195 Rhyming Riddles With Answers - page 2 of 2
You deal with them and they deal chance, They show you your future at a glance. You play them and they play you back, And win or lose, They go back in their pack.
Playing cards are dealt out in games of chance, tarot-style cards can claim to foretell your future, and whether you win or lose a hand, the cards are always gathered back into the deck.
My uses are changing, but I still remain the same. My interior is quiet, and stories are my game. What am I?
A library has evolved over time -- from books to digital media -- but it's still a quiet place devoted to housing and sharing stories.
Sometimes dark and sometimes bright, I make my way among twinkling lights. Seas and oceans obey my call, yet mountains I cannot move at all. My face is marred and gray, but I'm majestic anyway. What am I?
The moon shifts between dark new phases and bright full ones, governs the ocean tides, yet has no pull on mountains, its scarred gray face still lending it a majestic presence in the night sky.
Shared between two; Most often to woo; Sometimes hot and sometimes cold; The beginning of us all, young and old.
A kiss is exchanged between two people, often as part of romance, can feel passionate ("hot") or gentle ("cold"), and a first kiss often marks the start of a relationship.
My tines be long, my tines be short. My tines end ere, my first report. What am I?
Lightning's branching "tines" (forks) come in varying lengths, and because light travels faster than sound, the flash always ends before its thunderclap ("report") is heard.
It is a part of us, and then replaced. It escapes our bodies, to a better place. The world becomes its sizeable home. Its passions unrestrained, the planet it roams.
Water makes up much of the human body and is constantly replenished as it leaves us through sweat and breath, rejoining the planet's much larger water cycle -- rivers, oceans, and rain -- where it roams freely.
A wonderful elixir, It is your fluid fixer. Gulp it down and turn like a concrete mixer. Dark as night and sweet as sin, It's like liquid heroin.
Coffee is dark, often sweetened, gives an energizing jolt, and is famously described as an addictive "fixer" that keeps people going.
You seek it out, when your hunger is ripe. It sits on four legs, and smokes a pipe. What is it?
You head to the stove when you're hungry to cook, and an old wood or coal stove rests on four legs with a chimney pipe venting smoke like it's puffing away.
Though blind as well, can lead the blind well.
A cane itself has no sight, yet a blind person's white cane is exactly what helps guide them safely as they navigate the world.
I don't think or eat or slumber. Or move around or fear thunder. Just like you I look the same but I can't harm you or be your bane.
A doll resembles a person but does none of the things living people do -- no thinking, eating, sleeping, or moving -- and being lifeless, it poses no threat at all.
I can invent dreams or open the skies. It's easy to use me, just close your eyes. What am I?
Closing your eyes lets your imagination take over, conjuring dreams and letting you picture entire worlds -- including the open sky -- without ever leaving your seat.
I can bring back the dead and a tear to your eye. A stir of emotions will follow close by. What am I?
Memories let you relive moments with people who have passed away, and revisiting them -- happy or sad -- often stirs up powerful emotion and tears.
Although a human shape I wear, Mother I never had; And though no sense nor life I share, in finest silks I'm clad. By every miss I'm valued much, beloved and highly prized; still my cruel fate is such by boys I am often despised.
A doll has a human shape but no mother, mind, or life; girls ("misses") cherish and dress it in fine clothes, while boys traditionally tend to look down on playing with one.
Brown I am and much admired; many horses have I tried; tire a horse and worry a man; tell me this riddle if you can.
A brown leather saddle is fitted and "tried" on many horses, and its weight tires the horse while a poor fit worries the rider trying to solve the problem.
Some live in me, some live on. And some shave me to stride upon. I rarely leave my native land. Until my death I always stand. High and low I may be found. Both above and below ground.
A tree houses animals inside its hollows and on its branches, is felled and planed into wooden walkways to "stride upon," stays rooted in one place its whole life, and grows both above ground and underground as roots.
Small was my stature, but my success was great. Until I entered Belgium to be handed my fate. Who am I?
Napoleon Bonaparte was famously short in stature and hugely successful as a conqueror, until his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium sealed his fate.
A mysterious, fantastic creature, It has one defining feature, And for humans at their worst, In their eyes it's just a horse.
