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Riddles for kids are widely considered to be not only entertaining but also a great learning opportunity. However, when it comes to riddles for adults, their developmental value is often overlooked.
A riddle can be defined as a verbal puzzle that is presented in the form of a question or a statement. Usually, the answer lies in the double meaning of certain words, different interpretations, or your ability to think unconventionally. It has been proven through research that puzzles of all sorts are very beneficial for the brain at any age, as they help us keep an agile mind, exercise critical thinking, and stay sharp.
Of course, adult brain teasers tend to be more complex because the life experience we’ve accumulated while growing up enables us to see hidden layers that will help solve the riddle. And while some easy riddles exist more for fun than to exercise your brain cells, there are some hard riddles too that will take quite some thinking before you can find the answer.
We have collected some riddles of various levels of difficulty. Try solving them all yourself before peeking at the answers. You could even hold a riddle game with your friends and see who can solve the most riddles.
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#1
What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
Garth Bock 3 years ago
If Silence is Golden... I'd be a rich man if my partner would let me get a word in edgewise !
RELATED:
#2
What can you put in a bucket to make it weigh less?
Jude Kay 3 years ago
It will only weigh less if the hole takes part of the material out of the bucket. I don't think I explained that well.
Juliane Maxwell 3 years ago
Lol, the bucket will weigh the same with or without the hole ☺️ at the same time, if the hole in the bucket is near the rim and you fill with h2o, still heavy. Hahahaha 🤣
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Mel Kemper 3 years ago
The riddle goes What is weightless Can be seen by the naked eye And if you put it in the barrel it will make the barrel lighter Dr vink told it best on s1ep1 are you afraid of the dark
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
This is an old one. I heard it when I was a kid about 40=plus years ago.
#3
The person who made it doesn’t need it. The person who bought it doesn’t want it. The person who needs it doesn’t know it. What is it?
Garth Bock 3 years ago (edited)
Why is a cemetery so noisy ? Because of all the coffin . ( "coughing" Dad joke)
#4
I weaken all men for hours each day. I show you strange visions while you are away. I take you by night, by day take you back, None suffer to have me, but do from my lack. What am I?
Mónica Smith 3 years ago
Every time you’re unconscious, whether asleep or not you’re alive. What is your point? 🤷🏽♀️
Load More Replies... Mónica Smith 3 years ago
This is so incredibly poorly written. First line - and the women? Children? 🤦🏽♀️ Third line - whilst away? Umm, no, you dream when sleep HAS you, not when you’re “away” from it. Fourth line - makes no sense. Sleep doesn’t take you back during the day… This riddle or poem or whatever is just asinine.
#5
What word is pronounced the same if you take away four of its five letters?
#6
What thrives when you feed it, but dies when you water it?
#7
What is one thing that all people, regardless of their politics or religion, have to agree is between heaven and earth?
the 22nd pilot 3 years ago
in the phrase "heaven and earth" the word "and" comes in between the word "heaven" and the word "earth"
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#8
I do not speak, cannot hear or say anything, but I will always tell the truth. What am I?
Garth Bock 3 years ago
Mirror mirror on the wall.. tell me a lie so you won't fall. Broken pieces will be your fate. So tell me how I look so great !
#9
What starts with T, ends with T, and has T in it?
Joss 3 years ago
They're all mostly right. A tea kettle is what you boil the water in. A teapot is where you put the hot water together with the tea leaves and let the magic happen :) Sometimes in restaurants they'll give you a tiny teapot of hot water and an assortment of tea bags and most people put them together in the cup rather than the pot, but aside from cursing the kitchen staff with stains in tiny, hard to reach spots inside the kitty bitty pots, there's no reason you can't steep it properly in the little pot.
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#10
What has a bottom at the top?
#11
Turn me on my side, and I am everything. Cut me in half and I am nothing. What am I?
#12
You walk into a room with a rabbit holding a carrot, a pig eating slop, and a chimp holding a banana. Which animal in the room is the smartest?
#13
What kind of ship has two mates but no captain?
#15
A plane crashed on the border of Spain and Portugal. Where were the survivors buried?
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė 2 years ago
Answer: They weren't — you're not supposed to bury survivors.
#16
What month of the year has 28 days in it?
#17
If your uncle’s sister is not your aunt, then who is she to you?
Sarah 3 years ago
That is, to say,the sister of the person married to your aunt.
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WordiGirl 3 years ago
An uncle is a brother of one of your parents. If your parents have several siblings, they'll be your aunts and uncles. The only one of these siblings that aren't your aunts and uncles would be your direct parents.
