2,066 Medium Riddles With Answers - page 16 of 21
A prisoner was stuck in a metal room with a metal door that was locked. There were no windows and nothing in the room but a piano. What can he do to escape?
Wordplay — a piano's "keys" double as the literal key needed to unlock the door.
What can chew, but can't eat?
Wordplay — a "choo choo" train sounds like "chew," but a train obviously can't actually eat.
What can climb mountains, cross streams, and handle hundreds of feet each day, yet never move?
A trail itself stays fixed in place while countless hikers' feet travel across it daily.
What can be saved but not made, can be taken but not given, can be short or long, and can be happy or sad?
Life can be "saved" through rescue, "taken" through death, and varies in length and emotional tone, but it cannot literally be manufactured or gifted.
What can be used only once and after it's used it will be gone?
A bomb detonates entirely upon use and cannot be used a second time.
What can you put in a barrel, that will make the barrel lighter?
Punching a hole removes material from the barrel, making it lighter, unlike adding any object.
What can't be burned in fire, nor drowned in water?
Ice melts rather than burns in fire, and since it's frozen water, it can't be 'drowned' by more water either.
What can fill a room and a bowl but not change shape?
Air fills whatever container it's in, from a room to a bowl, while remaining formless itself.
What's more precious than ruby, more lasting than gold, what can never be traded stolen, or sold, What comes with great effort, takes time but then once yours will serve you again and again?
Knowledge is earned through effort and time, and once gained, it can be used repeatedly without ever being taken away.
What can't be put into a saucepan?
A saucepan's own lid is sized to cover it from outside, not fit inside the pan itself.
What can be lost, but not returned?
Once life is lost, unlike most possessions, it cannot be given back or recovered.
What can you find in the center of gravity?
Counting letters in "gravity," the middle letter lands on "v."
What can fill a room but take up no space?
Light fills a room by illuminating it without occupying physical volume.
What can be stolen, mistaken, or altered, yet never leave you your entire life?
Your identity can be stolen through fraud or mistaken for someone else's, yet it remains fundamentally yours forever.
What can be touched but can't be seen?
You can emotionally "touch" someone's heart without physically seeing the abstract feeling itself.
What can be swallowed, but can also swallow you?
You can "swallow your pride" and humble yourself, or let pride "swallow you" by becoming consumed with arrogance.
What can go up and come down without moving?
Temperature rises and falls numerically without any physical object moving.
What can run, but never walk; has a mouth, but never talk; has a head, but never weeps; has a bed, but never sleeps?
A river "runs," has a "mouth" where it meets the sea, a "head" at its source, and a "bed" as its channel.
What can you hold in your right hand, but not in your left?
Your left hand can be held by your right hand, but your left hand can't hold itself.
What can point in every direction but can't reach the destination by itself?
A compass needle or a pointing finger indicates direction but cannot travel there on its own.
If you have 10 peaches and take 7 peaches away, how many do you have?
The riddle asks how many 'you' have, and you personally now hold the 7 peaches you took.
You are sitting at a table eating lunch and there are ten flies on the table. With a quick swat, you are able to kill three flies. How many flies are left on the table?
The living flies would fly away after being startled, leaving only the three dead ones physically on the table.
There are 10 bombs on the ground, 1 bomb explodes. How many bombs are there left?
A chain reaction from the first explosion is implied to detonate all the remaining bombs as well.
If it takes 3 people to dig 1 hole how many people does it takes for 1/2 an hole?
As soon as digging starts, the result is simply 'a hole,' not a fractional one, so half a hole doesn't logically exist.
If a wheel has 64 spokes, how many spaces are there between the spokes?
Since the spokes form a closed circle, the number of gaps between them equals the number of spokes, not one fewer.
If you have three oranges and you take away two, how many will you have?
The riddle hinges on 'you' now owning the oranges you took away, not the one left behind.
John has 10 siblings 4 boys and 6 girls he has a mother and father. How many people are in the family?
Counting John himself, his 10 siblings, and his two parents gives 1 + 10 + 2 = 13 total family members.
You're sitting down for breakfast and realize you have 4 bagels left. You know you'll run out in four days so you cut them in half. How many bagels do you have now?
Cutting a bagel in half creates two pieces of the same bagel, not two whole new bagels, so the count of bagels stays at 4.
You have 6 eggs. You break 2, cook 2 and you eat 2 eggs. How many do you have left?
