New Riddles With Answers - page 12 of 53
I have a straight back and sharp teeth to cut objects. What am I?
A saw has a straight rigid back opposite its row of sharp teeth, which are used to cut through wood and other objects.
I cannot be bought, cannot be sold, even if I'm sometimes made of gold. What am I?
A heart made of gold refers to a kind, generous person -- true kindness of heart can't be purchased or sold, even metaphorically 'golden.'
Often held but never touched. Always wet but never rusts. Often bits but seldom bit. To use it well you must have wit. What am I?
Your tongue is constantly wet, is never held by hand, gets 'bitten' by accident sometimes, and needs to be used cleverly ('with wit') to speak well.
Shoot at me a thousand times and I may still survive; one scratch from you and me will find your prospects take a dive. What am I?
In pool, the eight ball can be struck many times safely throughout a game, but sinking it prematurely, or scratching while pocketing it, immediately ends the game in a loss.
You will always find me in the past. I can be created in the present, but the future can never taint me. What am I?
History refers to events of the past; while new history is continuously created in the present, future events cannot retroactively change what has already happened.
I fly, yet I have no wings. I cry, yet I have no eyes. Darkness follows me; lower light I never see. What am I?
A cloud drifts through the sky without wings, releases 'tears' as rain despite having no eyes, and blocks out sunlight, casting darkness below.
Many have heard me, but nobody has seen me, and I will not speak back until spoken to. What am I?
An echo repeats sound back to you but only after you make a sound first, and it has no physical form to be seen.
I know a thousand faces, and count the tailed heads, feasting bright upon the eyes, of many who have died. Wielding well a mighty power, who hath but humble stature. Masses fall upon their knees, to scarce behold my only side. What am I?
Coins bear the faces ("heads") of countless historical figures, are prized by masses seeking wealth, and each coin has only two sides, one of which people commonly favor face-up.
I have a tongue, but cannot speak. I have a bed but cannot sleep. I have four legs but cannot walk. Yet I move as you do. What am I?
A wagon has a flat 'bed,' a metal 'tongue' (the pull-bar), and four wheels ('legs') that only roll when someone else moves it.
I am the ruler of shovels, I have a double, I am as thin as a knife, I have a wife. What am I?
In a deck of cards, the king of spades rules the spade suit, has a mirrored 'double' image printed on the card, is flat as a knife, and is paired with a queen — his 'wife.'
I am used to bat with, yet I never get a hit. I am near a ball, yet it is never thrown. What am I?
You can "bat" your eyelashes (flirtatiously blink), and they sit right next to the eyeball ("ball") without ever touching or hitting it.
I'm lighter than air but a million men can't lift me. What am I?
A soap bubble is extremely light and appears to float weightlessly, but it pops at the slightest touch, so no amount of manpower can "lift" it as a solid object.
I have a mouth on my head and eat everything. What am I?
A backpack's main zippered opening (its "mouth") is usually near the top ("head"), and it can hold ("eat") all sorts of items.
I only have one entrance, but you can come out with three exits. What am I?
A blouse has one main opening to put on, but the wearer's head and two arms all emerge through their own separate openings.
I build up castles. I tear down mountains. I make some men blind, I help others to see. What am I?
Sand can be built into sandcastles, wind-driven sand erodes mountains over time, sand can blind in a sandstorm, and melted sand becomes glass that helps people see.
Ten men's strength, ten men's length, ten men can't break it, yet a young boy walks off with it. What am I?
A length of rope can be too strong to break by pulling apart, yet since it's flexible, a child can easily coil it up and carry it away.
From house to house I go, sometimes narrow, sometimes wide. And whether there's rain or snow I always stay outside. What am I?
A path connects one house to the next, varies in width, and — unlike a house — is always exposed to the weather.
You may always chase me but you are always about 3 miles away. What am I?
No matter how far you travel toward the horizon, it always remains the same distance away, since it is defined relative to your own position.
I am as strong as ten men, yet ten men cannot stand me up. What am I?
Water can be as powerful as ten strong men, yet being a liquid, it can never physically 'stand up' on its own.
