New Riddles With Answers - page 23 of 53
I am the sweetest and most romantic fruit. What am I?
Honeydew is a sweet green melon whose name puns on the affectionate term 'honey, do' used between sweethearts.
What kind of food do mummies like to eat?
Mummies are wrapped in bandages, making "wraps," like a wrap sandwich, a punny food choice for them.
Why is 6 afraid of 7?
This classic pun turns "seven ate nine" into "7, 8, 9," implying 7 "ate" 9, which would scare 6, who comes right before 7.
If an electric train is traveling south, which way is the smoke going?
This is a trick question: electric trains don't burn fuel, so they produce no smoke at all.
What 8 letter word can have a letter taken out and still be a word?
Removing the final 'e' from the eight-letter word 'envelope' leaves 'envelop,' which is also a real word (meaning to wrap or surround).
What has you stop on green and go on red?
A watermelon's green rind is where you 'stop' (it's inedible), while its red flesh is where you 'go' (dig in and eat) -- a counterintuitive color-based pun.
What zips through the sky with a tail of fire and dust. It could be an omen, its origin to discuss?
A comet streaks across the sky trailing fire and dust, and has historically been viewed as an omen.
I am milky white and scares people. What am I?
Ghosts are traditionally depicted as pale, milky-white apparitions that frighten people.
The eight of us go forth not back to protect our king from a foe's attack. What are we?
In chess, there are exactly eight of these pieces, and they can only move forward, defending the king's side.
This heavy and ancient suit was not worn with a tie, but was always worn in battle.
Suits of armor were heavy protective battle gear, unlike a modern suit worn with a tie.
Sleeping during the day, I hide away. Watchful through the night, I open at dawn's light. But only for the briefest time, do I shine. And then I hide away. And sleep through the day.
The imagery of something hidden by day and briefly shining at dawn points to sunrise, though the poem's talk of being "watchful through the night" and repeating daily fits a recurring natural cycle only loosely -- the source key gives "sunrise" as the intended answer.
What can be measured but not seen?
You can track this passing on a clock, but you can never actually see it directly.
What food lives at the beach?
This is a pun: 'sandwich' sounds like 'sand-witch,' and beaches are made of sand.
A stylish winter top that covers your larynx.
A turtleneck sweater's high collar covers the neck and throat area, including the larynx.
What can go through glass without breaking it?
This passes right through a window pane without shattering it at all.
Raise your right appendage high above your head. Turn your head to the right and you will smell this.
Raising your arm and turning your head toward it puts your nose right by your underarm.
What number has all letters in alphabetical order when spelled out?
Spelled out, 'forty' (f-o-r-t-y) has its letters in strict alphabetical order.
People walk in and out of me. They push and I follow. When they walk out on me, I close up and I stay waiting for the next person to walk into my life when I have a more open mind. What am I?
This describes automatic doors: people constantly walk through, they open and shut ('a more open mind') for the next visitor, and closing behind you completes the metaphor.
People need me yet they give me away every day. What am I?
Everyone depends on money to live, yet they spend and hand it over constantly in everyday transactions.
What has a tongue but no mouth?
A shoe has a 'tongue' -- the flap under the laces -- but obviously no mouth.
Noah survived one and it was great.
This refers to the Great Flood in the Bible, which Noah and his family survived aboard the ark. (The source prints this answer as 'food' due to an OCR ligature glitch that drops the letter 'l' from 'flood'; corrected here.)
If I drink, I die. If I eat, I am fine. What am I?
Water ("drinking") extinguishes a fire, while feeding it fuel ("eating") only helps it keep burning.
Runs smoother than any rhyme, loves to fall but cannot climb.
Rain streams down smoothly and effortlessly falls to earth, but it can never go the opposite direction and climb back up.
This is a baked snack that is traditionally twisted into a unique knot-like shape.
Pretzels are famously twisted into their signature knotted loop shape before baking.
They come to witness the night without being called, a sailor's guide and a poet's tears. They are lost to the sight each day without the hand of a thief.