A unicorn is a magical creature defined by its single horn, but to a cynic or unbeliever, it's dismissed as nothing more than an ordinary horse.
I am long and thin and make things right. I will repair your mistake but watch my bite. What am I?
A sewing needle is thin and long, mends torn fabric ("makes things right"), but its sharp point can prick your finger if you're not careful.
A third from the sun, and not much else since the world's begun. Some may weigh a metric ton. Is a synonym for fun. Made a zeppelin take flight. A big thing at Isle of Wight.
This riddle layers wordplay: "rock" the mineral has existed since Earth (third from the sun) began and can weigh tons, while "rock" the music genre is slang for fun, launched acts like Led Zeppelin, and headlines the famous Isle of Wight Festival.
My mother is water and my brother the sky. I am grey when wet but white when dry. What am I?
A cloud forms from evaporated water (its "mother") and floats in the sky (its "brother"), appearing dark grey when heavy with rain and bright white when fluffy and dry.
My first is in some but not in all. My second is into but not in tall. My third in little but no in big. My fourth in port but not in pig. My whole is made in nature's way. For clothing, rugs used every day.
The first three letters spell S-I-L from 'some,' 'into,' and 'little,' matching silk, the natural fiber woven into clothing and rugs daily; the final clue pairing 'port' and 'pig' is a weaker fit for the letter it should supply, an apparent slip in the original wordplay.
Without me where would you be? I am not your eyes, but I help you see. What am I?
Light isn't your eyes, but without it your eyes have nothing to see by -- it's the essential ingredient that makes vision possible at all.
Crooked as a rainbow, and slick as a plate, Ten thousand horses can't pull it straight.
A river winds in curves like a rainbow and has a smooth, slick surface, and no amount of pulling force can straighten its natural course.
As I was going through a field of wheat, I found something good to eat; It wasn't fish or flesh or bone; I kept it till it ran alone.
This classic riddle describes finding an egg, which is neither fish, meat, nor bone -- and after being kept warm, it hatched into a chick that could run off on its own.
Found in pizza but also the sky. You'll know I'm around when I'm close by. What am I?
A pizza is shaped like a circle, and the riddle's last line plays on the phrase "close by" sounding like "around" — a pun on the shape circling back on itself.
A most complex construction, Of creation and destruction, Of good and evil deeds, Of noblest thought and basest needs, A species in the lead, Immortal 'til we bleed.
Humans are capable of both great creativity and great destruction, noble ideals and base instincts, and stand as the dominant species -- feeling invincible until mortality catches up.
I live next to beauty trying to catch your eye. Grab me without looking, and you're surely to cry. What am I?
A thorn grows right alongside a beautiful flower like a rose, and if you reach for the bloom without care, you'll grab the thorn instead and get a painful prick.
Before I grow I'm small. When I'm old I grow tall. When I die I give a mighty fall. What am I?
A tree starts as a tiny seedling, grows tall over decades, and when it finally dies or is felled, it comes crashing down in one mighty fall.
My first is in spell, but not book. My second is in fright and also shook. My third is in cauldron, but never in pot. My fourth is in net and also in knot. My fifth is in bat, but never in vampire. My sixth is in coal, but not found in fire. My seventh is in moon, but not in night.
This letter charade spells P-H-A-N-T-O-M: P (spell, not book), H (fright/shook), A (cauldron, not pot), N (net/knot), T (bat, not vampire), O (coal, not fire), M (moon, not night).
You roll it or you buy it, People say you shouldn't try it, Because you may get a stroke, From inhaling all that smoke.
Cigarettes can be hand-rolled or bought pre-made, and health warnings caution against smoking because inhaling the smoke raises the risk of stroke and other illness.
It flows out of the soil, It burns you if it boils, And holds us in its coils, More valuable than gold, As black as it is old.
Crude oil is pumped from the ground, is highly flammable and hot when heated, and as a fossil fuel it's ancient, black, and economically more valuable than gold.
Soldiers line up spaced with pride. Two long rows lined side by side. One sole unit can decide, if the rows will unite or divide.
A zipper's teeth line up like two rows of soldiers, and the single sliding pull tab is what joins them together or pulls them apart.
