New Riddles With Answers - page 17 of 53
What time of day, when written in capital letters, is the same forwards, backwards, and upside down?
"NOON" written in capitals is a palindrome and its symmetrical letters also look the same when flipped upside down.
Cold head and feet; Round as a ball; Always turning around itself.
The Earth's poles ("head and feet") are icy cold, it's roughly spherical, and it constantly rotates on its own axis.
I run distances, often making many turns, yet I never move one foot. What am I?
A watch's hands sweep endlessly around its face, tracking countless laps of 'distance,' while the watch itself sits perfectly still.
The more I dry the wetter I get. What am I?
A towel is used to dry other things, but as it does so, it soaks up moisture and becomes wetter itself.
Seven brothers, five work all day, The other two, just play or pray.
A week has seven days: five weekdays for working and two weekend days for leisure, with Sunday traditionally set aside for worship.
I have every color, but no gold. What am I?
A rainbow displays the full spectrum of colors (red through violet), but gold is not one of the actual colors of light it contains.
Though I wander the earth, I am no longer here. I am pale and I chill everyone near. Who am I?
A ghost is imagined as the pale spirit of someone no longer alive, wandering the earth and giving people chills when nearby.
I help you carry your books. What am I?
A backpack is worn on the back and is the classic item students use to carry their books.
When you are inside me, you will be encouraged to slam other cars. What am I?
Bumper cars at an amusement park are specifically designed and driven for the fun of crashing into other riders' cars.
Not my sister nor my brother but still the child of my mother and father. Who am I?
The riddle describes the speaker's own relationship to their parents; the child who is neither the sibling's sister nor brother is the speaker.
What does someone else have to take before you can get?
Someone else has to take your photograph before you can get a copy of that picture -- a play on the two meanings of "take" and "get."
What is filled with air and sometimes a gas, tied to a string and often seen on your birthday?
Balloons are inflated with air or helium gas, tied off with a string, and are classic birthday party decorations.
We are all around, yet to us you are half blind. Sunlight makes us invisible, and difficult to find.
Stars fill the sky at all times, but the sun's bright daylight washes them out, making them invisible until night falls and they can be seen again.
Two in a corner, 1 in a room, 0 in a house, but 1 in a shelter. What am I?
Count the occurrences of the letter R: "corner" has two, "room" has one, "house" has zero, and "shelter" has one.
A gentleman whose offspring have successfully produced offspring of their own.
A grandfather is a man whose own children have gone on to have children, making him a grandpa.
What flowers have two lips?
"Tulips" contains the word 'lips' twice hidden in its spelling ('two-lips'), which is the pun behind this riddle.
Humans have two that shrink in the light and expand in the dark.
The pupils in your eyes constrict in bright light and dilate (expand) in darkness to control how much light enters.
I'm white, perfect for cutting and grinding. For most animals I am a useful tool. What am I?
Teeth are hard and white, used for biting and chewing, and are an essential tool for nearly every animal.
What is seen in the water and in the sky? It is part of the rainbow and can be in your eye.
Blue appears in bodies of water, in a clear sky, as a band in the rainbow, and as a common eye color.
I keep things green and keep kids happy during summer time. What am I?
A lawn sprinkler waters the grass to keep it green and doubles as a fun way for kids to cool off and play in summer.
You do this into someone's ear when you want to be discreet.
Whispering quietly into someone's ear is the classic way to share something privately without others overhearing.
I dance and sing in the breeze, but I have neither voice nor feet. What am I?
A tree's leaves rustle like singing and its branches sway like dancing in the wind, though it has no real voice or feet.
I have roads but no pavement, rivers but no water, and cities but no buildings. What am I?
A map shows symbolic representations of roads, rivers, and cities, but is only a flat drawing, none of it is physically real.
I dance on one feet and knows only one shape. Someone with same name as me is very good with directions. What am I?
A drawing compass pivots on one point to draw only circles, and a magnetic compass (sharing the name) is the classic tool for finding directions.
I am constantly overlooked by everyone but everyone has me. What am I?
Your own nose sits right in your line of sight, so you literally look "over" it constantly without noticing it — everyone has one and everyone overlooks it.
I weaken all men for hours each day. I show you strange visions while you are away. I take you by night, by day take you back. None suffer to have me, but do from my lack.