I am flora, not fauna, I am foliage, not trees, I am shrubbery, not grass. What am I?
A bush is a type of plant life (flora), made up of leafy branches (foliage), and classified as shrubbery rather than a tree or grass.
You can see nothing else when you look in my face, I will look you in the eye and I will never lie. What am I?
When you look into a mirror, your reflection shows only your own face and mimics you exactly, never "lying" about what it shows.
I can bring tears to your eyes; resurrect the dead, make you smile, and reverse time. I form in an instant but I last a lifetime. What am I?
Memories can be formed in an instant yet last a lifetime, capable of evoking joy or sadness, or even making it feel as if someone who has passed is with you again.
Three or four, I can stab through or rule the seas. You know my cousins. What am I?
A fork has three or four tines used to "stab" food; its mythological cousin, the trident, similarly has prongs and is associated with ruling the seas (Poseidon's weapon).
I have a hundred legs but cannot stand, a long neck but no head; I eat the maid's life. What am I?
A broom's bristles are its 'hundred legs,' its handle is a headless 'long neck,' and traditionally it was the housemaid's constant chore ('life').
Poke your fingers in my eyes and I will open wide my jaws. Linen cloth, quills, or paper, my greedy lust devours them all. What am I?
A pair of scissors opens wide when you slip your fingers into its handle-holes, and it happily cuts through cloth, feathers, and paper alike.
I have no life, but I can die. What am I?
A battery isn't alive, but once it runs out of charge, people commonly say it has 'died.'
I am not alive but I grow. I don't have lungs but I need air. What am I?
Fire isn't a living organism, yet it 'grows' by spreading, and while it has no lungs, it needs a steady supply of oxygen to keep burning.
I have no brain but am still smarter than the average human. What am I?
A calculator has no brain of its own, yet it can perform arithmetic far faster and more accurately than the average person.
Two bodies with ribs, exposed. What am I?
A ladder's two side rails are its 'bodies,' and its rungs, laid bare between them, look like exposed ribs.
I'm a king that speaks for my country. At birth I am protected by no one. As I grow my father gives me 2 soldiers to protect me. As I get matured many more are given to me. And at my full age my father gives me 32 white soldiers to guard me and protect me. What am I?
The tongue 'speaks' for the country, and its royal guard is teeth — none at birth, two at first, and a full set of 32 by adulthood.
I have many ears, this may be true, but no matter how you shout, I'll never hear you. What am I?
Corn plants grow "ears" (the corn cobs), giving a cornfield countless "ears," yet obviously none of them can actually hear you.
I can be told and can make you crazy. Most people don't like me and think I'm harmful. What am I?
A lie can be told to someone, and believing or being caught in one can drive a person to distraction, since most people consider lying harmful.
A very pretty thing I am, fluttering in the pale-blue sky. Delicate, fragile on the wing, indeed I am a pretty thing. What am I?
A butterfly is delicate and fragile, with beautifully patterned wings that flutter gracefully through the sky.
There are two meanings to me. With one I may need to be broken, with the other I hold on. My favorite characteristic is my charming dimple. What am I?
'Promise' can mean a pledge you keep ('hold on') or a habit you must break, and its noun form even contains a hidden 'dimple' — 'promise' has the word 'promis' but really the pun is on breaking vs. keeping a promise.
Ne'er the same, in multitude you see me. You love me, you hate me. What am I?
No two snowflakes are exactly alike, they fall in great numbers together, and people have mixed feelings about snow -- fun for play, dreaded for shoveling.
I'm light as a feather, yet the strongest man can't hold me for more than 5 minutes. What am I?
Your breath weighs essentially nothing, yet holding it in (not breathing) for more than a few minutes is something no one — however strong — can survive.
Until I am measured, I am not known. Yet how you miss me when I have flown. What am I?
This classic riddle describes time -- it isn't fully appreciated until measured, and once it has passed, people often regret not using it well.
A long snake that smokes. What am I?
A long train winding along its tracks resembles a snake, and older steam trains puffed smoke from their engines.
I never ask questions, but I am always answered. What am I?
Ringing a doorbell prompts someone to answer the door, even though the doorbell itself never poses a question.
