2,066 Medium Riddles With Answers - page 5 of 21
Many people own a copy of me. Without me the world would fall. What am I?
An atlas is a bound book of maps, and in Greek mythology, Atlas is the titan condemned to hold up the entire world.
I am a sharp looking horse with a flaxen tail. The longer I run the shorter my tail becomes. What am I?
A sewing needle pulls thread ('flaxen tail') through fabric, and the thread grows shorter the more it's stitched through.
I am hot then cold, a liquid then solid, and I am at once flaky and wet. What am I?
Candle wax melts into hot liquid, hardens back into a solid as it cools, and can feel flaky or waxy-wet to the touch.
Forward, backward, is what I do all day. I come in all different shapes and sizes. I can be scary, and I can calm you down. What am I?
A rocking chair sways forward and back continuously, comes in many designs, and can be spooky-looking (empty and rocking) or soothing to sit in.
A large oasis in the desert. Come with cash and leave with none. What am I?
Las Vegas is a desert city famous for casinos, where visitors often arrive with cash and leave having lost it all.
I am a beverage named after a stick. What am I?
Club soda is a carbonated water beverage named after the wooden 'club' used in early carbonation devices.
I enclose you in darkness but allow you to see many things. If you resist me, you're likely to get rings. What am I?
Closing your eyes to sleep shows you images (dreams) in darkness, and fighting off sleep too long can leave you with dark rings under your eyes.
Taken from a mine and then locked up in a wooden case. Never released but used by students everyday. What am I?
Pencil 'lead' (actually graphite) is mined from the earth, encased in a wooden pencil, and used daily by students.
I am wingless but airborne, and when I meet your gaze tears will fall from your eyes. What am I?
Smoke has no wings but rises through the air, and its sting in your eyes famously brings tears -- as in the saying 'smoke gets in your eyes.'
I am a creature with a 'tight' name. What am I?
The riddle puns on the word 'seal' -- both the marine animal and something that is 'tight,' as in an airtight seal.
Food can help me survive, but water will kill me. What am I?
Feeding a fire with fuel keeps it burning, while dousing it with water extinguishes it.
I am a type of animal that hangs out in the mist. What am I?
The phrase "hangs out in the mist" references "Gorillas in the Mist," the famous book and film about mountain gorillas.
I can be simple or I can be complex. I can be found in this riddle or in everyday life. I can be shapes or even colors. What am I?
Patterns can be simple or intricate and show up everywhere, in shapes, colors, language, and even in the structure of a riddle itself.
I transfer oxygen from the atmosphere to your blood. What am I?
Your lungs pull oxygen from the air you breathe and pass it into your bloodstream.
I am wood that is neither hard, straight, or crooked. What am I?
Sawdust is the fine, crumbly byproduct of cutting wood, with none of a plank's hardness or straightness.
I crawl on the earth and rise on a pillar. What am I?
A shadow lies flat and low on the ground at midday but stretches long and tall, like a pillar, at sunrise or sunset.
Some people avoid me, some people count me, some people just consume me. What am I?
People diet to avoid calories, count them to track their diet, and consume them through food.
I can fill any space, float, and disappear. Never touching the ground I help others get around. What am I?
Gas can expand to fill any container, float upward if lighter than air, and quickly dissipate, and fuel-based gas literally helps vehicles 'get around.'
I am very important, but often overlooked. What am I?
Your nose sits front and center on your face, essential for breathing and smell, yet it's easy to take for granted precisely because it's always there.
A storage facility for criminals and fire-breathing reptiles. What am I?
A dungeon in fantasy stories often holds both captured criminals and mythical fire-breathing dragons.
I have a frame but no pictures. I have poles but not standing up. What am I?
This is a loose fit -- 'glasses' have a frame but no pictures in it, and their side arms are only loosely likened to 'poles'; the wording fits a tent more naturally, but the source's stated answer is glasses.
I am the type of room you cannot enter or leave. I rise from the ground below. I could be poisonous or a delicious treat. What am I?
'Mushroom' contains the word 'room,' rises up from the soil, and some varieties are edible while others are toxic.
I am the most famous dinner. What am I?
"The Last Supper" is both a famous biblical dinner -- Jesus's final meal -- and the title of Leonardo da Vinci's iconic painting, making it "the most famous dinner."
I can be the book one can never finish reading. What am I?
Just as one can never finish writing their own life story, in a sense it can also never be fully 'read' until the author's life ends.
I drift forever with the current and flow to your everyday life. I make living easy but I am good at killing people too. What am I?