Sleep leaves everyone weak and unconscious for hours, fills the mind with strange dream "visions," and while no one suffers from getting it, everyone suffers from not getting enough.
Which vehicle is spelled the same forwards and backwards?
"Racecar" is a palindrome, reading identically whether spelled forwards or backwards.
I can only be played on a windy day. What am I?
A kite only flies when there is enough wind to lift it, so it can only really be "played" on a windy day.
I contain words about words, some of which you've never heard. What am I?
A dictionary defines words using other words, and it inevitably contains many words a given reader has never encountered.
What has two spines and a lot of ribs, and carries much but never moves?
The two parallel rails act like 'spines' and the wooden ties like 'ribs,' and while they bear the weight of heavy trains, the tracks themselves stay put.
What has a bottom right at the top?
The 'bottom' of a pant leg or the leg of furniture is described as being at its top end nearest the body, a play on the word 'bottom.'
I am a ship that can be made to ride the greatest waves. I am not built by objects, but built by minds. What am I?
The word FRIENDSHIP hides "ship" inside it; unlike a real ship, it's built through the minds and feelings of people, not with physical materials.
I am pinched by grandmas. What am I?
Grandmothers are famously fond of affectionately pinching children's cheeks.
I am the state when a person is holding a person inside. What am I?
Being pregnant is the state of carrying (holding) another person, an unborn baby, inside your body.
I have one, you have one. If you remove the first letter, a bit remains. If you remove the second, bit still remains. If you remove the third, it still remains.
Removing letters one at a time from HABIT still leaves a real word each step -- ABIT, BIT, and IT -- matching the riddle's clue about 'bit' remaining.
One time every year, there is a very special day. Little have the same, everyone party a different way.
Everyone has one birthday a year, and although few people share the same date, celebrations vary from person to person.
What has holes on each side, but can still can hold water?
A sponge is riddled with tiny holes throughout, yet its absorbent material soaks up and holds water.
It's real until the trick is revealed.
A magic trick seems genuinely impossible right up until the magician reveals how it was actually done.
Sitting down you have it, Standing up you don't.
A 'lap' only exists as the flat space formed by your thighs when you're seated; it disappears the moment you stand.
Don't forget to do this before blowing out the candles.
Tradition says you should make a wish silently right before blowing out your birthday candles.
You can break it or drink water from it.
A drinking glass can shatter if dropped, but it's also the everyday vessel used to drink water from.
It speaks without a tongue, and listens without ears.
A phone transmits a voice and receives sound electronically without any physical tongue or ears.
You fill it and it empties, A metaphor for plenty, Depending on what half you see, It's either full or empty.
A cup can be filled and emptied repeatedly, and the classic 'glass half full or half empty' saying uses a cup as its metaphor for optimism.
I fly away as soon as you set me loose. People around you may slowly move away once they sense my presence. What am I?
A fart 'flies away' the instant it's released, and its odor often makes nearby people move away quickly.
What's large on Saturday and Sunday. Small on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and disappears on Monday and Friday?
The letter "S" appears capitalized (prominent, "large") at the start of Saturday and Sunday, appears lowercase and hidden ("small") within Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and doesn't appear at all ("disappears") in Monday or Friday.
What has a ring but no fingers?
An old telephone 'rings' to alert you of a call, but that ring has nothing to do with wearing it on a finger.
I am longer than a decade and shorter than a millennium. What am I?
A century spans 100 years, comfortably longer than a decade (10 years) but far shorter than a millennium (1,000 years).
More rare today than long ago. There's a salutation from friends written below. What am I?
A handwritten letter has become rare in the internet age, and it traditionally closes with a friendly salutation, like 'Sincerely' or 'Best wishes.'
What demands an answer, but asks no question?
A ringing telephone does not literally ask anything, but its ring "demands" that someone pick it up and answer.
What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters?
"Queue" is pronounced exactly like its first letter, "Q" -- removing the other four letters (u-e-u-e) leaves the same sound.
This on this. That on that. Growing tall, But never fat. What am I?
A stack is built by placing one thing on top of another repeatedly, growing tall in height but never wider ('fat').
What has ten letters and starts with gas?
The word "automobile" has ten letters, and cars run on "gas" (gasoline) -- a playful riddle rather than a literal spelling clue.
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.
