New Riddles With Answers - page 3 of 53
What dentists battle on a daily basis.
Cavities, or tooth decay, are the primary problem dentists work to prevent and treat every day.
As I walked along the path I saw something with four fingers and one thumb, but it was not flesh, fish, bone, or fowl.
A glove is shaped like a hand with four fingers and a thumb, but it's made of fabric or leather, not living tissue.
They are the shore's gallant knights.
The coast guard protects the shoreline and rescues those in peril, much like knights defending a realm.
He stands beside the road in a purple cap and tattered green cloak. Those who touch him, curse him.
A thistle has a purple flower head atop rough green, spiky leaves, and its sharp prickles make anyone who touches it wince and curse.
Causes dancing in children when it fills up.
A full bladder makes children do the classic "potty dance" as they try to hold it in.
This sparkling globe can float on water. It is light as a feather, but ten giants can't pick it up.
A soap bubble is nearly weightless and can float on water, yet it's so fragile that even the gentlest grip, let alone ten giants, would pop it instead of picking it up.
By the way, what never moves, wears shoes, sandals and boots, but has no feet?
People wearing shoes, sandals, and boots walk over the sidewalk all day, even though the sidewalk itself never moves and has no feet.
What has a ring but no finger?
A telephone "rings" to signal an incoming call, though it has no finger to wear an actual ring.
You will have this response if you would go salivating at the mention of a cheeseburger.
Pavlov's experiments showed that a learned cue, like the mention of food, can trigger an automatic physical reaction such as salivating, a "pavlovian" response.
If it is absolute, it will corrupt absolutely.
This riddle references the famous saying that power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
I can be written, I can be spoken, I can be exposed, I can be broken.
News can be written in a paper, spoken on air, exposed by investigation, and "broken," as in breaking news.
Two little holes in the side of a hill. Just as you come to the cherry-red mill.
This poetically describes a face: the "hill" is your face, the "two little holes" are your nostrils, and the "cherry-red mill" is your mouth — together framing the nose.
What can your pocket hold while it is completely empty?
An empty pocket can still "hold" a hole, the opening or tear where things fall through, even though there's nothing else inside.
Environmentalists want to keep this from drying.
Wetlands are critical ecosystems that environmentalists work to protect from drying out and disappearing.
Both peaches and a certain couture have this in common.
Peaches are known for being "juicy," which is also the name of the fashion brand Juicy Couture.
I am the red tongue of the earth, that buries cities.
Lava is the glowing red molten rock that can bury entire cities during volcanic eruptions, as at Pompeii.
What can you blow up and keep intact?
Inflating, or "blowing up," a balloon fills it with air without destroying it, unlike "blowing up" something explosively.
What sphinxes employ and players enjoy.
The mythical Sphinx famously posed riddles to travelers, and riddles are also a fun form of wordplay for game players.
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 things in the world on me, yet almost everyone owns me. With me you can make anything. What am I?
Ideas often start as notes or sketches on paper; paper carries valuable things like money and documents, nearly everyone has some, and you can fold, write, or draw on it to make almost anything.
Curtail me thrice, I am a youth; behead me once, a snake; complete, I'm often used, in truth, when certain steps you'd take.
Removing the last three letters of "ladder" leaves "lad" (a youth); removing just the first letter leaves "adder" (a snake); the whole word "ladder" is what you climb, step by step.
The little pink nub that helps rectify mistakes.
The pink rubber nub on the end of a pencil is an eraser, used to correct writing mistakes.
Watches students at the prom to make sure there's no funny business.
Chaperones are adults assigned to supervise students at events like prom to prevent inappropriate behavior.
What is the difference between one yard and two yards?
This is a pun -- a fence is literally what separates (is the difference between) two neighboring yards.
My children are near and far. No matter that, I know where they are. The gift I give them makes their day. But if I were gone they would wander away.
Everything on Earth depends on the sun's light and warmth, its "gift," to survive; without the sun, everything would drift aimlessly in the dark.
What can be broken without being touched?
A promise can be "broken" simply by failing to keep it, with no physical contact involved.
Though easy to spot, when allowed to plume, it is hard to see, when held in a room.