All three actions (break, cook, eat) happen to the same 2 eggs, so only 2 total are used, leaving 4.
In a certain city, 5% of all the people in town have unlisted phone numbers. If you select 100 names at random from that city's phone directory, how many people selected will have unlisted phone numbers?
Anyone listed in the phone directory can't also have an unlisted number, making the percentage irrelevant to the sample.
A mother has 6 girls and each of them has a brother. How many children are there?
All six girls share one single brother, so the total is 6 girls plus 1 brother, equaling 7 children.
Some months have 30 days while other months have 31 days. How many have 28 days?
Even 30- and 31-day months still contain a 28th day, so all twelve months technically 'have 28 days.'
How many times can you subtract the number 5 from 25?
After the first subtraction, 25 is no longer 25, so you can never again 'subtract 5 from 25.'
How many seconds are there in one year?
The riddle swaps 'seconds' (units of time) for 'seconds' meaning the 2nd day of each month, and there are 12 months.
Mr. and Mrs. Mustard have six daughters and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the Mustard family?
All six daughters share the same single brother, so the family is 6 girls + 1 boy + 2 parents = 9, not 6 girls plus 6 separate brothers.
What do you call the Easter bunny the day after Easter?
After a busy Easter delivering eggs all night, the bunny would understandably be exhausted, i.e. 'tired'.
How can you say - "Robert and Richard Purchased A Rottweiler" without using any R's?
Substituting nicknames and simpler synonyms removes every letter R from the original sentence.
Why did the chicken cross the road twice, and jump in mud?
'Double-crosser' puns on crossing the road twice and being a treacherous, 'dirty' person.
I am the symbol of prying and meddling, for I smell fish that is worth a roundabout fish to fry. What am I?
A nose 'smells' things, connecting to the idiom of 'nosing around' or prying into others' business, referencing 'something fishy.'
Why ought a fisherman to be very wealthy?
This is a pun on 'net profit,' a financial term, and the fishing 'net' a fisherman uses.
Name three types of fish that one can never catch?
These are puns on words ending in '-ish' that sound like fish names but describe personality traits.
What can someone do that a fish has?
Wordplay — a person can "scale," meaning climb, something, while a fish has "scales" covering its body.
I am in Time, and I am in Tie. I am in FIsh, I am also sometimes the only one. What Am I?
The letter 'i' appears in the words 'Time,' 'Tie,' and 'Fish,' and can stand alone as the pronoun 'I.'
Why does footwear smell of fish?
This is a pun combining 'soles' and 'eels,' both fish names, with 'soles' and 'heels,' parts of a shoe.
If you eat me, my sender will eat you. What am I?
A fish that eats the baited hook gets caught, and the fisherman ("sender" of the hook) then eats the fish in turn.
Why shouldn't you eat a French fish?
This puns on the French word 'poisson' (fish) sounding like the English word 'poison.'
There once was an abandoned hotel with a fish bowl on the third floor. In the fishbowl, there were 3 big fish and 5 little fish. 2 of the big fish died and 3 little fish died. How many fish are left in the bowl?
Because the hotel is abandoned, no one removes the dead fish, so all 8 original fish remain physically in the bowl.
There is an old abandoned house, there are six fish, and three die. How many are left?
Since the house is abandoned, no one removed the dead fish, so all six bodies remain in the tank.
What musical instrument would you use to catch a fish?
This is a pun splitting 'castanets' into 'cast a net,' the action used to catch fish.
Larry is dead the window is open. There is a glass and water on the floor, and Mary is sleeping. What happened??
The wording implies Larry is a pet fish, and the open window's breeze tipped over his bowl, spilling the water he needed to survive.
Martha and George died, there was glass and water all around but, no blood. How did they die?
Martha and George were goldfish whose bowl broke, spilling water and glass but causing no blood.
I'm first found in caves, now prolific online; I'm a depiction, a drawing, a symbol, or a sign. I'll convey whichever mood you could wish; or for that matter, a fist, flask, or fish. What am I?
Emojis descend from ancient cave pictographs and are now small digital symbols used online to express moods or objects like a fist or fish.
A grandfather, a father, and a son go fishing. Each gets one fish but there is only one fish how is this?
One man simultaneously holds all three family roles relative to different relatives, so only one fisherman and one fish exist.
A big person and a small person are going to fish. The big person is not the small person father but the small person is the big person's son. What is the relationship between the two?
Since the small person is a son but the big person isn't his father, the big person must be his mother.
