Best Riddles With Answers
These best riddles with answers have been used for centuries to challenge people’s intelligence and have passed the test of time. They accomplish that by how imaginative and fun they are.
Regardless of whether they are easy or hard, you can’t deny that riddles capture our attention with ease and make us restless until we find the answer.
They improve one’s reading comprehension and reasoning abilities and help riddlers crack even the toughest riddles.
Michael O’Halloran, co-author of four trivia and riddle books, has collected 150 of his favorite riddles. Let’s see you take a crack at solving them. Please read on.
Best Riddles Of All Time
1.) I never was and am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will. And yet I am the confidence of all, To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. What am I?
Tomorrow or the future.
2.) At night, they come without being fetched. By day they are lost without being stolen. What are they?
The stars.
3.) What is in seasons, seconds, centuries, and minutes but not in decades, years, or days?
The letter N.
4.) You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat?
An ear of corn.
5.) I know a word of letters three. Add two, and fewer there will be!
Few.
6.) I give you a group of three. One is sitting down and will never get up. The second eats as much as is given to him yet is always hungry. The third goes away and never returns. What are they?
A stove, fire, smoke.
With Answers
7.) I drive men mad,
For the love of me, Easily beaten, never free. What am I?
Gold.
8.) I’m lighter than what I am made of, and more of me is hidden than is seen. What am I?
An iceberg.
9.) Walk on the living. They don’t even mumble. Walk on the dead. They mutter and grumble. What are they?
Leaves.
10.) You heard me before, yet you hear me again. Then I die,’ till you call me again.
An echo.
See 117 best birthday puns and jokes for kids.
Hard Riddles
11.) Forward, it’s heavy; backward, it’s not. What is it?
Ton. Backward it’s “not.” Get it?
12.) You see a boat filled with people. You look again, but this time you don’t see a single person on the boat. Why? (Tip: The boat has not sunk.)
All the people on the boat are married.
13.) Without the first two letters, I’m an intelligent animal. Without the first three letters, I’m a subject in school. And, without the first four letters, I’m the letter “e.” What am I?
Grape.
Check out our funny jokes for kids.
Riddles Puzzles
14.) I go around in circles but always straight ahead. I never complain, no matter where I am led. What am I?
A wheel.
15.) What has six faces but does not wear makeup and twenty-one eyes but cannot see?
Dice.
16.) Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain on Earth?
Mount Everest.
17.) What has hands and yet cannot clap?
A clock.
18.) What can you catch but not throw?
A cold.
19.) The more there is, the less you see. What am I?
Darkness.
Short Riddles
20.) Break me, and I’ll cage you. Obey me, and I’ll save you. What am I?
The Law.
21.) What has teeth but cannot bite?
A comb.
22.) What is at the end of a rainbow?
The letter “w.”
23.) What has many keys but can’t open a single door?
A piano.
24.) What part of roads do ghosts love to travel?
The dead ends.
25.) What word contains 26 letters but only has three syllables?
The alphabet.
Short Riddles for Kids
26.) What runs around the whole yard without moving?
A fence.
27.) What has a foot on each side and one in the middle?
A yardstick.
28.) What tastes better than it smells?
A tongue.
29.) What loses its head in the morning and gets it back at night?
A pillow.
30.) You bury me when I’m alive and dig me up when I’m dead. What am I?
A plant.
Tip: Use these best riddles with answers by writing them down on Post-it notes and including them in your kids’ lunches.
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Interesting Riddles
31.) If you drop me, I’m sure to crack but smile at me, and I’ll always smile back. What am I?
A mirror.
32.) You’ve heard me before, yet you hear me again. Then I die until you call me again. What am I?
An echo.
33.) Two men are in a desert. They both have packs on. One of the guys is dead. The guy who is alive has his pack open. The guy who is dead has his pack closed. What is in the pack?
A parachute.
34.) You answer me, but I never question you. What am I?
A telephone.
35.) A boy fell off a 20-foot ladder and yet wasn’t hurt. Why not?
He fell off the bottom step.
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Brainteasers
36.) What has one head, one foot, and four legs?
A bed.
37.) Did you hear the joke about the roof?
Never mind, it’s over your head.
38.) How many letters are in the alphabet?
There are 11 letters in the alphabet.
39.) How can you spell cold with two letters?
IC (icy).
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Clever Riddles
40.) I can be cracked. And, I can be made. I can be told. And, I can be played. What am I?
A joke.
41.) What has no body and no nose?
Nobody knows.
42.) I have two arms but fingers none. I have two feet but cannot run. While I carry well, I have found I carry best with my feet OFF the ground. What am I?
A wheelbarrow.
43.) Two monkeys are on a tree, and one jumps off. Why does the other monkey jump too?