I have no wings but I fly, I have no teeth but I bite. What am I?
A bullet has no wings yet "flies" through the air, and has no teeth yet "bites" (wounds) whatever it strikes.
I am a seed, three letters in the name, take away two and I sound quite the same. What am I?
'Pea' is a three-letter seed; drop the last two letters and you're left with 'P,' which sounds just like the whole word.
I'm so simple I only point, yet I guide people all over the world. What am I?
A compass needle does nothing but point (toward magnetic north), yet that simple pointing helps travelers navigate the entire world.
I cover what is real and hide what is true, but sometimes I bring out the courage in you. What am I?
Makeup covers up someone's natural face, hiding what's real, but it can also boost confidence and courage.
Two legs I have, and this will confound, only at rest do they touch the ground. What am I?
A wheelbarrow's two rear legs only touch the ground when it's set down at rest; while it's in use, it rolls on its front wheel instead.
I am something all men have but all men deny. Man created me but no man can hold me. What am I?
Fear is something every person experiences yet often refuses to admit to, and it's an intangible feeling no one can physically grasp.
I don't exist unless you cut me, but if you stab me I won't bleed. I hate no one yet am abhorred by all. What am I?
A fart isn't a physical object until it's released ('cut' loose), doesn't bleed if you 'stab' at it, and is universally disliked despite being harmless.
To unravel me, you need a key. No key that was made by locksmith's hand, but a key that only I will understand. What am I?
A cipher (secret code) can only be 'unlocked' or understood with the right key to its pattern, not a physical locksmith's key.
I have a tongue but cannot taste. I have a soul but cannot feel. What am I?
A shoe has a 'tongue' (the flap over the laces) and a 'sole' (its bottom, a homophone of 'soul'), but neither can actually taste or feel.
I work hard most every day, not much time to dance and play. If I could reach what I desire, all like me would now retire. What am I?
Doctors work hard hoping to cure disease — if they succeeded completely, there would be no more sick people, and doctors 'like them' could retire.
I go in dry and come out wet, the longer I'm in, the stronger I get. What am I?
A tea bag goes into hot water dry and comes out wet, and the longer it steeps, the stronger the tea becomes.
I warn you about meetings, and I assist you in your life, I can help you do most of your work, unless I have a bug. What am I?
A computer can show meeting reminders and help with most tasks, but it malfunctions when it has a 'bug' (software glitch).
Take away my first letter and I remain the same. Take away my last letter and I remain unchanged. Remove all my letters and I'm still me. What am I?
This riddle plays on identity rather than spelling: no matter what mail is taken away -- his first delivery, his last delivery, or all of it -- he is still called a mailman.
He has one and a person has two, a citizen has three and a human being has four, a personality has five and an inhabitant of earth has six. What am I?
'He' has one syllable, 'person' has two, 'citizen' has three, 'human being' counts to four, 'personality' has five, and 'inhabitant' has six -- each word matches its own syllable count.
I can be dropped from the tallest of buildings and survive, but drop me from the smallest ship and I won't. What am I?
A piece of paper flutters gently and survives a fall from even the tallest skyscraper, but dropped into the water beside the smallest ship it would get soaked and ruined -- the real danger is water, not height.
Guided, I am scraping along, leaving behind my snow-white dust against that which I am scraping, for when I am scraping, I must. What am I?
Chalk is guided across a surface (like a chalkboard) and leaves behind white dust as it wears away -- it must scrape to do its job.
Travel a mile and I will change, travel a million and I will end as I started. What am I?
An odometer's reading changes after one mile, but after a million miles it commonly rolls back over to all zeros, ending as it started.
Four golfers named Mr. Black, Mr. White, Mr. Brown and Mr. Blue were competing in a tournament. The caddy didn't know their names, so he asked them. One of them, Mr. Brown, told a lie. The 1st golfer said "The 2nd Golfer is Mr. Black." The 2nd golfer said "I am not Mr. Blue!" The 3rd golfer said "Mr. White? That's the 4th golfer." And the 4th golfer remained silent. Which one of the golfers is Mr. Blue?