Why is it that Snoop Dogg needs an umbrella?
The pun references Snoop Dogg's song 'Drop It Like It's Hot' era nickname associations with 'drizzle,' playing on rain.
Why was the dog kicked out of the flea circus?
'Stole the show' is an idiom for being the most impressive performer, humorously literal since the dog is covered in fleas that are the circus's stars.
What would you name your dogs Rolex and Timex?
The pun connects watch brand names (Rolex, Timex) to 'watchdogs,' dogs that guard property.
Forward I am an animal, but backward I am one who no man can ever see. What am I?
Spelled backward, 'dog' becomes 'god', an entity traditionally described as unseen by mortal eyes.
I'm like a dog with the tail that wags and all but am not a dog. What am I?
A puppy shares all the traits of a dog (like a wagging tail) since it technically is a young dog, making the riddle a playful near-contradiction.
What does a dog become when it walks from Britain to Spain?
'Perro' is Spanish for 'dog,' so the joke is that the dog's name changes to the local language once it crosses into Spain.
A dog leash is attached to a dog and is 3.2 meters long. A bone is 7.8 meters away from the dog. How does the dog get the bone?
The riddle never states the leash is tied to anything fixed, so the dog can simply walk toward the bone dragging the free leash.
What is more amazing than a talking dog?
The pun compares a dog that talks to a bee that can spell, since 'spelling bee' is a competition name taken literally.
How far can a dog run into the woods?
Past the halfway point, every step technically brings the dog closer to the other side, meaning it's running 'out', not 'into'.
You're never too old to learn. What is the contradictory proverb?
This proverb claims older individuals (or dogs) can't learn new skills, directly opposing 'never too old to learn'.
A guy bet his neighbor 50 bucks that his dog could jump higher than a house. Thinking this was not possible, the neighbor took the bet and lost. Why did he lose the bet?
Since a house cannot jump at all, any dog jumping any height at all technically jumps 'higher' than a house that jumps zero.
Two dogs are sitting on a porch - a fat dog and a thin dog. The little dog is the son of the fat dog, but the fat dog is not the father of the thin dog. Can you explain?
The riddle assumes 'parent' must mean 'father,' but the fat dog can still be related as the mother instead.
There are 10 dogs in a yard. 3 go out, 4 run behind a tree, and 2 jump in the hole. How many are left?
Going out a bit, hiding behind a tree, or jumping in a hole are all still actions within the yard's boundary, so no dogs actually left.
Stranger: Does your dog bite? Farmer: Nope. All of a sudden the dog bites the stranger on the leg. Yet the farmer was telling the truth! How can this be?
The farmer truthfully said his own dog doesn't bite -- the dog that bit the stranger simply belonged to someone else.
If a dog is tied to a piece of rope that is 6m long, how can he reach a bone that is 7m away?
The riddle never says the rope's other end is anchored, so the dog can simply walk toward the bone dragging the loose rope.
If it takes four rat catchers four minutes to kill four rats, how many rat catchers would be needed to catch 50 rats in 50 minutes?
Each rat-catcher kills one rat per minute at that rate, so four of them working 50 minutes can catch 50 rats.
Cleopatra and Anthony were near a fish bowl and somehow they died. What happened?
The famous human names misdirect; Cleopatra and Anthony are actually pet fish killed when a cat tipped over their bowl.
Stealthy as a shadow in the dead of night, Cunning but affectionate if given a bite. Never owned but often loved. In my sport considered cruel, But that's because you never know me at all. What am I?
The description captures a cat's stealthy, independent, yet affectionate nature.
What sneaks through doors and windows without knocking? What heats an unlit stove? What gives the cat a snug place to rest?
Sunlight streams in uninvited through openings, warms surfaces even without a fire, and creates a warm sunny spot where a cat can nap.
Forward I catch fish, backward I am the tenth of numbers. What am I?
'Net' catches fish, and spelled backward it becomes 'ten,' the tenth number.
If three cats catch three mice in three minutes, how many cats would be needed to catch 100 mice in 100 minutes?
The rate of one mouse per minute for three cats scales directly to 100 mice in 100 minutes without needing more cats.
What word doesn't belong in this group? That, hat, what, mat, cat, sat, pat, or chat?
Every other word rhymes with a shared '-at' sound, but 'what' is pronounced 'wut,' breaking the pattern.
We're 5 little items of an everyday sort, you'll find us all in A Tennis Court. What are we?