This poetic riddle describes rain: it forms from clouds and wind, feeds streams and crops, is followed by rainbows, falls to earth, and can bring hardship (torment) through floods or storms.
I'm named after nothing, though I'm awfully clamorous. And when I'm not working, your house is less glamorous. What am I?
A vacuum is literally named after "a vacuum" -- empty space, or nothing -- yet it's loud when running, and without it, floors and carpets quickly look dirty and unglamorous.
What loses its head every morning only to get it back every night?
A pillow is "headless" once you get up each morning and only "has a head" (yours) resting on it again at night.
What's as small as a mouse but guards a house like a lion?
A small lock on a door provides fierce protection for a home, much like a lion would guard its territory.
I am a seed, three letters in the name, Take away two and I sound quite the same.
Pea has three letters, and even down to just the letter P, it still sounds like pea.
One simple click, one simple flash. Preserving a memory, for years I will last. What am I?
A photograph is captured with one click and flash of a camera and preserves a memory for years afterward.
Two birds, trying to balance in one twig.
This whimsical riddle likens a pair of earrings perched on the earlobes to two little birds balanced on a single branch.
I am something that floats. But after a period of time I fall.
A balloon floats while filled with helium but eventually loses its lift and falls as the gas leaks out over time.
I stare at you, you stare at me. I have three eyes, yet can't see. Every time I blink, I give you commands. You do as you are told, with your feet and hands. What am I?
A traffic light has three colored "eyes" (red, yellow, green) that can't actually see, but its blinking lights command drivers to use their feet (brake/gas) and hands (steering wheel).
Thirty white horses on a red hill, First they champ, Then they stamp, Then they stand still.
The "red hill" is the gums and the "thirty white horses" are your teeth, which chew ("champ"), bite down ("stamp"), and rest ("stand still") in your mouth.
What flies around all day but never goes anywhere?
A flag on a pole flutters ('flies') in the wind all day long, yet stays fixed in one place.
With head without hair. With mouth without tooth.
A bottle has a 'head' (top) and a 'mouth' (opening), but neither hair nor teeth, since it's an inanimate object.
Shorter than my four siblings, but easily the strongest, Sometimes I wear a funny hat.
The thumb is shorter than the other four fingers but the strongest, and a thimble looks like its hat.
We are five little objects of an everyday sort, You will find us all in a tennis court.
This is a loose fit in the source: the phrase 'tennis court' actually contains only four of the five vowels (E, I, O, U, missing A), but the source's intended answer is 'vowels.'
I defend without weapons, stand without legs, wound without force, and I am harder to fight than to kill. What am I?
A wall can defend a city with no weapons of its own, has no legs yet stands upright, and can 'wound' by falling without using force -- and a fortified wall is notoriously hard to breach.
I love to dance and twist and prance, I shake my tail, as away I sail, wingless I fly into the sky. What am I?
A kite has a tail that shakes in the wind, dances and twists on its string, and "flies" without wings, sailing up into the sky.
Although I'm far from the point, I'm not a mistake. I fix yours. What am I?
An eraser sits at the far (blunt) end of a pencil, away from the sharp point, and its job is to fix your writing mistakes.
I have four legs, a back, but no head. What am I?
A chair typically has four legs and a back, but no head — describing its basic parts in riddle form.
What is all over a house?
A roof sits over the entire top of a house, covering it from side to side.
A father's child, a mother's child, yet no one's son.
A daughter is the child of both her father and mother, but since she is female she cannot be anyone's 'son.'
I can be long, or I can be short. I can be grown, and I can be bought. I can be painted, or left bare. I can be round, or square. What am I?
Fingernails grow naturally (or can be bought as fake nails), come in different lengths and shapes, and are often painted with polish -- matching every clue in the rhyme.
What heavy seven letter word can you take two away from and be left with eight?
WEIGHTS is a heavy, seven-letter word; removing its two outer letters (W and S) leaves EIGHT, the number described by 'left with eight.'
What time is spelled the same forwards and backwards?
'Noon' is a palindrome -- it reads the same forwards and backwards -- and it also names the exact midday hour.
What five-letter word, no matter how you pronounce it, is always pronounced wrong?
No matter how you say the word 'wrong,' you are technically pronouncing the word 'wrong' -- a self-referential pun.