Testing each golfer as the possible liar (only Mr. Brown lies) against all three statements is only consistent when the 3rd golfer is revealed to be Mr. Blue.
A prisoner is told: "If you tell a lie, we will hang you and if you tell the truth, we will shoot you". What did the prisoner say to save himself?
Claiming 'You will hang me' creates an unresolvable paradox: hanging him would make the statement true (so he told the truth and should have been shot instead), while shooting him would make it a lie (so he should have been hanged instead) - so the captors can carry out neither punishment.
A man lives on the top floor of a hotel. When he is out with a friend or out on a rainy day, he comes back, goes to the elevator, and goes to the top floor. When he goes out alone or on a sunny day, he goes half way up and walks the rest of the way up. Why?
The man is too short to reach the elevator's top-floor button alone, so he can only ride all the way up when a friend reaches it for him or he uses his umbrella to press it on a rainy day.
When you stop and look, you can always see me. If you try to touch, you cannot feel me. I cannot move, but as you near me, I will move away from you.
The horizon is always visible in the distance, but since it's just where earth and sky appear to meet, it constantly recedes as you approach it.
Grows from the ground, bushes and grass, leaves of yellow, red and brow, unruly plants, get the axe, trim the hedge back down.
Hair 'grows from the ground' of your scalp in every color, and like an unruly hedge, it eventually needs a trim to keep it tidy.
I am enjoyed by some, despised by others. Some take me for granted, some treasure me like a gift. I last forever, unless you break me first. What am I?
Marriage is meant to be a lifelong bond that lasts "forever" unless broken, such as through divorce, and people's feelings about it vary widely.
I've got a beautiful, beautiful hall all walled in red velvet, with all white armchairs made of bone, and in the middle a woman dances.
The "red velvet hall" is the inside of the mouth, the "white armchairs of bone" are the teeth, and the "dancing woman" is the tongue moving as you speak.
I spend most of my day eating white. When I am quick enough, I get rewarded with fruit and somethings blue. In a dark room with blue walls, I run from the ghost that roam the halls. What am I?
In the classic arcade game, Pac-Man gobbles white dots through a dark maze, earns bonus fruit, and must flee the ghosts patrolling the halls - unless a power pellet has turned them blue.
I beam, I shine, I sparkle white. I'll brighten the day with a single light. I'll charm and enchant all. I'll bring the best in you all. What am I?
A bright, white smile lights up a room, charms everyone who sees it, and often brings out the very best in the person wearing it.
Die without me, never thank me. Walk right through me, never feel me. Always watching, never speaking. Always lurking, never seen.
Like riddle 214, air is invisible and untouched as you walk through it, yet utterly necessary - you'd die without it though you rarely think to thank it.
Two in a whole and four in a pair. Six in a trio you see. Eight's a quartet but what you must get is the name that fits just one of me. What am I?
This wordplay riddle counts by twos - a whole holds two halves, a pair holds four, a trio six, a quartet eight - always doubling the count, with 'half' being the name that fits just one single unit.
It is destruction made out of thin air, You hear it howl and give a prayer, Through barns and houses it will tear. It is a deadly funnel, Of violent and twisting air.
The poem's imagery of a howling, tearing, twisting funnel of air actually fits a tornado slightly better than a hurricane, but the source names it a hurricane -- the answer is a loose fit for its own clues.
The floor's on top, the roof's beneath, and from this place I rarely leave. Yet with the passing of each day. A new horizon greets my gaze.
Aboard ship a sailor's world is turned around - the deck above serves as his 'roof,' the hull below as his 'floor' - and every day at sea brings a fresh horizon into view.
I run around the streets all day. Under the bed or by the door I sit at night, never alone. My tongue hangs out, waiting to be fed during the day. What am I?
Like riddle 131, a shoe 'runs' the streets all day and rests, tongue out, under the bed or by the door each night, waiting to be worn again.
You get embarrassed when you stand on me when everybody is watching. Women don't like to talk about the number they see on me. Everyone stands on me when nobody is around. What am I?
Nobody wants to be seen stepping on a bathroom scale, and most people avoid discussing the number it shows - yet almost everyone quietly weighs themselves when alone.