Monkey see, monkey do.
Note: Do you have some of the best riddles to add to our mix? Send them to us via our contact page.
Good Riddles
44.) What do you call a baby rifle?
Son of a gun.
45.) When are boys like bears?
When bare-footed.
46.) How do cowboys ride steers?
With steering wheels.
47.) What is Medusa’s favorite cheese?
Gorgonzola.
48.) What do you call a room with no windows?
A mushroom.
Check out our Puns for Kids.
Perplexing Puzzles
49.) What is the best month for a parade?
March.
50.) What shows do prisoners like to put on?
A cell-out (sell-out).
51.) What has an eye but cannot see?
A needle.
52.) Mary has four daughters. Each of her daughters has a brother. How many children does Mary have?
Five children: four daughters and one son.
53.) There is nothing outside, nothing on the inside light as a feather, yet ten men cannot lift it. What is it?
A bubble.
Really Hard Riddles
54.) You draw a line. Without touching it, how do you make the line longer?
Simply draw a shorter line next to it. The first line will now be the long line.
55.) Why are artists not good in sports matches?
Because they keep drawing.
56.) It’s pregnant every time you see her, yet she never will give birth. What is it?
A full moon.
57.) I am always hungry and will die if not fed. Whatever I touch will soon turn red. What am I?
Fire.
Funny Riddles
58.) What do outlaws eat with their milk?
Crookies.
59.) I can shave 25 times a day and still have a beard. What am I?
A barber.
60.) Mr. Blue lives in the blue house, Mr. Pink lives in the pink house, and Mr. Brown lives in the brown house. Who lives in the white house?
The President.
Time-Tested Puzzlers
61.) What stays where it is even after it goes off?
An alarm clock.
62.) You saw me where I never was and where I could not be. And yet, within that very place, my face you do often see. What am I?
A reflection.
63.) What rooms do ghosts avoid?
The living rooms.
64.) I can run but not walk. The thought is not far behind me. What am I?
Nose.
65.) Dirty when white. What am I?
Blackboard.
66.) What five-letter word can you remove two letters from and still have the same meaning?
Alone. Take away the “a” and the “l,” and you have “one.”
67.) A skin has more eyes than one. I can be very nice when I am done. What am I?
A potato.
68.) You walk into a room with a match, a kerosene lamp, a candle, and a fireplace. Which do you light first?
The match.
69.) There is a greenhouse. Inside the greenhouse, there is a white house. Inside the white house, there is a red house. And, inside the red house, there are lots of babies. What is it?
A watermelon.
Note: Have any suggestions for riddles we should include? Submit your best riddles via the contact page.
Amazing Riddles
70.) The Barber of Seville shaves all men living in Seville. No man living in Seville can shave himself. The barber of Seville lives in Seville. Who shaves the barber of Seville?
No one. The Barber of Seville is a woman.
71.) 12 apples hanging high, 12 men passing by. Each took an apple and left eleven hanging there. How can this be?
Each is the name of a person.
Creative Riddles
72.) I stand in the corner of a building and never leave. Yet, my children travel everywhere. What am I?
A mailbox.
73.) I can shave daily, but my beard stays the same. Who am I?
A barber.
74.) You have ten fingers on your hands. How many fingers are there on ten hands?
The answer is 50. Five fingers times 10 = fifty.
75.) What flowers can be found between your nose and your chin?
Tulips. Think two lips.
Cool Riddles
76.) What has lots of eyes but cannot see?
A potato.
77.) What kind of band never plays music?
A rubber band.
78.) What has a bottom at the top?
Your legs.
79.) What has a head and tail but nobody?
Certain coins.
80.) If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and five?
Nine.
81.) What tastes better than it smells?
Your tongue.
82.) Riddle Mary: Mary’s father has five daughters — Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono, and who? What is the fifth daughter’s name?
Mary.
Classic Riddles
83.) Six feet, four ears, two mouths, two foreheads: what beast, then, is it?
Answer: A rider and horse.
84.) It goes in the morning on four feet, at lunchtime on two, and in the evening on three.
Answer: This is the Riddle of the Sphinx describing man. First, as a baby crawling on all fours, walking on two feet, and as an older person with a walking stick.
85.) Washing makes it dirtier and dirtier. It is cleaner without washing at all.
Answer: Water.
86.) What is black and white and red all over?
Answer: A newspaper.
Riddle Jokes
87.) Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the idiot’s house. Knock-knock. Who’s there?
The chicken.
88.) Why did the chicken cross the road?
Colonel Sanders: “I missed one.”
Elephant Riddles
89.) What’s the difference between an elephant and a plum?
Their color.
What did Tarzan say to Jane when he saw the elephants coming?
“Here come the elephants.”