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#18
What belongs to you, but is used by everyone you meet?
Mónica Smith 3 years ago
Time, patience, kindness, tolerance, sense of humour… this is a dumb riddle. 🤦🏽♀️
#19
What word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?
#20
What can you catch, but not throw?
#21
Two people are born at the same moment, but they don't have the same birthdays. How?
Joss 3 years ago
Say John was born at 10pm Pacific time on the west coast of the united states. At the same moment, Joe was being born on the east coast of the United States, but since they're in the eastern time zone, which is three hours ahead of the Pacific time zone, Joe is born at 1am and so for him, the calendar at the time he's born will be on the day after the one in the room where John was born even though their moms are both giving the final heave at the same moment. Since your birthday is whatever day you're technically born in, a baby born at 12:01am on a Tuesday will have that Tuesday considered their birthday even if most of the labor happened Monday. So Joe and John have different birthdays because one was born after midnight and the other before.
Load More Replies... #22
I have only two words but thousands of letters. What am I?
#23
You can you hold me in your right hand, but never in your left hand. What am I?
#24
What does nobody want, yet nobody wants to lose?
#25
What breaks yet never falls, and what falls yet never breaks?
#26
What has 13 hearts but no other organs?
#27
What gets shorter as it grows older?
#28
What word contains 26 letters, but has only three syllables?
Garth Bock 3 years ago
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious came in second before Superciliouspontification and the town in Wales . Llanfairpwllgwyngllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiligogogoch .
#29
What do you lose the moment you share it?
#30
I am harder to catch the faster you run. What am I?
#31
I have many keys, but I can't open a single lock. What am I?
#32
If you throw a blue stone into the Red Sea, what will it become?
#33
What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
Amber V 3 years ago
Incorrect... Because the word literally becomes shorter
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#34
They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they?
#35
I have keys, but no locks. I have space, but no room. You can enter, but you cannot go outside. What am I?
#36
What is full of holes, but still holds water?
#37
You see a boat filled with people, yet there isn't a single person on board. How is that possible?
#38
I taste better than I smell. What am I?
#39
I can be hot or cold. I can run and be still. I can be hard and soft. What am I?
#40
What has many teeth, but cannot bite?
john bales 3 years ago
I beg to differ (speaking from painful experience)
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#41
What can fill a room, but takes up no space?
#42
A king, queen and two twins all lay in a large room. How are there no adults in the room?
Yet Another Thomas Moore 3 years ago
The king and queen are older children, like 16, and the twins are one of their younger siblings.
Regan Bensyl 3 years ago
Sounds like some dead royalty in a room. Could also be a c**p poker hand.
#43
I don't have eyes, but once I did see. Once I had thoughts, but now I'm white and empty. What am I?
#44
What do the letter "t" and an island have in common?
#45
The more of them you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?
#46
A man was just doing his job when his suit was torn. He died a few minutes later. Why?
Valentin Marinov 3 years ago
I thought it is a matter of seconds to die in open space. My whole life's been a lie!
#47
What is the difference between a jeweler and a jailer?
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė 2 years ago
Answer: A jeweler sells watches while a jailer watches cells.
#48
I can break, I can get clogged, I can be attacked, I can be given, I can be kept, I can be crushed, yet I can be whole at the same time. What am I?
#49
What do you throw out when you want to use it, but take in when you don’t want to use it?
#50
What's lighter than a feather, but impossible to hold for much more than a minute?
#51
What can be swallowed, but can also swallow you?
#52
My head is red, but if you scratch me it’s getting black. What am I?
#53
I am a hunter, but I don’t have a rifle, I lay net but I am not a fisherman. What am I?
#54
What is always in front of you, but can't be seen?
#55
What type of cheese is made backward?
Garth Bock 3 years ago
This Gouda been better... but Cheddar jokes are coming and I'll Brie back.
#56
I am an odd number. Take away just one letter and I become even. What number am I?
#57
If an electric train is traveling south, then which way is the smoke going?
Regan Bensyl 3 years ago
If a diesel train is going south, then which way is the electricity going?
#58
I have four wings, but cannot fly, I never laugh and never cry; On the same spot I'm always found, toiling away with little sound. What am I?
#59
Thirty white horses on a red hill, First they champ, Then they stamp, Then they stand still.
#60
I have cities, but not houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have coasts, but no sand. What am I?
#61
What do you tell yourself when you wake up late for work and realize you have a fever?
#62
Which is heavier: a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?