I can be winding and I can be straight. I can be smooth and I can be rough. Sometimes both. I start out black but fade to brown the more I am used. My favorite colors are yellow and white, and I love stripes and dashed lines. What am I?
A road can curve or run straight, be smooth or rough pavement that darkens with wear, and features yellow and white painted lane markings, including stripes and dashed lines.
The strongest chains will not bind it. Ditch and rampart will not slow it down. A thousand soldiers cannot beat it, it can knock down trees with a single bush.
No chain, trench, or army can stop the wind, and a strong enough gust can topple trees that a thousand soldiers together could never budge.
They're big and yet so far away, We see them at the end of day. They're small and they're above. We see them when we close our eyes, Each time we are in love.
Stars are enormous yet appear tiny and distant at dusk, and 'seeing stars' also describes the sparkle behind closed eyes - whether from a bump on the head or the dizzying feeling of being in love.
I heard of a wonder, of words moth-eaten. That is a strange thing, I thought, weird. That a man's song be swallowed by a worm. His blinded sentences, his bedside stand-by rustled in the night - and the robber-guest. Not one wit the wiser. For the words he had mumbled.
This Old English riddle (the 'Moth' riddle from the Exeter Book) describes a bookworm that literally eats through a manuscript's words while its meaning goes unnoticed.
I march before armies, a thousand salute me. My fall can bring victory, but no one would shoot me. The wind is my lover, one-legged am I. Name me and see me at home in the sky.
A flag leads troops into battle and is saluted by soldiers, flutters for the wind alone, stands on a single pole, and belongs at home flying high in the sky.
I have two arms, but fingers none. I have two feet, but cannot run. I carry well, but I have found I carry best with my feet off the ground. What am I?
A wheelbarrow has two handle 'arms' with no fingers and a wheel or 'feet' that carries loads best when tilted, wheel side down, off the ground.
I have been the beginning of ideas for all time, yet I am just one simple small object, the things that you can use me for can be frustrating and also I can be pretty. I have some of the most valuable thing in the world on me, yet almost everyone owns me. With me you can make anything. What am I?
Ideas are first sketched on paper, it can frustrate you with cuts or jams yet also be beautifully decorated, and it even carries the world's most valuable commodity - printed money.
*Forward* *backwards* 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 backward all day long, its gentle rock able to calm a fussy baby - or, in an empty room, look eerily unsettling.
Halfway up the hill, I see you at last, lying beneath me with your sounds and sights. A city in the twilight, dim and vast, with smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights.
This poem describes gazing down at a twilight city from a hillside as if it were a memory - a metaphor for looking back on the past.
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 everybody.
Pencil lead (graphite) is mined from the earth and sealed permanently inside a wooden casing, yet nearly everyone uses it to write.
When I am visible to you, you cannot see me, but when I am invisible, you long to see me. I am plenty with someone patient, but all the more scarce with a hasty one. I am greater than all, but still in the control of those who value my existence. Who am I?
When time is passing normally you don't notice it, but once it feels like it's running out you wish you could see more of it; patient people feel they have plenty, while impatient people feel it's always scarce.
It speaks to you, yet it can't speak. When you hold it you can travel, in your mind's eye worlds unravel. And everything in it's a lie. And with every new untruth, still you feel it speaks the truth.
A book communicates without a voice, transports readers to imagined worlds through the mind's eye, and even though its story is fiction, a good one feels entirely true while you're immersed in it.
It's round but also like a chess-board. It can and is both whirled and curled, And bent and shot and parried. Some play it on a field or watch it on the couch, And anyone can play it, even Peter Crouch.
A soccer ball's black-and-white paneled pattern resembles a chessboard, and it can be whirled, curled, bent, shot, and parried by any player - even towering pros like Peter Crouch.
We are few to the wise; We are abundant to the drunken; We can calm the beast and are precious to the child; We can devour the heart, without piercing the skin.
Words can be sparse in a wise person's careful speech, plentiful in a drunk's rambling, soothing to a wild beast or child, and can 'devour the heart' emotionally without any physical wound.