Stars appear every night unbidden, have long guided sailors navigating the seas, inspire poetic imagery, and vanish from view each day as daylight "steals" them away.
A young child goes up to a wise man and shocks him by asking him "What one thing do i have that God does not?"
Since God has no parents in most religious traditions, but a child does, that's the one thing the child has.
Both guys and women enhance their visual organs with this item.
This cosmetic product is applied around the eyes to enhance their appearance.
They are many and one, they wave and they drum. Used to cover a state, they go with you everywhere.
Hands can wave hello, drum on a table, cast a vote to represent (cover) a state, and, being part of your body, they go everywhere you do.
Fuels backyard get-togethers.
Charcoal is the classic fuel used in backyard grills for cookouts and barbecues.
Almost everyone needs it, asks for it, gives it. But almost nobody takes it.
People constantly ask for and hand out advice, but it's a common joke that very few people actually follow ("take") the advice they're given.
The more you look at it, The less you see.
Staring directly at the bright sun actually damages your eyes and impairs your vision, so the longer you look, the less you can see.
A single seater best accompanied by circus music and great balance.
A unicycle has just one seat and one wheel, requires excellent balance to ride, and is a classic prop in circus acts set to circus music.
Possibly the word most commonly said before taking a sip.
"Cheers" is the most common word people say while raising a glass before drinking.
A fashion statement whose name sounds like the upper part of a mobile war machine.
"Tank top" combines "tank" (an armored war vehicle) with "top," its upper part.
Prior to smartphones, people used this to record their lives.
Before smartphones had built-in cameras, people used handheld camcorders to film home videos of their lives.
Man's most important invention.
Harnessing fire is often cited as one of humanity's most transformative early achievements, enabling cooking, warmth, and protection.
Though it is not an ox, it has horns; Though it is not a donkey, it has packed-saddle; And wherever it goes it leaves silver behind.
A snail's eye-stalks look like horns and its coiled shell resembles a packed saddle, while its slime trail glints like silver.
This is a shape and a symbol that we literally cannot live without.
Both a geometric-like symbol and a vital organ, this shape keeps you alive by pumping blood.
Meat that has been cured by being cut into long, thin strips and dried.
Jerky is meat preserved by slicing it thin and drying it, unlike bacon or ham which are cured differently.
There's one in every deck of cards and in a famous movie.
Every standard deck includes a Joker card, and 'Joker' is also the title of a famous movie and Batman villain.
Come up and let us go. Go down and here we stay.
Raising an anchor ('come up') lets a ship sail away, while dropping it ('go down') keeps the ship in place.
What is found over your head but under your hat?
Hair grows on top of your head, situated between your skull and whatever hat you might be wearing.
I start in little but I end in full, you'll find me in half and complete.
The letter "L" appears at the start of "Little," the end of "fulL," inside "haLf," and within "compLete."
What is made of wood but can't be sawed?
Sawdust is the wood shavings left over after sawing, so it has already been 'sawed' into dust and can't be sawed again.
A toy that requires some string and a breezy day.
Flying a kite requires a length of string and a windy day to keep it aloft.
I am an English word with 3 consecutive double letters. What am I?
This word contains 'oo,' 'kk,' and 'ee' back to back, three double letters in a row.
If the day before yesterday is the 23rd, then what is the day after tomorrow.
If the day before yesterday is the 23rd, today is the 25th, so the day after tomorrow (today plus two) is the 27th.
I go around all the places; cities, towns and villages, but never come inside. What am I?
Streets run through cities, towns, and villages, connecting buildings, but they always remain outside those buildings themselves.
I am nothing but holes tied to holes, yet am strong as iron.
A chain is made of connected metal links (essentially "holes" of metal), yet together they form something very strong.
It is hate and has hate in it, but it isn't hate.
The word "hatred" literally contains the word "hate" within it, yet "hatred" describes the broader condition or state rather than the single emotion alone.
What can you throw but not catch?
You can "throw" a party (host one), but a party itself cannot be physically caught.
I have a thousand wheels, but move I do not. Call me what I am, call me a lot.
