RD.COM Humor Riddles
Molly Pennington, PhDUpdated: Sep. 30, 2022
Who doesn't love brain teasers and challenging riddles? If you think you’re already a pro at solving tricky riddles, put yourself to the test with these and find out! (Don't worry, answers are included.)
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Ready to be riddled?
Riddles are language brain teasers that use lateral thinking in order to come to a conclusion. They run the gamut from simple and easy to solve to serious brain-busters—and we’ve compiled several of the latter for your riddling enjoyment. The major head-scratchers in this list might take some big-time brain power to solve—but it sure feels great when you figure one out! Looking for some other riddles to crack? Try these brain games, trick questions, easy riddles, riddles for adults,or riddles for kids.
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Riddle: Say what?
I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?
This riddle relies on tricking you into thinking about ears and a mouth. You get a tiny hint about wind to encourage you to think broadly and avoid the literal.
Answer: An echo. Try solving these animal riddles—they’re serious mind benders!
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Riddle: Match game
You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I’m quick when I’m thin and slow when I’m fat. The wind is my enemy.
Hard riddles want to trip you up, and this one works by hitting you with details from every angle. The big hint comes at the end with the wind. What does wind threaten most? You have to stretch your brain to come up with something tiny and unexpected.
Answer: A candle.
RELATED:Math Riddles Only the Smartest Can Get Right
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Riddle: Hidden treasure
I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?
This riddle aims to confuse you and get you to focus on the things that are missing: the houses, trees, and fish. You might guess you need to think about something inanimate.
Answer: A map. Don’t forget to bookmark these Thanksgiving riddles and see how many you can solve.
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Riddle: Spring ahead
What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
This riddle works by trying to get you to think about theweather or holidays or other events linked to a calendar. To get this one right you actually need to get super literal.
Answer: The letter “R.” By the way, can you solve this viral riddle about Teresa’s daughter?
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Riddle: Cruising along
You see a boat filled with people. It has not sunk, but when you look again you don’t see a single person on the boat. Why?
Hard riddles like this brainteaser are tricky because they seem to invite straightforward, logical thinking. You may come up with answers like “they all went below deck” or “jumped overboard.” But you need to focus on the word “single” and think about its other meanings.
Answer: All the people were married.
RELATED: Long Riddles to Give Your Brain a Workout
Riddle: Wordplay
What word in the English language does the following: the first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four letters signify a great, while the entire world signifies a great woman. What is the word?
This is hard because it gets you thinking about gender and the ways they’re different. You have to think of one word that holds the others. It’s easy when you think about it!
Answer: Heroine
Can you solve this riddle about Mr. Smith having four daughters? It’s trickier than you think!
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Riddle: Good with numbers
What English word has three consecutive double letters?
This one is pretty impossible but use the facts you know about English to get on track. First, think of words with double vowels. And you must know this is probably going to be a compound word. The first and last letters of those combined words will form one set of double letters. Now, just wrack your brain!
Answer: Bookkeeper.
Let’s see how long it takes you to solve this “if I had four eggs” riddle—don’t worry if you can’t solve it right away.
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Riddle: Violent delights
A woman shoots her husband, then holds him underwater for five minutes. Next, she hangs him. Right after, they enjoy a lovely dinner. Explain.
This puzzle aims to throw you off balance with shock. But pay attention to the first verb, “shoots.” What else can you shoot with besides a gun? There lies the key to the whole thing.
Answer: She took a picture of him and developed it in her darkroom. Don’t forget to bookmark these free printable brain teasers that really bust your brain.
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Riddle: The write stuff
I come from a mine and get surrounded by wood always. Everyone uses me. What am I?
The idea of a mine might lead you to coal or a diamond. The wood detail is your best hint. This riddle is a toughie, but wood might lead you to figure it out.
Answer: Pencil lead.
RELATED:Short Riddles That Will Stump You
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Riddle: Sibling squad
A girl has as many brothers as sisters, but each brother has only half as many brothers as sisters. How many brothers and sisters are there in the family?
This trick question gives you a bunch of ways to get totally confused if you try to figure out the answer. The key is to keep it simple. Be sure to count the sisters and brothers in total and in terms of their own number of siblings. Then the answer gets a little easier.
Answer: Four sisters and three brothers.
RELATED: Hardest Tongue Twisters in the English Language
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Riddle: Say my name
What disappears as soon as you say its name?
Hard riddles like this one require you to think logically or in a straightforward way. At the same time, it’s employing a conceptual metaphor with the notion of something disappearing. The answer seems so simple—but not until you’ve figured it out! Before that moment, it’s got your brain in a twist.
Answer: Silence
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Riddle: Math time
How can the number four be half of five?