When people come for me to meet, they come to me with heavy feet. The one I hold, when I get my chance, will turn and spin, and start to dance.
People approach the gallows with dread ("heavy feet"), and the condemned person it "holds" is hanged, causing the body to swing and twitch ("turn and spin, and start to dance").
I can wave my hands at you, but I never say goodbye. You are always cool when with me, even more so when I am high! What am I?
An electric fan's blades wave like hands without ever waving goodbye, keeping you cool - especially when switched to its highest speed setting.
I am used for light yet I am solid. Without me you would feel enclosed. I hate being touched, especially with a lot of force. I like to be in buildings. What am I?
A window lets in light while remaining a solid pane, keeps a room from feeling closed-in, shatters if struck too hard, and is a fixture of nearly every building.
My first a blessing sent to earth, of plants and flowers to aid the birth; my second surely was designed to hurl destruction on mankind; my whole a pledge from pardoning heaven, of wrath appeased and crimes forgiven.
'Rain' nurtures plants and flowers, 'bow' (as in bow and arrow) is a weapon of destruction, and together 'rainbow' is the biblical sign of God's promise never to flood the earth again.
It passes but you never hear it. Sometimes though, you think you feel it. You think you had it but it's gone. You want to stop it, but it moves on. You lose it, gain it, maybe fear it, but it goes on, forever on.
Time passes silently and can't truly be grasped, yet everyone senses it slipping away, wishes to slow it down, and it marches on forever regardless.
You will find me with four legs, but no hair. People ride me for hours, but I don't go anywhere without needing to be tugged. Jerked or turned on, I always manage to be ready for work.
A desk stands on four bare legs, is 'ridden' for hours while you sit and work at it, and its drawers are tugged open and its lamp switched on, always ready for the next task.
The cost of making only the maker knows, valueless if bought, but sometimes traded. A poor man may give one as easily as king. When one is broken pain and deceit are assured.
A promise costs nothing to make but everything to keep, is worthless if purchased, can be given by rich or poor alike, and breaking one always brings pain and betrayal.
My first is in riddle, but not in little. My second is in think, but not in brink. My third is in thyme, but not in time. My fourth is in mother, but not in brother. My last is in time, but not in climb.
Each clue hides one letter of RHYME - R from riddle, H from think, Y from thyme, M from mother, and E from time - spelling out the poetic device this very riddle relies on.
My head and tail both equal are, my middle slender as a bee. Whether I stand on head or heel Is quite the same to you or me. But if my head should be cut off, the matter's true, though passing strange directly I to nothing change.
The numeral 8 has two equal round loops joined by a slim waist, looks the same right-side up or upside-down, and if you slice off its top loop, what remains is simply a 0.
I am the tool, for inspiring many. Buy me in the store, for not much more than a penny. Don't overuse me, or my usefulness will go.
A cheap ballpoint pen can inspire great writing and costs barely more than a penny, but will eventually run dry with overuse.
I shift around, though always slowly. I never move more than a few inches at a time. A large movement by me can kill many people. I am huge, yet unseen by humans. What am I?
Tectonic plates drift only inches per year, yet a sudden major shift can trigger a devastating, deadly earthquake - enormous forces moving unseen beneath our feet.
I am not alive and yet I grow. Just put me next to where it grows. A favorite of the summertime, best with friends when combined. What am I?
A marshmallow puffs up ('grows') when held near a campfire, a beloved summer treat best enjoyed with friends - especially combined into a s'more.
Sometimes I fly as fast as the speed of light. Sometime 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 seem to fly by in an instant or crawl painfully slowly, is invisible until measured by a clock, and is always missed most once it has run out.
The wave, over the wave, a weird thing I saw, Through-wrought, and wonderfully ornate: A wonder on the wave-water became bone.
This old riddle describes frozen water - waves turned to hard, intricately patterned ice that looks almost carved like bone.
It can be repeated but rarely in the same way. It can't be changed but can be rewritten. It can be passed down, but should not be forgotten.
History repeats itself yet never quite the same way twice, can't be undone though its telling can be rewritten, and is passed down through generations - forgotten only at our peril.