A parking lot holds hundreds or thousands of parked, stationary car wheels, and the riddle puns on calling it a 'lot.'
What is given but kept by the giver?
A mother 'gives birth,' but the fact that she gave birth remains permanently true of, and 'kept' by, her.
What do people want the least on their hands?
Nobody wants to be restrained by handcuffs, which are fastened directly onto the hands.
I'm a word, six letters long; I sometimes enter with a gong. All in order from A to Z, I start with the letter B.
The letters in 'begins' (b, e, g, i, n, s) appear in alphabetical order, and a boxing match 'begins' with a gong.
A deep well full of knives
Your teeth line the inside of your mouth like blades lining a deep well.
Some are quick to take it. Others must be coaxed. Those who choose to take it gain and lose the most.
Taking a big risk can lead to the greatest rewards, but also the greatest losses.
The more you take the more you leave behind.
Each step you take leaves behind a footprint or trace, so taking more steps leaves more behind.
In spring I look gay, Covered in a green array, The warmer it gets the more clothing I wear, As the cold grows, I throw away my clothes.
A tree looks lush and green ('gay') in spring, grows fuller leaves as it warms, and sheds its leaves ('clothing') as winter turns cold.
What can't you see, hear or feel, until it's too late. What shadows love, and shopkeepers hate?
A thief strikes quietly and unnoticed until it's too late, likes to hide in shadows, and is unwelcome in any shop.
If you have me, you want to tell me. If you tell me, you don't have me.
The moment you share a secret with someone, it stops being a secret -- its whole nature depends on staying untold.
What is something you will never see again?
Yesterday is always one day behind today, so once it has passed you can never experience that exact day again.
One strand dangles. Two strands twist. Three or more can fashion this.
The riddle describes progressively more complex hair styling: one strand just hangs, two strands twist together, and three or more strands can be woven into braids.
A doctor gives you three pills and tells you to take one every half an hour. How long will the pills last?
You take the first pill immediately, the second after 30 minutes, and the third after another 30 minutes, a total span of one hour, not three half-hours.
Some adults still use these to count.
Many adults still count on their fingers, even though it's often thought of as a childhood habit.
Sophie's mother had 2 sons and 1 daughter. The sons names were George and John. What was the daughter's name?
The riddle is about 'Sophie's mother,' so Sophie herself must be that daughter.
I run around the city, but I never move.
A city wall surrounds the whole city while staying completely stationary.
You are in a room with 3 monkeys. One monkey has a banana, one has a stick, and one has nothing. Who is the smartest primate?
Humans are primates too, and the riddle's trick is realizing the reader, standing in the room, outranks all three monkeys in intelligence.
Where is the ocean deepest?
This is a joke answer: no matter where you measure, the ocean is always deepest at its very bottom.
What's at the head of an elephant and at the tail of a squirrel?
Both 'ELephant' and 'squirr-EL' contain the letters 'EL' -- at the start of one word and the end of the other.
2 people in front of 2 people. 2 people behind 2 people, and 2 people beside 2 people. How many people are there?
Four people standing in a square arrangement satisfy all three conditions at once, since each pair is simultaneously in front of, behind, and beside another pair.
What word is that, which, deprived of its first letter, leaves you sick?
This relies on an old, loose pun: removing the first letter from 'MUSIC' leaves 'USIC,' which said aloud sounds a bit like 'you sick' (as in 'are you sick?'). It's a stretch of wordplay rather than an exact letter-for-letter fit.
Besides Paris, what is the capital of France?
This is a play on words: the 'capital' (first, capitalized letter) of the word 'France' is F.
What part of a fish weighs most?
This is a pun: a fish's 'scales' are what you'd use to weigh it, since 'scales' also means a weighing instrument.
What was was, before was was was?
This wordplay riddle points out that the past-tense word "was" used to be the present-tense word "is" before events became past.
I you were to take two apples from three apples, how many would you have?
You physically took 2 apples, so you now have 2 in your hand, regardless of how many remain elsewhere.