Smoke billowing outside is easy to spot, but when trapped and thinned in a small room it becomes harder to visually pick out in the air.
When the horse strokes the cat, the wood begins to sing.
A violin bow is strung with horsehair, drawn across strings historically made of catgut, producing music from the instrument's wooden body.
What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in one thousand years?
The letter M appears once in "minute," twice in "moment," but not at all in "one thousand years."
By Thursday you're over this.
Wednesday is nicknamed "hump day," the midpoint of the workweek, so by Thursday you're already past, or "over," the hump.
I am always hungry, I must always be fed. The finger I lick will soon turn red.
Fire must be continuously "fed" fuel to keep burning, and touching, or "licking," it will burn your finger red.
Bold are the first; true are the second; playful are the third; clever are the fourth; forceful are the fifth.
The initials of the five described traits, Bold, Real, Adventurous, Clever, and Vigorous, spell out the word BRAVE, which the source gives as the answer.
Without it sounds would not be there, but through it music's ring is clear. It is a symbol for your woe, but only if your name's Van Gogh.
We hear ("music's ring is clear") through our ears, and an ear became a symbol of tragedy for Vincent van Gogh, who famously cut off part of his own ear.
Responsible for the toupee industry.
A receding hairline or bald spot is exactly what drives people to buy toupees to cover it up.
I am what brings things together. Without me everything you see would be a total mass of debris everywhere. What am I?
Gravity holds matter together into planets, stars, and everyday objects; without it, matter would simply drift apart into scattered debris.
Every team needs one of these before hitting the field. Get pumped!
A pep talk is a motivational speech coaches give teams before a game to get them energized.
What happens every second, minute, month, and century, but not every hour, week, year, or decade?
The letter N appears in "second," "minute," "month," and "century," but not in "hour," "week," "year," or "decade."
It is the time in your life when you simultaneously know everything and nothing at an instance.
Teenagers are famously seen as feeling like they know everything about life while still having so much left to learn, a case of knowing "everything and nothing" at once.
Brings celebrities into your home every night.
Television broadcasts bring actors, musicians, and other celebrities into viewers' living rooms nightly.
What is black when it is clean and white when it is dirty?
A chalkboard is black when freshly cleaned but looks white and chalky when covered in dust from writing.
Everyone loses us as a child, and neglecting us makes us holy. What are we?
Children lose their baby teeth naturally, and neglecting to brush your teeth leads to cavities, which is a pun on "holey" and "holy."
U always follows me but I am rarely seen. What am I?
In English spelling, the letter Q is almost always followed by U, yet Q itself appears far less often than other letters.
My first is an insect; my second is a border; my whole puts the face in a tuneful disorder.
"Ant" (insect) plus "hem" (a border, or edge, of cloth) forms "anthem," and singing along to a rousing anthem can twist your face into odd, tuneful expressions.
I am wood that is neither hard, straight, nor crooked. What am I?
Sawdust is made from wood but, once cut into fine particles, is no longer hard, straight, or crooked like a plank or branch.
He prefers to travel on vines and pal around with gorillas.
Tarzan, the fictional jungle hero, famously swings through the jungle on vines and lives alongside gorillas.
If you happen to wear one of these warm garments around, you might get doused in red paint.
Animal-rights activists have historically thrown red paint on people wearing fur coats to protest the use of animal fur.
I am so simple that I can only point. Yet I guide men all over the world.
A compass needle can only point, toward magnetic north, yet that simple function is enough to guide travelers anywhere on Earth.
A slow, solemn square-dance of warriors feinting. One by one they fall, warriors fainting, thirty-two on sixty-four.
Chess has 32 pieces moving across a 64-square board, poetically described as warriors 'falling' (being captured) one by one.
Has four legs, but is not alive.
A chair has "legs" like an animal but is an inanimate object.
What goes round and round the wood but never goes into the wood?
Tree bark wraps entirely around the wood of the trunk without ever penetrating into the wood itself.
Royalty whose burgers are broiled and whose bed is large.
Burger King flame-broils its burgers, and a "king-size" bed is the largest common mattress size -- both use the word "king."
These are knee-length formal wear for men popular in the highlands.
Kilts are the traditional knee-length garment worn by men in the Scottish Highlands.
