they mutter and grumble.
Living leaves on trees stay silent underfoot, but dead, dried fallen leaves crunch and 'grumble' when stepped on.
What is the smallest sentence with all letters in the English alphabet?
This classic pangram sentence uses every letter of the alphabet at least once while remaining a short, natural sentence.
How many cats are in a small room if in each of the four corners a cat is sitting, and opposite each cat there sit three cats, and on each cat's tail another is sitting?
The wording describes the same four corner cats from different vantage points, so the total is only four, not more.
If seven cats kill seven rats in 7 minutes, how many would be needed to kill one hundred rats in 50 minutes?
Each cat kills roughly one rat every 7 minutes, so about 14 cats are needed to kill 100 rats within 50 minutes.
My first is in chocolate but not in ham, my second's in cake and also in jam, my third at tea-time is easily found, my whole is a friend who's often around. What am I?
Taking one letter shared between each pair of word clues (C from chocolate not ham, A from cake and jam, T from tea-time) spells CAT.
Why is green grass like a mouse?
'Cattle eat it' is a homophone pun for 'cat'll eat it,' tying grazing livestock to a cat hunting mice in the grass.
I am covered with three layers, two of them can be very sensitive, my layers can cover me in a heartbeat or a long time. What am I?
The eye has multiple sensitive layers and can close instantly in a blink or stay shut through a long nap.
Give a name to a cat and it will call itself. What is the name?
A cat literally calls out its own name every time it meows, making 'Meeoow' both the sound and the joke answer.
10 copycats were sitting in a car. One came out. How many are left?
Because they are 'copycats' that mimic one another, when one left, the rest all copied the action and left too.
Streets can go through me, but roads can't. Trees can go through me, but bushes can't. Can a tennis ball go through me?
The riddle requires a word with a repeated double letter, which "tennis" (nn) and "ball" (ll) both satisfy.
The king of the jungle, rare as gold, black as night, in light not there and night not seen. Goes in water, goes on trees, goes in caves, goes on the ground. Claws of knives, teeth of swords, roar of death but silent as a mouse. What is it?
The description of a rare, all-black, silent jungle predator matches the melanistic black panther (black jaguar).
What grows but never gets taller, shrinks but never gets smaller, hurts the minds of men, doesn't live, but doesn't have a deathbed?
Sound can grow louder or fade softer without literally changing size, can damage hearing and minds, and isn't alive so it can't have a deathbed.
What is the difference between a deer fleeing from hunters and a midget witch?
The answer is a spoonerism, swapping the sounds of "hunted stag" and "stunted hag."
Why did the doctor switch jobs?
Pun on "patients" sounding like "patience," and "switch" hiding the word "witch" inside it.
A riddle names six vacation spots one after another, each hiding a pun. What are the six destinations?
Each destination hides a wordplay pun: "Fin-land," "Canary" birds, "Dead Sea," the bird "Turkey," "Cuba" sounding like a container, and "Keys."
A plane crashed and every single person on board this flight was killed, yet, there were survivors. Can you explain how?
'Single' people (unmarried) died, meaning the survivors were technically not 'single' at the time of the crash.