What's that 7 letter word with thousands of letters in it?
A mailbox is the object that holds 'mail' (letters), and this riddle plays on 'mail' sounding like it contains many letters.
I can be as thin as a picture frame but my insides have many things you can see.
A flat-screen TV can be nearly as thin as a picture frame, yet it displays countless people, places, and things inside its screen.
What word of five letters has only one left when two letters are removed?
Removing the first two letters (S and T) from STONE leaves the word ONE -- literally 'only one' word remaining, which answers the riddle.
I am seen in the water and in the sky. I am in the rainbow and a jay's feather. What am I?
The color blue shows up in the sky, in water, in a rainbow's band of colors, and in a blue jay's feathers.
What has black spots and a white face, is fat not thin, and helps you to win, but tumbles all over the place?
Dice are cube-shaped (not thin), have black spots (pips) on a white face, are used to win games, and can tumble around when rolled.
I have an eye but cannot see. I'm faster than any man alive and have no limbs. What am I?
A hurricane has a calm 'eye' at its center, moves faster than any human can run, and has no arms or legs.
Lighter than what I'm made of, more of me is hidden than is seen. What am I?
Ice is less dense (lighter) than the water it's made from, so it floats with most of its bulk — about 90% — hidden beneath the surface.
I have eighty-eight keys but cannot open a single door. What am I?
A piano has 88 keys used to play music, but none of them open doors -- they're a play on the double meaning of 'keys.'
What 11-letter English word is always pronounced incorrectly?
Saying 'it is pronounced incorrectly' means the word 'incorrectly' is always, by definition, the word being pronounced -- a self-referential wordplay.
What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs?
A penny has a 'head' (the portrait side) and a 'tail' (the reverse, hence 'heads or tails'), is copper-brown, and obviously has no legs.
Precious stones in a pack of cards.
Diamonds are both a suit of playing cards and a genuine precious stone, which is the intersection the riddle points to.
If you're stealing honey, be prepared to receive vengeance in this form.
Disturbing a beehive to steal honey risks getting stung by defensive bees.
What is it that has a power socket on one end and a corkscrew on the other?
A pig's snout, with its two round nostrils, resembles an electrical socket, while its curly tail looks like a corkscrew.
Small edible creature from the sea that is often served at restaurants.
Shrimp are small, popular seafood commonly served as a restaurant appetizer or entree.
His eyes were raging, that scraggly beast. His lips were bursting, with rows of angry teeth. Upon his back a razor was found. It was a fearsome battle we fought, my life – or his, one would be bought. And when we were through, and death chilled the air, we cut out his heart, and ate it with flair.
A wild boar has fierce eyes, sharp tusks bared like angry teeth, and a bristly "razor"-like ridge along its back, and after being hunted down in a dangerous fight, its meat -- including the heart -- was traditionally eaten as a trophy of the kill.
What has a horn but does not work?
A rhinoceros has a horn on its snout, but unlike a car horn, it doesn't "work" as a tool, playing on the double meaning of "horn."
Turkey day. What am I?
'Turkey day' is a common nickname for Thanksgiving, when roast turkey is the traditional main dish.
I am not very commonly found! Only in some rainforest! I have an odd number of toes! I'm very lazy and hang upside down! What am I?
The sloth lives almost exclusively in rainforests, has an unusually odd number of toes on some species, and famously hangs upside down while moving as little as possible.
What build its house with earthen string and ensnares its prey with a biting sting?
A spider spins earth-toned silk into its web and delivers a venomous bite to subdue trapped prey.
John Lennon sang about being this toothy creature.
John Lennon sang I Am the Walrus with The Beatles, referencing the tusked marine mammal.
A spent round or a slimy critter.
"Slug" is both a term for a spent bullet and the name of the slimy, shell-less garden mollusk.
What fish came first?
This is a play on words: "gold" suggests first place, as in a gold medal, making the "goldfish" the punny answer for the fish that "came first."
I am known for my natural tuxedo and marching. What am I?
A penguin's black-and-white plumage looks like a tuxedo, and colonies famously waddle in single-file marches.
What king can you make if you take the head of a lamb, the middle of a pig, the hind of a buffalo, and the tail of a dragon?
The mismatched animal parts are a whimsical way of describing a composite creature, and the source identifies the resulting "king of beasts" as a lion.