I make you weak at the worst of all times. I keep you safe, I keep you fine. I make your hands sweat. And your heart grow cold. I visit the weak, but seldom the bold.
Fear can weaken you in dangerous moments, yet it also protects you by triggering caution, and its physical symptoms -- sweaty hands, a pounding or cold-feeling heart -- rarely trouble the truly bold.
My tail is long, my coat is brown, I like the country, I like the town. I can live in a house or live in a shed, And I come out to play when you are in bed.
A mouse has a long tail and brown fur, can be found in both rural and urban settings, and is famously nocturnal, scurrying about once the house has gone quiet.
Tucked out of sight. I sing best at night. No instrument around, but you'll find me on the ground. What am I?
A cricket hides in the grass, chirps loudest after dark, and makes its "song" by rubbing its wings together -- no instrument required.
I grow from darkness but shine with a pale light. Very round I am, and always a lady's delight. What am I?
A pearl forms in the dark interior of an oyster, emerges with a soft pale glow, and its round shape has long made it a favorite jewel among women.
Never resting, never still. Moving silently from hill to hill. It does not walk, run or trot. All is cool where it is not.
Sunshine constantly sweeps across the land as the earth turns, silently moving from hill to hill -- and wherever it doesn't reach, the shade stays cool.
People are hired to get rid of me. I'm often hiding under your bed. In time I'll always return you see. Bite me and you're surely dead. What am I?
House cleaners are hired to remove dust, which constantly settles again under beds and furniture no matter how often it's cleared; the source's "bite" line is a looser fit for dust, more evocative of the tiny dust mites that live within it.
With sharp edged wit and pointed poise. It can settle disputes without making a noise.
A sword is literally sharp and pointed, and in the age of duels, it could end an argument decisively and silently -- no words needed.
In the evening I'm long, in the morning I'm small; When seen in a ballroom, I'm nothing at all.
Your shadow stretches long in the low light of evening, shrinks small under the high midday sun, and disappears entirely indoors under diffuse lighting like a ballroom.
A flash of light on a grey day. If you're made of metal, you best stay away. What am I?
Lightning appears as a bright flash during a grey, stormy sky, and it's especially dangerous to metal objects, which conduct electricity.
Two legs I've got, Which never walk on ground; But when I go or run, One leg turns round.
A drawing compass has two legs -- one fixed as the pivot and one that swings around it to draw a circle -- neither of which ever touches the ground.
Barren location, infertile and dry; my name means "to leave", it's not hard to see why.
A desert is dry and lifeless, and the word "desert" is also a verb meaning "to leave" or abandon -- fitting for a barren place most life avoids.
My back and belly is wood, and my ribs is lined with leather. I've a hole in my nose and one in my breast, And I'm mostly used in cold weather.
Fireplace bellows have wooden sides joined by a leather bellows-body, with holes (a nozzle "nose" and an intake "breast") to pump air and stoke a fire -- most useful in cold weather.
A house where you are brought, If they find you or get caught. If you cross the government, This is where you will be sent.
Jail is exactly where you're taken if you're caught breaking the law or defying the government's rules.
I scribble forms of the finest letter, And repel elements of the harshest weather. I am an arrow-aimer and a dust-breaker.
A feather (as a quill) can write fine script, birds' feathers shed rain and wind, and feathers are used to fletch arrows for accurate flight and as feather dusters to clean away dust.
I always run but never walk, I sometimes sing but cannot talk, No head on which a hat to place, You always look me in the face.
A clock's hands "run" continuously, some clocks chime a tune, and you check its face -- with no head to wear a hat -- every time you want to know the time.
A mile from end to end, yet as close to as a friend. A precious commodity, freely given. Seen on the dead and on the living. Found on the rich, poor, short and tall, but shared among children most of all.
A smile can seem to stretch "a mile" wide, costs nothing to give, and appears on faces of every kind of person -- though it's children who share theirs most freely.
I have many feathers to help me fly. I have a body and head, but I'm not alive. It is your strength that determines how far I go. You can hold me in your hand, but I'm never thrown. What am I?
An arrow has fletching ("feathers"), a shaft ("body"), and a point ("head"), and the archer's own strength -- not a throw -- is what sends it flying from the bow.