What is drawn by everyone without pen or pencil?
Everyone "draws" (breathes in) breath continuously, playing on the double meaning of "draw."
People in love are often bound to this.
People in love often become "bound" -- legally and emotionally -- through marriage.
Where on earth do the ways always blow from the south?
At the North Pole, every direction you face is south, so any wind necessarily blows from the south.
What needs to be taken from you before you have it?
A picture (photograph) must be "taken" of you before you can "have" a copy of it, playing on the double meaning of "take."
In addition to the dental benefits, having one of these hanging out of your mouth will make you look like a wiseguy.
Classic gangster ("wiseguy") movie imagery includes a toothpick dangling from the mouth; toothpicks also have the practical dental benefit of cleaning teeth.
An accessory sported by many construction workers.
Construction workers wear hard hats to protect their heads from falling debris; it's the classic accessory associated with the job.
A house of wood in a hidden place. Built without nails or glue. High above the earthen ground. It holds pale gems of blue.
A bird builds its nest from twigs high in a tree without any tools, and it can hold pale blue eggs like a robin's.
Hearing something unexpected or touching a live wire can have this effect.
Both a surprising piece of news and an electrical shock can be described as 'shocking.'
What do rich people have that can be changed into the law.
This is a loose fit in the source material -- a sharper pun would be 'bill' (a dollar bill / a legislative bill that becomes law), but the stated answer, 'wealth,' points to how the wealthy can shape legislation.
What makes my left hand my right?
A mirror image reverses left and right, so your left hand appears to be a right hand in the reflection.
With hands that can't hold and eyes that can't see, she's cherished by some but has no real family. Who is she?
A doll has hands and painted eyes that don't actually function, yet children treasure it as if it were a real companion.
Four holes, one going in and three coming out; When you are going in you are out and when you are coming out you are in.
Pulling on a shirt (going in) leaves you not yet dressed (out), while finishing (coming out through the neck and sleeve holes) means you're now properly dressed (in it).
Nothing specific, but more than a few. This many clustered, together will do.
'A bunch' vaguely means more than a few of something gathered together, without specifying an exact number.
A blind superhero and Evel Knievel's profession.
Daredevil is a blind Marvel superhero, and 'daredevil' is also the term for a fearless stunt performer like Evel Knievel.
What work of writing can one never finish?
An autobiography covers your own life story, which isn't over until you die -- so it can never truly be finished while you're alive to write it.
Vikings use this for warmth.
Vikings historically wore animal furs and pelts to stay warm in cold climates.
Perfect with a head, perfect without a head; Perfect with a tail, perfect without a tail; Perfect with either, neither, or both.
The source's answer likely alludes to historical wigs, some styled with a tail (queue) and some without, and worn as full head-coverings or partial hairpieces -- a fairly obscure, loose fit compared to most riddles here.
I am found by the ocean and offer you a bed. Whether you want me or not, to your house I am led?
Beach sand provides a place to lay down ('a bed'), and it inevitably tags along home in shoes, towels, and bags whether you like it or not.
Fred and Wilma's child, named after a stone.
Pebbles Flintstone is the daughter of Fred and Wilma in The Flintstones, named after small stones.
They are toothy nocturnal immortals.
Vampires are traditionally depicted with fangs, active only at night, and unable to die of old age.
A salutation from the islands.
'Aloha' is the Hawaiian greeting, fitting for an island salutation.
A bird done at every meal.
'Swallow' is both a bird and the act of swallowing food, done at every meal.
My first is in fish but not in snail. My second is in rabbit but not in tail. My third is in up but not in down. My fourth is in tiara but not in crown. My fifth is in tree you plainly see. My whole a food for you and me.
The letters spell F (fish, not snail), R (rabbit, not tail), U (up, not down), I (tiara, not crown), and T (tree), together spelling 'fruit.'
A path between high natural masses; remove the first letter to get a path between man-made masses.
A 'valley' runs between mountains, and removing its first letter leaves 'alley,' a narrow passage between buildings.
It is a desert oasis where money magically appears or disappears from your pocket.
Las Vegas is a city built in the Nevada desert, famous for casinos where fortunes are won and lost.
These women make princesses scrub floors and sometimes try to poison them with apples.