You might start doing some elaborate fractions but hard riddles like this are sometimes much more about wordplay than crunching the numbers. Think literally and the answer may just appear right before your eyes.
Answer: IV, the Roman numeral for four, which is “half” (two letters) of the word five.
RELATED:Riddles for Teens
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Riddle: Find the key
I have keys, but no locks and space, and no rooms. You can enter, but you can’t go outside. What am I?
This one tricks you by having you think about space that can be entered. Then it gets you to merge that with a space without rooms where you can’t leave. You might even be hung up on those keys. That’s where you should linger. Think about that word. What are some other meanings of “keys”—especially those that don’t require locks?
Answer: A keyboard
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Riddle: Beachy keen
What gets wet while drying?
This one has a simple answer even though it stumps most people who try to figure it out. Wet and dry seem like they always have to be opposite, so you might get tripped up. Think of an object that can, ahem (hint!) absorb or be both.
Answer: A towel.
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Riddle: Literally speaking
How many letters are in the alphabet?
Some hard riddles trip you up by sending you to the easiest answer first. You got this one easy, right? Twenty-six—if you’re talking English alphabet. Not so fast. Take another look and get super simple and straightforward.
Answer: There are 11 letters in the words “the alphabet”
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Riddle: Family affair
A is the brother of B. B is the brother of C. C is the father of D. So how is D related to A?
Riddles try to send your train of thought off in scattered directions. Try to stay clear and just follow the logic. Using letters as placeholders for names like “Uncle Bob” or “Aunt Linda” makes straightforward relationships seem difficult.
Answer: A is D’s uncle.
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Riddle: Line up
What are the next three letters in this combination? OTTFFSS
This super hard question asks you to determine the relationship between the letters. They seem random: a vowel, two consonants from the tail of the alphabet, two from the front, then two more. What could they mean? What’s the pattern? In this case, think of common strings of words to get you closer. But it still seems almost impossible to hit on the solution.
Answer: E N T (Each letter represents the first letter in the written numbers: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, etc.).
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Riddle: Yours or mine
This belongs to you, but everyone else uses it.
The key to this riddle is to think of anything else but an actual object. Use your critical thinking skills to get conceptual on this one.
Answer: Your name.
RELATED:Bible Riddles
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Riddle: Color test
First, think of the color of the clouds. Next, think of the color of snow. Now, think of the color of a bright full moon. Now answer quickly what do cows drink?
Some riddles work by getting your brain to go through a series of associations so you get locked in and can’t think of alternatives. Be careful with this riddle. Is the question really connected to that color you were asked to think about? Most folks say that cows drink milk because they’re fixated on the color white.
Answer: Water.
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Riddle: Number line
How is seven different from the rest of the numbers between one and ten?
The math nerds may start thinking about prime numbers or whether seven is divisible by this or that or if it can be cubed and all that. Avoid thinking about math altogether and think about the literal quality of the words that signify the numbers. Remember that riddles play with the differences between the literal and the conceptual, or the straightforward and the complex. For this riddle, think simple, but pivot to a paradigm separate from numbers.
Answer: Seven has two syllables and the other numbers only have one syllable.
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Riddle: Out to lunch
First you eat me, then you get eaten. What am I?
Hard riddles get you used to thinking about metaphors and concepts. Not this one; keep it simple and literal to get to the solution. But ask yourself who or what the “you” is.
Answer: A fishhook.
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Riddle: Time bomb
What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
Again, riddles like this often have you crunching the numbers and stretching your brain cells thinking all about time and the way it works. By now, you might’ve figured out that number riddles rarely involve math.
Answer: The letter “M.”
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Riddle: Easy peasy
Which word in the dictionary is always spelled incorrectly?
Hard riddles obsess over wordplay and word games. This one has such an easy answer that it trips you up by getting you to think in a complex way. Some riddles require that. Not this one.
Answer: “Incorrectly.”
RELATED:Only 2 Percent of People Can Solve Einstein’s Riddle—Can You?
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Riddle: Hand in hand
What can you hold in your right hand, but never in your left hand?
Take it slow and easy with this one. Perhaps if take a look at your own hands, that might give you a clue based on logic.
Answer: Your left hand. Can you solve this riddle about someone’s mother having four sons?
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Riddle: Daddy issues
How can you physically stand behind your father while he is standing behind you?
For this kind of super tricky riddle, you might do best to actually map out the physical relationship in your head—if you can! This riddle works by tricking you into thinking about impossibilities.
Answer: You are standing back-to-back with your father.
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Riddle: Up and down
What is able to go up a chimney when down but unable to go down a chimney when up?
Try to think out of the box for this one. It may not be something you would normally find in your chimney.
Answer:An umbrella. Try to solve these love riddles all romantics will enjoy.