I end and begin the day, Without me, you'll pay. With the aid of sheep, All my benefits you shall reap. If I make you miss class, You shall not pass! What am I?
Sleep bookends every day, and skipping it comes at a cost; "counting sheep" is a classic trick to fall asleep, and oversleeping through class can tank your grades.
Three little letters, a paradox to some. The worse that it is, the better it becomes.
The word "pun" is only three letters, and it's famously true that the cheesier and more groan-worthy a pun is, the more people tend to enjoy it.
Not a burden for its weight and daily carried out, He who takes it wishes it had never come about.
A punishment isn't physically heavy to carry, but it's still a daily burden to bear -- and anyone receiving it certainly wishes they'd never earned it.
I am everywhere. Nothing can compare. Run and hide and I will still be there Because everything is mine to share. No need to seek me out, Though, you may just run out. What am I?
Space surrounds everything and everywhere, so there's no hiding from it -- yet in a practical sense, like closet or storage space, you can still "run out" of it.
My coat keeps me safe From damage that's near. I cause you happiness, sadness, Anticipation and fear. On the outside, I am put under judgment of price. But my insides have far more value That not even MONEY can suffice.
A book's cover ("coat") protects its pages, its price tag judges only the outside, and yet the story within can stir every emotion and holds value far beyond its cover price.
My first is in wield, sever bones and marrow. My second is in blade, forged in cold steel. My third is in arbalest, and also in arrows. My fourth is in power, plunged through a shield. My fifth is in honor, and also in vows My last will put an end to it all.
Reading the letters singled out in each line spells "weapon" -- the riddle references cutting, forged steel blades, crossbows, piercing power, and honor, all traits associated with a weapon.
Tool of thief, toy of queen. Always used to be unseen. Sign of joy, sign of sorrow. Giving all likeness borrowed.
A mask can conceal a thief's identity or adorn a queen's costume, represents comedy and tragedy in theater, and always takes on the borrowed "likeness" of whatever face it depicts.
More precious than gold, but cannot be bought, Can never be sold, only earned if it's sought, If it is broken it can still be mended, At birth it can't start nor by death is it ended.
True friendship cannot be purchased, must be earned, can survive being "broken" (repaired through reconciliation), and can begin later than birth and endure beyond a person's death in memory.
We are emeralds and diamonds, Lost by the moon; Found by the sun, And picked up soon.
Overnight dew forms and sparkles like emeralds and diamonds on grass, then is "found" glinting once the sun rises, and quickly evaporates away soon after.
Shifting, Shifting, Drifting deep. Below me great and mighty cities sleep. Swirling, Scurlling, All around. I'm only where no water will be found.
A desert's sand constantly shifts and drifts in the wind, sometimes burying lost ancient cities beneath it, and by definition it's a place almost entirely without water.
With my pair I should be, But I am usually alone you see, For a monster always eats me. Do you know what I must be?
Socks come in pairs, but one always seems to vanish -- "eaten" by the mythical sock-monster that supposedly lives in washing machines and dryers.
Armless, legless, I crawl around when I'm young. Then the time of changing sleep will come. I will awake like a newborn, flying beast, 'till then on the remains of the dead I feast.
A maggot is a legless fly larva that feeds on decaying matter, then enters a pupal "sleep" before emerging transformed into a flying adult fly.
Early ages the iron boot tread, With Europe at her command. Through time power slipped and fled, 'til the creation of new holy land. Who am I?
Ancient Rome's legions (the "iron boot") once ruled Europe, but its power eventually declined and gave way to the rise of the Vatican, a new "holy land" seated in the same city.
I am a tale in children's minds. I keep their secrets and share them inside. I blur their thoughts into fantasies kept Like a canvas of art or a submarine depth. Though an illusion, it occurs every night; I give them a fantasy, I give them a fright. Nor good or bad, but always nigh' It's interesting to tell. What am I?
A dream is an illusion the mind creates every night, blending imagination and memory into vivid "stories" that can be pleasant or frightening, and are always fun to retell in the morning.
Made of ten but two we make, When assembled others quake, Five apart and we are weak, Five together havoc wreak. What are we?