Electricity powers modern daily life through the grid, but it's also capable of delivering a fatal shock.
Secured in place, I work undercover, and with a flick of your finger my purpose you'll discover. What am I?
A light bulb is fixed in its socket, hidden inside a fixture, and reveals its purpose the moment you flick the switch.
A hand without flesh and nothing can I hold. My grip cannot be used until I am sold. What am I?
An empty glove is a hollow hand shape that only becomes functional once someone buys it and slips their hand inside.
You can throw me away, but I will always be coming back. What am I?
A boomerang is designed to fly back to the person who threw it, no matter how far it's tossed.
I do not eat food. But I do enjoy a light meal everyday. What am I?
A houseplant doesn't eat food, but it needs regular sunlight — a 'light meal' — to survive.
I get paid to shoot people, then blow them up. What am I?
A photographer 'shoots' photos of people, and printing large copies is called 'blowing up' a photo -- both harmless photography terms.
I am alive without breath and cold as death. I am never thirsty but always drinking. What am I?
A fish is cold-blooded, breathes through gills instead of lungs, and constantly takes in water through its mouth, though it never gets thirsty.
I am a box who holds keys but not locks. With the right combination I may unlock your soul. What am I?
A piano is a box-shaped instrument full of keys (not lock keys), and playing the right combination of notes can be deeply moving.
I fly in the air without engines and I am controlled by man on the ground. What am I?
A kite has no engine, soars purely on the wind, and is steered from the ground by a person holding its string.
I can fill a house or fill your mouth but you can never catch me in your hands. What am I?
Smoke can billow to fill an entire room or be inhaled into your mouth, but it always slips right through grasping hands.
Sometimes I fly as fast as the speed of light. Sometimes I crawl as slow as a snail. Unknown until I am measured but you will certainly miss me when I'm gone. What am I?
Time can feel like it flies or crawls depending on the moment, is only truly measured with a clock, and is always missed once it has passed.
You turn me over after you have traveled far. What am I?
An odometer's digits 'turn over' (roll past a milestone like 100,000) once a vehicle has traveled far enough.
I remain unseen but hold many things, and when you are making a decision you consult me. What am I?
Your own mind holds countless unseen thoughts and memories, and you naturally consult it before making any decision.
You can break me, and I still work. If you touch me, you're mine. What am I?
A heart can be figuratively 'broken' (heartbreak) yet keep beating (still working), and if someone 'touches your heart,' they win you over.
I drive men mad for the love of me. Easily beaten, never free. What am I?
Gold has driven people to obsession throughout history, and it can be hammered ('beaten') into thin sheets, yet no one can truly own it forever.
Deposit red liquid in me. What am I?
A blood bank is where donors 'deposit' (donate) blood, playing on the financial meaning of 'bank' and 'deposit.'
I'll shout till you wake or sing you to sleep. I'll talk to you but you're crazy if you talk back. What am I?
A radio can blast loud music to wake you or play something soothing to lull you to sleep, and talking back to it would just be talking to yourself.
I have six faces but not even one body connected, 21 eyes in total but cannot see. What am I?
A standard six-sided die has pips totaling 21 (1 through 6 added together) across its faces, none of which can actually see.
At the sound of me, you may stomp your feet, but you may also dream or weep. What am I?
Music can be stirring enough to make you dance and stomp your feet, or emotional enough to move you to tears or daydreams.
If you lose me you may cause people around me to lose me too. What am I?
One person's temper flaring up can quickly set off a chain reaction, causing everyone nearby to lose theirs as well.
You must keep this thing, its loss will affect your brothers. For once yours is lost, it will soon be lost by others. What am I?
Losing your temper tends to be contagious — once one person snaps, it often triggers others around them to lose theirs too.
I have married many women but have never been married. What am I?
A priest performs many wedding ceremonies, 'marrying' couples, without ever being married himself.
I am bushy headed but have no hair. No moisture will enter my skin, but it's good at keeping it in. What am I?
This describes a tree's rough, textured bark: it looks 'bushy' at its crown of branches, and its bark keeps moisture locked inside the trunk.
I am everywhere. I am inside you. I surround you. I can be seen by you. I can kill you. Yet you play in me. What am I?
Air is all around and inside every living thing; it can be deadly in a storm, yet it's also what makes play and sport (like flying a kite) possible.
I am a protector. I sit on a bridge. One person can see right through me, while others wonder what I hide. What am I?
Sunglasses perch on the bridge of your nose, letting you see out while hiding your eyes from others.
I was not born, but I am here. I have no name, but I am given many. I was made by science and life. What am I?