What is round on both ends and hi in the middle?
Spelled out, "Ohio" is round letters (O) on both ends with "hi" sitting right in the middle.
Where can you add 2 to 11 and get 1?
On a 12-hour clock face, 11 o'clock plus 2 hours wraps around back to 1 o'clock.
If it has a quart capacity, how many pennies can you put into a empty piggy bank?
This is a trick riddle, not a math problem: you can put in only one penny, because after that the piggy bank is no longer "empty."
What is between heaven and earth?
In the phrase 'heaven AND earth,' the word 'and' is literally positioned between the two words.
A farmer has 17 sheep and all but 9 run away. How many are left?
"All but 9" means 9 sheep stayed behind and did not run away, so nine remain.
How can the letters OWONDER be rearranged to make one word?
OWONDER rearranges, letter for letter, into the phrase "ONE WORD" -- the answer is also the method for solving it.
John's mom had three children. The first child was April. The second child was May. What was the third Child's name?
The riddle names 'John's mom,' so naturally the third child being asked about is John himself.
What is the largest living ant on earth?
Hidden inside the word 'elephant' is the word 'ant,' and elephants are famously enormous.
What has three feet but no arms or legs?
A yard is a unit of length equal to exactly three feet, though it has no literal arms or legs.
What follows a dog wherever it goes?
A dog's tail is physically attached to it, so it trails behind the dog no matter where it goes.
What is never eaten before lunch?
Dinner is the meal that comes after lunch, so by definition it is never eaten before it -- a simple sequence riddle rather than wordplay.
I met a man and drew his name. He tipped his hat and played my game. What is his name?
This is a pun on 'and drew,' hidden inside the sentence itself, spelling the name 'Andrew.'
If you were standing directly on Antarctica's South Pole facing north, which direction would you travel if you took one step backward?
At the South Pole, every direction you face or move is technically north, since it's the southernmost point on Earth -- so even a "backward" step still takes you north.
Feed me and I live, yet give me a drink and I die. What am I?
Feeding fire with fuel keeps it burning ('alive'), but pouring water on it ('a drink') extinguishes it -- a rephrased version of an earlier fire riddle.
What's higher than the king?
A king's crown physically sits above his head, making it 'higher' than the king himself.
Look at me one way and I weigh a whole lot; turn me around and you'll see that I am not. What am I?
The word "ton" (a heavy unit of weight) spelled backward is "not," meaning something that isn't heavy at all -- a clever visual/word trick.
I turn around once. What is out will not get in. I turn around again. What is in will not get out. What am I?
Turning a key one way locks a door (keeping intruders out); turning it back the other way unlocks it (letting whoever's inside back out).
The sun bakes them, The hand breaks them, The foot treads them, The mouth tastes them.
Grapes ripen in the sun, are picked by hand, were traditionally crushed underfoot in winemaking, and are also eaten and tasted directly.
What breaks on the water but never on the land?
Ocean waves crest and "break" on the water's surface, but this specific kind of breaking doesn't occur on dry land.
What can you keep after giving it to someone?
Giving someone 'your word' (a promise) doesn't mean you lose it -- you still keep your word by honoring the commitment.
There is a boat with a ladder attached to it, the ladder is eight feet tall. If the water rises four feet how much of the ladder will be on top of the water?
Since the ladder is attached to the floating boat, it rises with the water level, so the entire eight-foot ladder stays above the water regardless of the tide.
Susan and Lisa decided to play tennis against each other. They bet $1 on each game they played. Susan won three bets and Lisa won $5. How many games did they play?
If Susan won 3 games and Lisa's net winnings were $5, Lisa must have won 8 games (8 - 3 = $5 net), so together they played 3 + 8 = 11 games.
What is so delicate that even mentioning it breaks it?
The word 'silence' is broken the instant you speak it out loud -- saying it defeats the very thing it names.
There is a clerk at the butcher shop, he is five feet ten inches tall, and he wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh?
A butcher shop clerk weighs meat for customers, so the physical details about the clerk himself are just a distraction.