Ten fingers 'make' two fists; a raised fist can intimidate ('quake'), fingers spread apart are weak individually, but clenched together into a fist they strike with force.
Above all things have I been placed Thus have I, a man disgraced. I describe sunlight or lock But after all, I'm just a rock.
The moon is set high above all things in the night sky and lends its name to describe a soft "moonlit" glow or being "moonstruck" (disgraced/love-mad), yet astronomically it's really just a rocky satellite.
A serpent swam in a silver urn, A golden bird did in its mouth abide, The serpent drank the water, this in turn, Killed the serpent. Then the gold bird died.
In this old riddle, the "serpent" is the burning wick drawing up oil (the "water") from the lamp's silver reservoir, while the "golden bird" is the flame -- once the oil (the serpent's life) runs out, the flame dies too.
When set loose, I fly away, Never so cursed, as when I go astray
A raft that comes untied and is "set loose" drifts away on the current, and nothing is worse for its stranded rider than watching it float off astray.
At the sound of me, men may dream Or stamp their feet At the sound of me, women may laugh Or sometimes weep.
Music can stir up completely different emotions in different listeners -- some drift off dreaming, others tap and stamp along, and others are moved to laughter or tears.
It's in your hand though you cannot feel it. Only you and time can reveal it.
Your fate is said to be "in your hands," yet it's invisible and intangible -- only living through time will show how it actually unfolds.
I go around in circles, But always straight ahead Never complain, No matter where I am led.
A wheel spins in circles yet propels a vehicle straight ahead, and it simply rolls wherever it's steered without any resistance of its own.
Faster than a twitch! Fly with me to the Pitch! With a seeker, a keeper, Or a chaser, a beater, Wizard or witch; I play a mean game of Quidditch. What am I?
In the wizarding sport of Quidditch, players ride flying broomsticks -- fast enough to outrun a twitch -- whether they play seeker, keeper, chaser, or beater.
I'm not man's best friend, I'm their enemy, I can mark your end, yet you do not see me, I am very small, but very tough, If you have me, then you have it rough.
A virus is invisible to the naked eye, can be deadly, and is the opposite of "man's best friend" (a dog) -- it's a tiny but tough enemy of human health.
Within, I clean all that is bad and is old. I make juice that's the color of gold. Should I die, a filter machine would you need assembled to replace me and beans I resemble.
A kidney filters waste from the blood and produces urine ("juice that's the color of gold"); if it fails, a dialysis machine takes over its filtering job, and kidneys are famously bean-shaped.
My sides are firmly laced about, Yet nothing is within; You'll think my head is strange indeed, Being nothing else but skin.
A drum's sides are tightly laced or stretched taut, it is hollow inside, and its "head" is simply a stretched layer of skin or synthetic material.
A natural state, I'm sought by all. Go with me and you shall fall. You do me when you spend, and you use me when you eat to no end. What am I?
Balance is desired by everyone -- lose it and you fall over, you must "balance" a budget when spending, and eating in balance (not to excess) is the healthy goal.
What has roots that nobody sees, Is taller than trees, Up, up it goes, Yet it never grows?
A mountain has "roots" hidden deep underground, towers above even the tallest trees, and though it looks like it keeps rising skyward, it doesn't actually grow.
If your life is cut short, I am not the one to blame. You signed up, and your death was not my aim. Enter our doors; there is so much to see, We just happen to hold the key, To adventure abound And fun to be found Step in our door And see what is in store. What am I?
A 'terror tour' haunted attraction deliberately scares paying visitors for fun; no one is truly harmed, but the thrill of stepping through its doors is the whole appeal.
My step is slow, the snow's my breath I give the ground, a grinding death My marching makes an end of me Slain by sun or drowned in sea.
A glacier creeps forward at a slow, grinding pace, carved from packed snow, and it "dies" -- melts away -- either from sun exposure or as it calves into the sea.
Black we are and much admired, Men seek us if they are tired, We tire the horse, comfort man, Guess this riddle if you can.
Coal is black and sought after when people are cold or tired and need warmth; hauling heavy coal wears out cart horses, while burning it comforts people at home.
I'm a bearer of darkness. I'm feared and often hated. I'm a symbol of the unwanted, An omen that leaves you jaded. Some people can predict my coming, But then you'll forever see Things lurking around corners... Are you sure that it was me?