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Riddle: What’s up, Doc?
Three different doctors said that Paul is their brother yet Paul claims he has no brothers. Who is lying?
Visualize your family tree. That may help with this one.
Answer: No one is lying because the three doctors are Paul’s sisters.
If you enjoyed being stumped by these riddles, test your smarts with these viral riddles you’ll want to share with everyone you know.
Originally Published: July 16, 2021
Molly Pennington, PhD
Molly is a writer and collage artist with a PhD in film and cultural studies from the University of Pittsburgh. Her professional astrology services and artwork are available at Baroque Moon Astrology. She covers the zodiac, books, movies, TV and culture for Reader’s Digest, and loves to talk about all the ways we make meaning.
FAQs
Which is the hardest riddle? ›
I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I? This riddle relies on tricking you into thinking about ears and a mouth.
What goes from Z to A? ›If the English alphabet goes from A to Z, what goes from Z to A? Zebra.
Which brain teaser is hardest? ›- If I am holding a bee, what do I have in my eye?
- A sundial has the fewest moving parts of any timepiece. ...
- How can 8+8=4?
- If you have me, you want to share me. ...
- I am heavy and hard to pick up, but backwards I am not. ...
- A cowboy rides into town on Friday, stays for three days, and leaves on Friday.
Riddle: What is there one of in every corner and two of in every room? Answer: The letter O. 2.
What has 15 diamonds but not rich? ›What am I? Answer: A candle. Riddle: What has fifteen diamonds but isn't rich? Answer: A deck of cards.
What can fly without wings? ›The answer to the “what flies without wings” riddle is “time”.
What flower has to lips? ›Tulips (Two Lips) For Lovers Flower Bouquet.
What gets wet while drying? ›The answer to the riddle is “a towel”.
It is a bath towel because the more it dries, the wetter it becomes. When the towel is used to dry other things or people, it keeps on getting wetter as it keeps absorbing the water.
The correct answer to the given statement is light. We can see light and it fills the room.
What has 21 eyes but Cannot see? ›a die(dice) is the answer, it has six faces but dont wear makeup, but 21 eyes but cannot see, that is die.
What rock does not roll? ›
What rocks but does not roll? Answer: A rocking chair.
What gets bigger and bigger? ›The answer to this riddle is just one word. The correct answer is 'HOLE'. A hole in any kind of substance, may it be cloth, wall, wood or anything else, will only get bigger and bigger if you keep taking away more from it.
Which room can you not enter? ›Riddle: What room can no one enter? Answer: The letter M.
What was red and black instead? ›The answer for What Once Was Red Is Black Instead? Riddle is “A match.”
What is 3/7 of a chicken? ›The city Chicago has 3/7 of a chicken and 2/3 of a cat and 1/2 of a goat. "Chicken" is the word which has seven letters. Extract the word as per given fraction - 3/7 = "CHI".
What has 13 hearts but can't love? ›Q: What has 13 hearts, but no other organs? ... ... A: A deck of playing cards.
What has 88 and can't open a door? ›A piano has 88 keys and they cannot open a door. Hence, the correct answer to the riddle is a piano.
What is a poor diamond? ›A diamond with a poor clarity grade has multiple inclusions, which directly affects sparkle. Because inclusions hinder the refraction and return of light, the lower the clarity grade, the cloudier the diamond will appear.
Which Cannot fly at all? ›So it may seem a bit strange that included in the more than 10,000 species of birds in the world today is a group that literally cannot fly or sing, and whose wings are more fluff than feather. These are the ratites: the ostrich, emu, rhea, kiwi and cassowary.
What can grow but is not alive? ›I am not alive, but I grow; I don't have lungs, but I need air; I don't have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I? Scroll down to find the answer. Answer: Fire.
What has a head but no hair? ›
A Pin Has a Head, But Has No Hair.
What flowers make blind? ›The giant hogweed is a plant that can cause significant physical harm, including third degree burns or even blindness.
What flower is Cinderella? ›Asclepias incarnata 'Cinderella' is a genuine star whose unusually dense clusters of pale pink flowers open from dark pink buds. The vanilla-scented flowers last well in water and attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Plants bloom best in full sun but can tolerate a bit of shade.
What has teeth but Cannot eat? ›What has teeth but cannot eat? Comb.
What can break without touching? ›Explanation: A Promise" can be break, even if we never pick it up or touch it. Given: What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it? A Promise is a correct answer to this riddle.
What has face but can't smile? ›The answer to What has hands and a face, but can't hold anything or smile Riddle is "Clock".
Where do fish keep their money? ›The answer for Where do fish keep their money? Riddle is “Riverbank.”
What can run but can't walk? ›talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but. never sleeps? Answer: A River!