The letters spelling "A Tennis Court" contain all five vowels, which is the wordplay answer.
Two men were playing tennis. They played five sets and each man won three sets. How can this be possible?
The trick is assuming a singles match; in doubles, each man is paired with a different partner so both can rack up three set wins.
There was a man everybody called Batman who knew nothing about bats and thought they were gross. He still loved it when people called him Batman! How could this be?
"Batman" here refers to a baseball player known for hitting well with a bat, not the superhero.
What is served, but not by a waiter; and an ace but not a card?
In volleyball, "serving" starts play and an unreturnable serve is called an "ace," the same terms used elsewhere but applied on the court.
During a soccer match, a player makes a suggestive comment to the referee, and instead of ejecting him, the referee just gives a yellow card. Why?
The riddle plays on assuming the referee is male by default, when in fact she is a woman.
We are five little objects of an everyday sort, You will find us all in a tennis court. What are we?
The word "court" literally contains the vowels found within the phrase, pointing to the five vowels A E I O U.
When does boxing day come before Christmas?
Alphabetically, "boxing" comes before "Christmas" in a dictionary listing.
A man took the shell off his champion racing snail hoping it would go faster without the extra weight. Did it work?
Wordplay — without its shell, the snail becomes "sluggish," like a slug, rather than faster.
There's one 'sport' in which neither spectators nor participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends. What is it?
In boxing, the final score from the judges isn't revealed until the match concludes.
This object can be driven, but has no wheels, and can go very far. What is it?
A golfer "drives" the ball off the tee, though it has no wheels or engine like a car.
Two teams were playing soccer. One player scored a hat trick that resulted in his team losing the game. How?
Scoring three goals into his own team's net, an own-goal hat trick, helped the opposing team win.
Two men were playing tennis. They played five sets and each man won three sets. How is this possible?
As doubles partners on the same team, both men share credit for all three winning sets.
John bet Tom $100 that he can predict the football game score before it starts. Tom agreed. At the end of the game, John won the bet. How?
Before any game begins, the score is always 0-0 — a guaranteed correct "prediction."
A pro fisherman decided to become a pro golfer. In order to buy his clubs, he had to sell his boat. How did he list it?
"Fore Sail" is a play on the golfer's warning shout "Fore!" combined with the sailing term "foresail" and "for sale."
This object can be driven, but has no wheels, and can also be sliced and remain whole. What is it?
In golf, you can 'drive' or 'slice' a shot, both terms that apply to hitting a golf ball, not a vehicle.
What has 22 legs and 2 wings?
11 players (22 legs) make up a football team, and "wings" refers to the wide receiver positions on the field's flanks.
John bet Tom $100 that he can predict the score of the football game before it starts. Tom agrees but loses the bet. Why did Tom lose the bet?
John's prediction is trivially true since every game's score is 0-0 before it begins, a logic trick rather than real prediction.
What do you call a football player with no legs?
This is a dark pun combining 'ground,' as in being stuck on the ground, with 'beef,' slang for a big or tough player.
What do football players do when they get cold?
This plays on the geometry fact that a corner forms a 90-degree angle, punning on '90 degrees' as a temperature.
People who want to get rid of me forever, there are dreamers, there are ignorant people; people who are happy to greet me, there are indifferent people, there are crazy people; most people fear me, but I will come eventually. What am I?
People react to the idea of death in wildly different ways, but it remains universally inevitable in the end.
In the olden days, you are a clever thief charged with treason against the king and sentenced to death. But the king decided to be a little lenient and let you choose your own way to die. What way should you choose?
Since the king only agreed to let the thief pick the manner of death, cleverly choosing "old age" delays it indefinitely.
I have no mind or a soul. I've been eternally attached since man's dawn. My kind disappear on and off, to everyone I accompany them to their death, and buried with them, then I hide away when the casket shuts. What am I?
A shadow follows a person their whole life and disappears into darkness once they are buried and the casket closes off all light.
Despised I am by knave and liar. After me, the wise inquire, I rise above all death and fire. What am I?
Liars despise truth, the wise seek it out, and truth endures beyond any lie, death, or destruction.
Alive without breath, As cold as death, Never thirsty, Ever drinking, Clad in mail, Never clinking, Drowns on dry land, Thinks an island Is a mountain, Thinks a fountain Is a puff of air. What am I?
A fish lives without lungs, is cold-blooded, is always surrounded by water it 'drinks,' has scales like armor, and dies out of water.