In fairy tales like Cinderella and Snow White, the wicked stepmother forces the heroine into servitude or tries to have her poisoned.
Even the oldest ones can be described as current, but a little mainstream.
A river always has a 'current' (flow of water) and a 'mainstream' (main channel) -- a clever double meaning even for the oldest rivers.
It is a common and favored clothing material among biker gangs and superheroes.
Leather jackets and outfits are iconic to both motorcycle riders and many comic-book superheroes.
Good for telling the future or racking up in a game.
A Magic 8-Ball answers yes/no fortune questions, and the '8 ball' is also a numbered ball racked up in a game of pool.
I live in water. If you cut my head I'm at your door. If you cut my tail I'm fruit. If you cut both I'm with you.
'Pearl' forms in water inside an oyster; drop its first letter for 'earl' (a nobleman), drop its last letter for 'pear' (a fruit), and drop both to get 'ear,' which is always with you.
What speeds on a track but isn't in a race and has a whistle to announce its steady pace?
A train runs along tracks at a steady speed and blows its whistle, without competing in any race.
I am bushy headed but have no air. No moisture will not enter my skin, but it's good at keeping it in. What am I?
A tree's canopy of leaves looks bushy, and its bark is a barrier that helps keep moisture locked inside the trunk.
I help to mature your spirits. When moistened I fulfill my purpose. Should I dry out, my task will fail and my quarry may be worthless.
A wine cork must stay moist to keep its seal tight; if it dries out and shrinks, the wine ('spirits') aging inside can spoil.
Who plays when he works and works when he plays?
An actor's job is to 'play' a role, so performing on stage is both their work and, in a sense, their play.
Someone who is enthusiastic about tending the garden is said to have this appendage.
'Having a green thumb' is the common phrase for someone who is skilled at gardening.
They have not flesh, nor feathers, nor scales, nor bone. Yet they have fingers and thumbs of their own. What are they?
Gloves are made of fabric or leather, not living tissue, yet they're shaped with individual fingers and a thumb.
If you give it a tug, you can sit in the dark. Tug it again and a light will spark. What is it?
A pull-string lamp turns off with one tug, plunging the room into darkness, and turns back on with another.
The more I lie, the more people trust me. Who am I?
This is a cynical joke about politicians: the more they lie convincingly, the more voters seem to believe them.
What surrounds the world, yet dwells within a thimble?
Outer space surrounds the entire world, yet the small pocket of empty space inside a sewing thimble is also, technically, space.
Perhaps the most important adjective for ballerinas and princesses.
Both ballerinas and princesses are prized for moving and carrying themselves gracefully.
A tower at the root of all confusion.
In the Bible, the Tower of Babel is where humanity's single language was confused into many different tongues.
It has no legs to dance, it has no lungs to breathe, it has no life to live or die, and yet it does all three.
Flickering flames seem to 'dance,' fire needs oxygen as if it 'breathes,' and it can be 'born' and 'die out' despite having no actual life.
A person's greatest asset.
Intelligence is often considered a person's most valuable and enduring resource, more so than wealth or looks.
Some keep it in a dumpster while others keep it in their trunk.
'Junk' can be thrown into a dumpster, or, as in the phrase 'trunk junk,' kept stashed away in a car's trunk.
Soldiers fight it but never changes.
Soldiers fight in wars, but the grim nature of war itself has remained fundamentally unchanged throughout history.
In buckles or lace, they help set the pace. The farther you go, the thinner they grow.
Shoes are fastened with buckles or laces and help you keep a walking pace, while their soles wear thinner the more ground you cover.
Sometimes you'll find me hard and cold, other times I'm hard to hold, always present in the air, if I'm ever gone, beware.
Water can freeze into hard ice, slip through your hands as liquid, and exist as vapor in the air -- and life is impossible without it.
It is an arctic double breasted formal wear.
The clue's classic form usually points to a tuxedo-like penguin; the source instead answers 'snowsuit,' referencing a heavily layered cold-weather outfit, which is a looser fit for 'formal wear.'
Where humans breathe liquid.
Before birth, a baby floats in amniotic fluid inside the womb and effectively 'breathes' liquid rather than air.