A clone isn't born in the traditional sense but is created through science using existing genetic material from life.
You shoot me but I don't die. You hang me but I don't die. What am I?
You 'shoot' a picture with a camera and 'hang' it on a wall, and in neither case does the picture actually die.
Break me but I'll continue to work, touch me and maybe I'll stay with you forever. What am I?
A broken heart figuratively 'breaks' but keeps beating, and something that 'touches your heart' can stay with you as a lasting memory.
Although it sounds like I work on a transportation device, I actually work in a restaurant. What am I?
'Busboy' sounds like it means someone who works on a bus, but it actually names the restaurant worker who clears tables.
Born from a fountain of wealth, I am black instead of gold but valued the same. What am I?
Oil is often called 'black gold' because, like a gushing fountain of wealth, it's an enormously valuable resource despite being black instead of gold-colored.
I can be full, but I will never spill. I disappear at times, but return I always will. What am I?
The moon can appear fully round ('full') but never actually spills anything, and it seems to vanish during its new-moon phase before always returning.
I am one small little piece of paper, yet sometimes hold lots of value. I am all you need to get into big events, but will cost you. I am an important part of travel. And if lost, you're not coming. What am I?
An event ticket is small and easily lost, but without it in hand, you can't get in — and if you're traveling, you're not getting anywhere either.
I cannot be burned in fire or drowned in water. What am I?
Ice doesn't literally burn in fire (it melts) or drown in water (it dissolves), so neither element destroys it the way the riddle implies.
The time between daylight and darkness when blood drinkers like to come out. What am I?
Twilight is the transitional period between day and night, often associated with vampires in folklore and pop culture.
You heard me before, and then again. Afterward I die, until you call me again. What am I?
An echo repeats a sound and then fades away completely, only returning again when a new sound calls it back.
I am a caribbean shape that makes ships disappear. What am I?
The Bermuda Triangle is a region of the western Atlantic famous in folklore for the mysterious disappearance of ships and planes.
I can speak with my hard metal tongue. But I cannot breathe, for I have no lung. What am I?
A bell has a metal 'tongue,' its clapper, that strikes to produce sound, but it obviously has no lungs to breathe with.
Step on me and you'll reach the top first, but step under me and you're cursed. What am I?
Climbing a ladder's rungs gets you up quickly, but superstition says walking underneath one brings bad luck.
You hold my tail while I fish for you. What am I?
A fishing net has a 'tail' end that trails behind while it's dragged through the water to catch fish for you.
I make things short, but I am pretty long myself. What am I?
The word 'abbreviation' is itself a long word, even though its whole purpose is to shorten other words or phrases.
I am a king but also a common device of measure. What am I?
'Ruler' means both a king who rules a country and a flat measuring tool used to draw straight lines.
I am always around you but often forgotten. I am pure and clean most of the time, but occasionally rotten. What am I?
Air surrounds us constantly and goes unnoticed, is usually fresh and clean, but can sometimes smell foul or 'rotten.'
You can build or destroy. Let creativity soar but be careful at night. What am I?
Minecraft is a video game centered on building and destroying block structures, and its nighttime brings out dangerous monsters.
You may have many of me but never enough. After the last one arrives you will have no more. What am I?
You celebrate many birthdays over a lifetime and always want more, but once your very last birthday has come and gone, there won't be another.
I am blinding at times yet help you see. I am necessary, but you'll burn with too much of me. What am I?
Sunlight lets you see the world but can blind you if stared at directly, and too much exposure causes sunburn.
I'm not a bird, but I can fly through the sky. I'm not a river, but I'm full of water. What am I?
A cloud drifts through the sky like a flying creature without being alive, and it's saturated with water despite not being a river.
For most, I am fast. For others, I am slow. An obsession to all, I make the world go. What am I?
Time can feel like it flies or drags depending on the moment, everyone is fixated on it, and it keeps moving the world forward.
I am not a toy, though many use me for pleasure. I have a butt, but I cannot poop. What am I?
A cigarette is smoked for pleasure, and its leftover end is literally called a "butt," though obviously not a body part.
I will go within you, and destroy you. Only because you wanted me to. What am I?
Drugs can spread destructively through the body, but only because a person made the choice to use them.
I am black and white and full of fuzz. What am I?
"Fuzz" is old slang for the police, and classic police cars are painted in a black-and-white pattern.
I have a head and a tail but my eyes can never see my tail. What am I?
A coin has two 'faces' (its front and back designs), but since they're printed on opposite sides, one side can never actually see the other.