Junior Farrell 3 years ago
"Bricks! Becuase bricks are heavier than feathers." (This quote was slightly changed to fit the subject)
Regan Bensyl 3 years ago
I'm not moving a ton of bricks, but I got a leaf blower for the ton of feathers.
#63
Two mums and two daughters went out for dinner and each ate one portion. Only three portions were eaten in total, how is this possible?
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė 2 years ago
Answer: It was a grandmother, a mother, and a daughter who went out for dinner.
Junior Farrell 3 years ago
I have heard another version of this with men instead of women as the answer.
#64
Who has married many people, but has never been married himself?
Esther Pujols 3 years ago
Depends what kind of priest. And even then doesn’t really make sense. Some catholic priests have been married before they become priests.
#65
What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?
#66
When it is alive we sing, when it is dead we clap our hands. What is it?
Populus tremuloides(they/them) 3 years ago
The implication that candles are alive when they're on fire
Junior Farrell 3 years ago
What is not alive but needs oxygen to live? Fire.
Load More Replies... #67
What can’t be burned during a fire not either drowned in water?
#68
I have words, but I never speak. What am I?
#69
I begin with an "E" and contain just one letter. What am I?
#70
The answer I give is “yes”, but what I mean is “no”. What was the question?
Garth Bock 3 years ago
The answer I give is No when I really mean YES.. when asked Do You Mind ?
#71
Where is the only place where today comes before yesterday?
Regan Bensyl 3 years ago
Me, I never came yesterday, but did today. (To this page, get your mind out the gutter)
#72
Some say I put doctors out of business. Sometimes I am sour. Other times, I am sweet. You can eat me, and you can drink me. What am I?
#73
Sam's dad has 3 daughters. Two are named Stephanie and Amanda. What's the name of the third daughter?
#74
How do you know that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are about to get married?
#75
Why did the invisible man turn down a job offer?
#76
Lovely and round, I'm shimmery white, grown in the darkness, a lady's delight. What am I?
#77
What can't talk, but will reply when spoken to?
#78
I have four wheels and flies. What am I?
WordiGirl 3 years ago
Yeah. Some of these seem to have been worded poorly.
Load More Replies... #79
What type of building contains the most stories?
#80
How can kids drink beer and not get drunk?
#81
What gets wet while drying?
#82
People make me, save me, change me, raise me. What am I?
#83
I have a neck but no head. What am I?
#84
What gets smaller every time it takes a bath?
#85
What do you bury when it's alive and dig up when it's dead?
#86
A man goes outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat, but doesn't get a single hair on his head wet. How?
#87
Often held, but never touched, Always wet, but never rusts, Often bites, but seldom bit, To use me well you must have wit. What am I?
#88
The day before yesterday I was 21, and next year I will be 24. When is my birthday?
#89
If you are running a race and pass the person in second, then what place are you in?
#90
If the day before yesterday was the 23rd, then what will be the day after tomorrow?
#91
A is B's father, but B isn't A's son. How?
#92
What is the best cure for dandruff?
#93
There are two in a corner, one in a room, zero in a house, but one in a shelter. What is it?
#94
Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it, you will die. What is it?
#95
You walk into a room that contains a match, a kerosene lamp, a candle and a fireplace. What should you light first?
#96
I have branches, but no fruit, trunk, or leaves. What am I?
#97
What goes all around the world, but stays in a corner?
#98
A man rode into town on Tuesday and left a few days later on Tuesday. How is that possible?
#99
What cuts across cities and fields, but never moves?
#100
A man and his boss have the same parents, but they are not siblings. How is this possible?
#101
A man is preparing for a business trip. He stops by his office on the way to the airport. The night watchman stops him before he leaves and asks him not to get on the flight. He explains he had a dream the plane crashed and everyone on board died. The man does cancel his trip. And sure enough, the plane does crash, killing everyone on board. He gave the watchman a few thousand dollars for saving his life and then fired him. Why?
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė 2 years ago
Answer: A night watchman isn't supposed to sleep on the job.
#102
When my dad was 31, I was just 8 years old. Now his age is twice as old as my age. What is my current age?
#103
It is 9 a.m. now. Josephine studies for 2 hours, takes a bath for 1 hour and then has lunch for 1 hour. How many hours are left before 9 a.m. tomorrow?
#104
There is an empty basket that is one foot in diameter. What is the total number of eggs that you can put in this empty basket?
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė 2 years ago
Answer: Just one! After that, it doesn't count as an empty basket.
#105
What is the smallest number that increases by 12 when it is flipped and turned upside-down?
