New Riddles With Answers - page 37 of 53
How many gold coins can a leprechaun throw in an empty pot?
Once a single coin is thrown in, the pot is no longer "empty," so logically only one coin can go into an empty pot.
In a stable there are men and horses. In all, there are 22 heads and 72 feet. How many men and how many horses are in the stable?
Solving the system (heads: h+m=22, feet: 4h+2m=72) gives 14 horses and 8 men.
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.
A tree doubled in height each year until it reached its maximum height over the course of ten years. How many years did it take for the tree to reach half its maximum height?
Since the height doubles every year, the tree was at half its final height exactly one year before reaching full height, i.e. year nine.
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.
How many bricks does it take to complete a brick building?
The 'last' brick placed is the one that technically completes the building, regardless of how many came before.
If you're 8 feet away from a door and with each move you advance half the distance to the door. How many moves will it take to reach the door?
Since each move only closes half the remaining gap, an infinitely small distance always remains - a classic illustration of Zeno's paradox of motion.
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.
If a boy blows 18 bubbles, Then pops 6 eats 7 and then He pops 5 and blows 1. How many are left?
Tracking each step (18 - 6 - 7 - 5 + 1) leaves exactly one bubble remaining.
Little Tommy Tittletat took two Ts, to tie two ups to two tall trees, to torment the terrible little tat. How many T's in all of that?
The question asks for the T's in the word 'that' specifically, not in the whole rhyme, and 'that' contains exactly two T's.
While on my way to St. Ives, I saw a man with 7 wives. Each wife had 7 sacks. Each sack had 7 cats. Each cat had 7 kittens. Kittens, cats, sacks, and wives. How many were going to St. Ives?
The riddle only says the narrator was traveling to St. Ives; the man and his group were merely met along the way, not necessarily heading there too.
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 sides does a circle have?
A circle isn't usually described with "sides" in the polygon sense, but by the riddle's logic it has two: the inside and the outside.
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.
How can you catch a unique rabbit?
'U-neak up' puns on 'sneak up' and the word 'unique'.
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 do you send Easter Cards?
'Hare-mail' puns on 'airmail' and 'hare'.
What kind of story does the Easter Bunny like?
'Hoppy-endings' puns on 'happy endings' and a rabbit's hopping.
What kind of jewelry does the Easter bunny wear?
'14-carrot gold' puns on '14-karat gold' and the carrots rabbits love to eat.
What kind of bunny can't hop?
A chocolate bunny is a candy sculpture with no legs able to move, so it cannot actually hop.
What do you get when you cross a roach and a rabbit?
'Bugs Bunny' puns on 'bugs' (insects like roaches) combined with 'bunny', naming the famous cartoon character.
How do rabbits travel?
Pun on 'hare' (a rabbit) sounding like 'air', as in 'airplane'.
What would you get if 120 rabbits took one step backward at the same time?
'Receding hare-line' puns on 'receding hairline' and 'hare'.
What would you get if you crossed a rabbit and a lawn sprinkler?
'Hare spray' puns on 'hairspray' and 'hare'.
In the backyard, there is a hollow stump, that contains six ears of corn. If a healthy squirrel carries out only three ears each day, how many days will it take to empty the stump?
The squirrel's own two head 'ears' are miscounted alongside the corn's ears, so only one real ear of corn leaves per day, taking six days total.
Who is the meanest goat in the west?
'Billy' is both a common name for a male goat and the nickname of the famous outlaw Billy the Kid.
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.
My first is twice in an apple but not once in the tart. My second is in liver but not in heart. My third is in giant and also in ghost. Whole I'm best when I am roast. What am I?
Taking the letter P (in apple twice, not tart), I (in liver, not heart), and G (in giant and ghost) spells 'PIG', best eaten roasted.
Why did the squirrel lay only its back on the river?
'Nuts' puns on acorns squirrels store and slang for testicles, both kept dry by floating on its back.
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 went to city OZ on the way I saw four women, with four bags, who have four kittens. Each woman had two children with her. How many people went to city OZ? (count correctly)
Only the narrator ('I') is stated to be going to Oz; everyone else was merely seen along the way.
Why was the fisherman arrested?
Pun on "packing a rod," where "packing heat" (a gun) is reinterpreted as carrying a fishing rod.
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.'
Slippery, wet and greasy, when it's in its easy, when it's out it jumps about, slippery wet, and greasy. What am I?
A fish is slick and slippery in water but flops around helplessly once removed from it.
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.
What do you call a magic fish?
This is a pun blending 'sardine,' a type of fish, with 'Houdini,' a famous magician.
When the below was jerking, the above was preferring. When the below was hurting, the above was happy rejoicing. What is that?
The fish below jerks and is hurt while the fisherman above enjoys ('prefers' and rejoices in) the catch.
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.
How do fish communicate?
This is a pun on 'cell phone,' replaced with 'shell,' referencing sea creatures and shells.
Why shouldn't you eat a French fish?
This puns on the French word 'poisson' (fish) sounding like the English word 'poison.'