Many hear me, but no one sees me, and I only speak when spoken to. What am I?
An echo only exists as a repeated sound and is heard by many, though it can never be seen, and it always answers back only after something else speaks first.
I count time, but have no end. Tick tick, but I am not a clock. What am I?
A metronome ticks steadily to keep musical time, running as long as needed, but it isn't a clock and doesn't tell the actual time of day.
I go up and never come down no matter how hard you wish. As I get higher, more wrinkles crawl on to the face. What am I?
A person's age only ever increases, and getting older tends to bring more wrinkles along with it.
I widen my jaws when you poke two fingers in me. I especially like to devour papers. What am I?
A pair of scissors' blades open wide ('jaws') when your fingers slip into its holes, and it easily slices through paper.
I can't go left, I can't go right. I am forever stuck in a building over three stories high. What am I?
An elevator only moves up and down along its shaft, never side to side, and is common in taller buildings.
I am sometimes white but usually black. I take you there, but I never bring you back. What am I?
A hearse, usually black but sometimes white, transports the deceased to their burial and never brings them home.
I can alter the actions of a king and leave puzzled the greatest of philosophers. What am I?
This old riddle plays on the long-standing (and rather dated) notion that a woman's influence can sway even a king's decisions while remaining endlessly mysterious to philosophers.
I belong to everyone. Sometimes I make you happy, sometimes I make you sad. I will never end until the day you do. What am I?
Human thoughts belong uniquely to each person, can swing between happy and sad, and only stop when that person's life does.
I have a body of stone and a fiery heart, and sooner or later my head and I will part. What am I?
A volcano is made of rock with molten lava at its core, and eventually its "head" -- the summit -- blows off in an eruption.
I am a person who pretends to be someone else. What am I?
An impostor is, by definition, someone who deceives others by pretending to be a different person.
I am always with my partner, and I make noise that you never see me create. What am I?
Thunder always accompanies its unseen partner, lightning, producing a booming sound without a visible source of its own.
I am too much for one but not enough for two. Give me to a third and I am gone. What am I?
A secret feels like a burden for one person to keep alone, isn't really "shared" between two, and once told to a third person, it stops being a secret at all.
I am part of the bird that is not in the sky. I can swim in the water but always stay dry. What am I?
A bird's shadow glides across water or ground below it as it flies, appearing to skim the surface without ever getting wet.
I encourage people to run home and steal. What am I?
In baseball, runners try to steal bases and race "home" to score -- the sport literally encourages running home and stealing.
Before I came, the world was darker, that's true. But beware, I can also kill you. What am I?
Electricity brought artificial light that pushed back darkness, but it is also dangerous and can be lethal if mishandled.
I may seem real but it always turns out I was never there in the first place. You only see me during a certain resting stage. What am I?
A dream feels vivid and real, but it never actually happened, and it only occurs during a particular stage of sleep.
I hide in a dark tunnel awaiting my time. I can only be released by pulling back. Once released, I may do unstoppable damage. What am I?
A bullet waits inside a gun's dark barrel until the trigger ('pulling back' the hammer) releases it to strike with force.
I am the minerals vital for your good health. What am I?
The riddle labels them "minerals," but the answer given is vitamins, essential substances the body needs for good health; strictly speaking vitamins and minerals are different things, so the wording is a loose fit.
I'm the manly mark that milk makes. What am I?
This refers to the "milk mustache," the white smear milk leaves on the upper lip, jokingly tied to the traditionally "manly" mustache.
I am a shower that lights up the sky. What am I?
A meteor shower is a burst of shooting stars streaking and glowing across the night sky, like a celestial "shower."
I cannot be felt or moved, but as you come closer, I get more distant. What am I?
No matter how far you travel toward the horizon, it always recedes and stays the same distance away -- it can't be touched or physically shifted.
I start new then become old. Start clean but be one dirty. I usually start big then become little. What am I?
New shoes start clean and small-feeling, but wear down, get dirty, and (for a growing kid) quickly become too tight.
Green arrows grow out of my sides. I go from yellow to white. My babies fly in the wind. What am I?
A dandelion has green leaves ("arrows") along its stem, its flower head turns from yellow to white fluff, and its seeds ("babies") fly away on the wind.
What force and strength cannot get through, I with my unique teeth can do. What am I?
A locked door can't be forced open by strength alone, but the key's unique cut ('teeth') opens it easily.
I come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. I stick to many surfaces but I am, in fact, not sticky at all. What am I?
A magnet clings to metal surfaces through magnetic attraction, not because it is physically sticky.