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė 2 years ago
Answer: 86. When turned upside-down and flipped, it becomes 98.
#106
I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is five more than my ones digit. My hundreds digit is eight less than my tens digit. What number am I?
#107
When someone asks Michael how old he is, he replies, "In two years I will be twice as old as I used to be five years ago." How old is he?
#108
If two's company, and three's a crowd, what are four and five?
#109
What do you call two Italian ants in love?
#110
Why did the banker break up with his girlfriend?
#111
I am present at the beginning of love; the start of life and I am the end of evil. What am I?
#112
Most of the time, my color is red, I am beautiful, and everyone loves me, especially ladies. Sometimes I can hurt you. I don't mean it, I am sorry. What am I?
#113
I am a nine-lettered word and rhyme with perfection. People use me as another name for love. What am I?
#114
What can fill a room, but takes up no space?
#115
I have a head and a tail but no body. What am I?
#116
I have legs, but I do not walk? What am I?
#117
What comes at the end of everything?
#118
What has three feet. but cannot walk?
#119
What do you call a nose that's 12 inches long?
#120
What runs around a whole yard without moving?
#121
What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?
#122
What's always found on the ground, but never gets dirty?
#123
What goes up but never comes down?
#124
What's a single-digit number with no value?
#125
What's always running, but never gets hot?
#126
What do you see once in June, twice in November, and not at all in May?
#127
A mother and father have four daughters, and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the family?
#128
A man looks at a painting in a museum and says, "Brothers and sisters I have none, but that man’s father is my father’s son." Who is in the painting?
WordiGirl 3 years ago
Don't they mean he was on the painting himself? If I point to a picture and say the man on the picture's FATHER is MY FATHER'S son, then the picture has to be of me if I don't have any siblings, correct?
Lauren S 3 years ago
That was what I thought the answer was going to be but it’s like 1 am right now so I wouldn’t trust my logic.
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#129
My life is often a volume of grief, your help is needed to turn a new leaf. Stiff is my spine and my body is pale, but I'm always ready to tell a tale. What am I?
#130
How can you drop a raw egg on the concrete floor without cracking it?
#131
I can't be bought, but I can be stolen with a glance. I'm worthless to one, but priceless to two. What am I?
#132
What's as small as a mouse, but guards a house like a lion?
#133
What has roots that no one sees and rises much higher than trees? Yet does not grow. What is it?
#134
When you hear about me, I deserve everything. When you find out who am I, I am nothing. Who am I?
#135
Alexa has four daughters, and each one has a brother. How many children does she have in total?
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė 2 years ago
Answer: Five children — all four daughters have the same brother.
#136
How many bananas can you eat if your stomach is empty?
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė 2 years ago
Answer: Just one—after that, your stomach is no longer empty.
#137
If it takes 5 elves, 5 minutes to make 5 dolls, then how long will it take 100 elves to make 100 dolls?
Žydrūnė Trukanavičiūtė 2 years ago
Answer: It takes 1 elf 5 minutes to make a doll, so it would take 100 elves 5 minutes to make 100 dolls.
#138
What can you find in a cupboard that can never be put in a saucepan?
#139
Whoever makes it doesn't tell. Whoever takes it doesn't know. Whoever knows it doesn't want. What is it?
#140
I don’t have eyes, ears, nose and tongue, but I can see, smell, hear and taste everything. What am I?
#141
People knead me to buy things. What am I?
#142
Thousands lay up gold within this house, but no man made it. Spears past counting guard this house, but no man wards it. What is it?
#143
What has four fingers and a thumb, but isn't alive?
Lauren S 3 years ago
I was thinking severed hand so yeah, glove is much better.
Load More Replies... What do you think ?
Jason Marin 3 years ago (edited)
A man wants to enter an exclusive club, but he doesn't know the password. Another man walks to the door and the doorman says 12, the man says 6, and is let in. Another man walks up and the doorman says 6, the man says 3, and is let in. Thinking he had heard enough, the man walks up to the door and the doorman says 10, he says 5, and he isn't let in. What should the man have said? Answer: Three. The doorman wanted to know how many letters were in the numbers he said.
Jason Marin 3 years ago (edited)
A man wants to enter an exclusive club, but he doesn't know the password. Another man walks to the door and the doorman says 12, the man says 6, and is let in. Another man walks up and the doorman says 6, the man says 3, and is let in. Thinking he had heard enough, the man walks up to the door and the doorman says 10, he says 5, and he isn't let in. What should the man have said? Answer: Three. The doorman wanted to know how many letters were in the numbers he said.
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