The Grim Reaper is the classic personification of death -- feared, seen as a dark omen, and blamed for the dread of things lurking unseen, even when the fear may be unfounded.
I am a strange creature, Hovering in the air, Moving from here to there, with a brilliant flare. Some say I sing, but others say I have no voice. So I just hum - as a matter of choice. What am I?
The hummingbird hovers and darts with brilliant flashes of color, and its name comes from the humming sound of its rapid wingbeats rather than any true song.
I'm not the sort that's eaten, I'm not the sort you bake, Don't put me in an oven; I don't taste that great, But when applied correctly, around me you will find, Problems are so simple when my digits come to mind.
The riddle plays on "pie" the food versus "pi" the mathematical constant -- its digits are the key to solving circle and geometry "problems" in math.
Lovely and round, I shine with pale light, Grown in the darkness, a lady's delight.
A pearl forms inside an oyster in the dark depths of the sea, is round and softly luminous, and is prized as jewelry -- "a lady's delight."
Large as a mountain, small as a pea, Endlessly swimming in a waterless sea.
Asteroids range dramatically in size, from mountain-sized bodies to pebble-sized rocks, and drift endlessly through the vacuum ("waterless sea") of space.
A leathery snake, With a stinging bite, I'll stay coiled up, Unless I must fight.
A whip is made of leather and coils up like a snake when not in use, but delivers a stinging "bite" when cracked in a fight or as punishment.
Useful tool for who in darkness dwell. Within you, corrupting like a deadly spell.
Poison is a favored "tool" for those who work in secrecy ("darkness"), and once inside a body it corrupts and kills quietly, almost like a spell.
Deep, deep, do they go. Spreading out as they go. Never needing any air. They are sometimes as fine as hair.
Plant roots grow deep and spread underground, do not need air the way leaves do, and their fine root hairs can be as thin as human hair.
A three-letter word I'm sure you know, I can be on a boat or a sleigh in the snow, I'm pals with the rain and honor a king, But my favorite use is attached to a string. What am I?
"Bow" names the front of a boat and the curved runner-tip of a sleigh, forms a rainbow with rain, is offered as a gesture of respect to a king, and is also the string-holding weapon used to shoot an arrow.
Screaming, soaring seeking sky. Flowers of fire flying high, Eastern art from ancient time, Name me now and solve this rhyme.
Fireworks whistle ("screaming") as they soar into the sky and bloom into "flowers of fire" -- and gunpowder fireworks were indeed invented in ancient China, an "Eastern art."
There's no reason to fear If you see me lurking here Even though I shouldn't exist But few might have missed That I'm not at all real Because nothing can conceal The fact that I'm something That's not at all living What am I?
A ghost is said to be a supernatural presence that, by most beliefs, doesn't actually exist as a living thing, so there is nothing to fear from something not truly real.
I saw a man in white, he looked quite a sight. He was not old, but he stood in the cold. And when he felt the sun, he started to run. Who could he be? Please answer me.
A snowman is dressed all in white (snow), stands out in the cold, and "runs" -- melts and flows away -- the moment the sun warms him.
I cannot be other than what I am, Until the man who made me dies, Power and glory will fall to me finally, Only when he last closes his eyes.
A prince remains a prince until the reigning king ("the man who made me") dies, at which point the crown's power and glory pass to him.
I bubble and laugh And spit water in your face. I am no lady, And I don't wear lace.
A fountain bubbles, gurgles ("laughs"), and can spray or splash water on passersby -- the "no lady, no lace" lines are just playful misdirection to make you think of a person first.
Never ahead, ever behind, yet flying swiftly past; For a child I last forever, for adults I'm gone too fast.
Childhood always feels like it drags on forever when you're young, but adults look back and feel it flew by -- it's never "ahead" of you, only ever a memory "behind" you.
I have joy in bringing two together, but darning my existence! My life hangs by a thread, filled with ups, downs and resistance!
A sewing machine joins fabric pieces together, its needle constantly moves up and down ("ups, downs"), and it literally works with thread -- "darning" and "hangs by a thread" are puns on its stitching function.