Part carbon, part water, I am poison to the fishes. Many have falsely claimed my name, for I am the pause that refreshes. What am I?
Soda is made of carbonated water (carbon and water) and is harmful to fish, and 'the pause that refreshes' was a famous Coca-Cola slogan.
Hold the tail, While I fish for you. What am I?
A net is held by its edge or 'tail' while it is used to scoop up fish.
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.
A professional fisherman caught 30 fish during a 5-day tournament. Each day, he caught three more fish than the day before. How many fish did the fisherman catch on the first day?
The five daily totals must form an arithmetic sequence with a common difference of 3 that sums to 30, which works out to 0, 3, 6, 9, 12.
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.
What do you call a classy fish?
This is a pun blending 'fish' with the word 'sophisticated.'
Why wouldn't the shrimp share his treasure?
This is a pun on 'shellfish,' which sounds like 'selfish,' describing the shrimp's refusal to share.
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.
What did the cowboy go fishing with a lasso?
This plays on animal names that include cowboy-related words: 'bull' shark and 'sea horses.'
Why are fish so good at watching their weight?
This puns on 'scales,' meaning both fish skin covering and a device for measuring weight.
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.
There were seven fish in the sea. Two drowned and three swam away. How many are left?
Since fish cannot drown, the two 'drowned' fish are still alive, leaving seven minus the three that swam away.
Where do jellyfish sleep?
"Tent-acles" is a pun combining "tentacles" (a jellyfish's body part) with "tent," a place to sleep.
Where do fish go for vacation?
This is a pun on 'Finland' sounding like 'fin-land,' referencing a fish's fin.
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.
If you have nine fish in a fish bowl and 3 drown how many fish do you have left?
Fish cannot drown since they breathe underwater through gills, so the premise of the riddle is false.
Why are fish so clever?
This is a play on 'school of fish' and 'school' as a place of learning.
Why are some fish at the bottom of the ocean?
This puns on 'school' meaning both a group of fish and an educational institution.
There were two mothers and two daughters, and they all went fishing. All of them caught a fish but when they counted there were only three fish. How was this possible?
Counting a grandmother, her daughter, and her granddaughter gives two mothers and two daughters using only three people.
Where do fish keep their money?
This is a pun: fish live near a 'riverbank,' which sounds like the kind of bank where money is kept.
10 fish are in a tank. 10 drown. How many died?
Fish breathe through gills underwater, so they cannot drown; the riddle plays on a false premise.
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.
What does a shark eat with peanut butter?
It's a pun combining 'jelly,' as in peanut butter and jelly, with 'jellyfish,' a sea creature.
What do you call a fish with no eye's?
Removing the letter 'i' (eye) from the word 'fish' literally leaves 'fsh.'
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.
A dog had three puppies, named Mopsy, Topsy, and Spot. What was the mother's name?
The riddle secretly asks 'What was the mother's name' as a play on the word 'What' itself being the answer, since it isn't listed among the puppy names given.
Name three things that? 1. Are red 2. Can swim 3. Give off heat
This is an open-ended riddle where any valid red thing, swimming creature, and heat source satisfies each separate clue.
Which has more tails? A. 1 Dog B. 2 Dogs C. 3 Dogs D. No Dog
This plays on the double meaning of 'no' — as in zero dogs, but also as a play on 'no dog has MORE tails' than one tail each.
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.
How do you put nine dogs in eight kennels?
This is a letter-counting trick: the word 'NINEDOGS' has exactly eight letters, so it literally fits into eight spaces.
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.
When is a dog's tail not a tail?
The pun turns 'wagging' into 'a wagon,' a play on the sound of the words.
Four hang, four sprang, two-point the way, two to ward off dogs, one dangles after, always rather dirty. What am I?
Each clue maps to cow anatomy: four legs hang, four udders/teats sprang, two horns point the way, two ears ward off flies/dogs, and a tail dangles, muddy from the field.
How can you say - "Robert and Richard Purchased A Rottweiler" without using any Rs?
Replacing each R-containing word with an R-free synonym (Robert to Bob, Richard to Dick, Purchased to bought, Rottweiler to dog) solves the constraint.
What do these three things have in common: Diamonds, Dogs, and Double plays?
Each item completes a well-known 'best friend' saying: diamonds for girls, dogs for men, and double plays for pitchers in baseball.
How do veterinarians swim laps?
'Dog paddle' is literally a swimming stroke named after how dogs swim, fitting for an animal doctor.
What happens to the dog when it stands in front of the hot sun?
The pun literalizes 'hot dog' as a dog that has become hot from standing in the sun.
Why don't dogs make good dancers?
The idiom 'two left feet' (meaning clumsy) is applied literally as a joke about a dog's paws.
Where should you put a noisy dog?
The pun swaps 'parking lot' for 'barking lot,' referencing the dog's noise.
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'.
What wears a coat all year round?
A dog's fur functions like a permanent coat, unlike people who only wear coats seasonally.
How does a dog stop the VCR?
The pun replaces 'pause' with 'paws,' referring to the dog's feet.