What is out will not get in? ›Riddle: I turn once, what is out will not get in.
What am I? Answer: A key.
The answer is a needle!
What is at the end of Rainbow? ›
What is at the end of the rainbow? At the end of the rainbow is a pot of gold.
What has a tongue but Cannot? ›The answer to this riddle is a shoe. This is actually part of a larger riddle the complete riddle is as follows, “what has a tongue but cannot talk gets around a lot but cannot walk”. The Tongue being referred to is the flap part of the shoe that protects the foot from the laces causing any abrasions.
What rock Cannot be broken? ›Igneous rocks are formed from molten rock called magma. They are mostly crystalline (made up of interlocking crystals) and usually very hard to break.
What rocks can water not pass? ›The least permeable rocks are unfractured intrusive igneous and metamorphic rocks, followed by unfractured mudstone, sandstone, and limestone.
What is the weakest rock? ›Rock flow depends on temperature, water and rock type: quartz is the weakest mineral.
What gets wetter? ›Explanation: A towel is a fabric absorbent that is used for drying or wiping a body or a surface. So, as the towel dries the more, it gets wetter. Hence the answer to the riddle is the Towel.
What gets bigger as it dries? ›Answer: A coin.
What bird can lift the heaviest weight? ›This is Expert Verified Answer
The bird that can lift the heaviest weight is the crane.
Answer to the riddle is Palm.
What ends in W but has no end? ›THE WORD RAINBOW ENDS WITH 'W' BUT A RAINBOW HAS NO END.
Can a room have no windows? ›
Depending on where you live, the legal requirements for a room to be classified as a bedroom can vary, but generally, they need two mean of egress, heating and cooling, and certain square footage. What is this? You can still use a windowless room as a bedroom, however.
What letter begins and ends with E? ›This is an Expert-Verified Answer
An ENVELOPE is a word that begins and ends with an E and only has one letter. The given question is an interesting riddle in which we have to think logically. Sometimes, logical questions are not so difficult just logical thinking is necessary to find out the answer.
Riddle: What word starts with E and ends with E but only has one letter in it? What word starts with E and ends with E but only has one letter in it? Scroll down to find the answer. Answer - An envelope.
What kind of room has no doors or windows? ›The answer is: A mushroom.
Does 7 have a half? ›Answer and Explanation:
Half of 7 would be 3 1/2, or in decimal form, 3.5. Finding 'half' of a number is the same as dividing by 2.
Therefore, it is a third of an amount. Thirds are calculated by dividing by 3. For example: One third of 24 =1/3 of 24 = 24/3 = 8.
What can fill a room without taking space? ›Air and light both of them can fill the whole room in a fraction of seconds and doesn't even take any space. we can move in room and put other objects in the room easily without any effort even when air or light is present in it , which proves that it doesn't take space.
What is the Harvard riddle? ›'I turn your pancakes brown, and I make your champagne bubble. If you squeeze me, I'll pop. If you'll look at me, you'll pop.
What has bark but Cannot bite? ›Explanation: Answer to the riddle is a bank.
What can you touch but can't throw? ›The thing that one can catch but cannot throw is a Cold.
What can break but not fall? ›
What falls but never breaks? Shadow. What breaks but never falls? Chemical Bonds.
What has a head but? ›It is just given in simple words and can find the answer for this riddle easily. Here, a coin has two part called head and tail but there is no any part called body so answer is coin.
What has a head but not a body? ›What has a head and a tail, but no body? - from brainfans ... Answer: A coin... Tricky riddles, Riddles, Brain teasers.
What is the riddle 5 sisters? ›Riddle: There are five sisters in a room
There are five sisters in a room. All five of them are busy. Ann is reading, Rose is cooking, Lorraine is playing chess and Mary is doing laundry. What is the fifth sister doing?
The answer to this riddle is a shoe. This is actually part of a larger riddle the complete riddle is as follows, “what has a tongue but cannot talk gets around a lot but cannot walk”. The Tongue being referred to is the flap part of the shoe that protects the foot from the laces causing any abrasions.
What kind of dog but never bites? ›The Safest Dog Breeds Include Labrador Retrievers and Beagles. According to the American Kennel Club, the dog breeds listed below are the 10 least-aggressive breeds that make the best companions for families and children.
What has 4 feet but Cannot walk? ›What has four legs and one back but can't walk? Chair.
What can but Cannot walk? ›The answer to the riddle is water, a river. A river can run but not walk.
What cruel person would sit on a baby? ›1. What cruel person would sit on a baby? The answer is babysitter.
Who can smell without having a nose? ›Birds do not have a nose.
What made of wood but Cannot? ›
Paper. It is made up of wood but cannot be cut using the saw. What is a riddle?