What did Jane say to Tarzan when she saw the elephants coming?
Here come the plums. (Jane was color blind.)
90.) How can you tell if an elephant is in the bathtub with you?
By the smell of peanuts on its breath.
91.) Why do ducks have flat feet?
To stamp out burning fires.
Why do elephants have flat feet?
To stamp out burning ducks.
92.) What do elephants have that nothing else has?
Baby elephants.
93.) Why does an elephant have round, flat feet?
So that it can walk across lily pads.
Word Riddles: Genius Level
94.) Riddle: What is red and smells like paint?
Red paint.
95.) Riddle: The poor have me, the rich need me, eat me, and you will die. What am I?
Nothing.
95.) Riddle: If you throw me out the window, You’ll leave a grieving wife. But leave me in the middle of the door, And you might just save a life. What am I?
The letter “N.”
96.) Riddle: What kind of cheese is made backward?
Edam.
97.) Riddle: If a fella met a fella in a field of beans, could a fella tell a fella what a fella means? How many “f’s” are in that?
There are zero “f’s” in “that.”
98.) Riddle: We stand on lines; when together, it’s a crime. What are we?
Crows. A group of crows is called a murder.
99.) Riddle: What is always hungry but never thirsty?
A fire.
100.) Riddle: What has 18 legs and catches flies?
A baseball team.
101.) Riddle: Angry and hungry are both words that end in gry. The English language has three words. What is the third?
Language.
102.) Riddle: You’re riding a horse. There’s an elephant in front of you, a tiger at your back, a cliff going up on one side, and a cliff going down on the other. How do you escape?
Wait for the merry-go-round to stop and then dismount.
Best Riddles With Answers For Kids
103.) What month of the year has 28 days?
All of them.
104.) What has many keys but cannot open a single lock?
A piano.
105.) What can you keep after giving it to someone?
Your word.
106.) What question can you never answer “yes” to?
Are you asleep?
107.) Where does today come before yesterday?
In the dictionary.
108.) What has 13 hearts but no other organs?
A deck of cards.
109.) Why did a man who was outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat not get a single hair on his head wet?
He was bald.
Awesome Riddles
110.) David’s parents have three sons: Snap, Crackle, and what’s the name of the third son?
David.
111.) What kind of coat is best put on wet?
A coat of paint.
112.) What kind of room has no doors or windows?
A mushroom.
113.) What begins with an “e” and only contains one letter?
An envelope.
114.) I have branches but no fruit, trunk, or leaves. What am I?
A bank.
115.) You see me once in June, twice in November, and not at all in May. What am I?
The letter “e.”
116.) How many bananas can you eat if your stomach is empty?
Just one—after that, your stomach’s not empty anymore.
117.) Mr. Blue lives in the blue house. Mr. Yellow lives in the yellow house. And Mr. Black lives in the black house. Who lives in the white house?
The president!
Tough Riddles
118.) 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?
Heroine
119.) 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 the man in the painting?
His son is in the painting.
120.) Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it, you die. What is it?
Nothing.
121.) If an electric train is going north, which way is its smoke going?
Nowhere. It’s an electric train — they don’t generate smoke.
Math Riddles
122.) Which month has 28 days?
All of them.
123.) If eggs are 12 cents per dozen, how many eggs can you get for one dollar?
100 eggs. They cost a penny apiece.
124.) If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and five?
Nine. Four and five equal nine.
125.) What is the maximum number of times you can subtract ten from 50?
Only once, because after subtracting ten from 50, it becomes 40.
126.) What is 3/7 chicken, 2/3 cat, and 2/4 goat?
Chicago!
127.) If a zookeeper had 100 pairs of animals in her zoo, and two pairs of babies are born for each one of the original animals, then (sadly) 23 animals don’t survive; how many animals do you have left in total?
977 animals. (100×2=200; 200+800=1000; 1000-27=977)
Easy Riddles
128.) What can you hold in your right hand but never in your left hand?
Your left hand.
129.) I’m orange, I wear a green hat, and I sound like a parrot. What am I?
A carrot.
130.) A bus driver goes the wrong way down a one-way street. He passes the cops, but they don’t stop him. Why?
He was walking.
131.) Where do you take a sick boat?
To the dock-tor.
132.) What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?
A palm.
133.) I make a loud sound when I’m changing. When I do change, I get bigger but weigh less. What am I?
Popcorn.
134.) I have a thumb and four fingers but am not a hand. What am I?
A glove.
135.) Which is heavier: a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?
The weigh the same.
Longer Riddles
136.) There’s a one-story house. Everything in the red house is red, the walls are red, the bathroom is red, the floor is red, the kitchen is red, all of the bedrooms are red. So, what color are the stairs?
There’s no stairs, it’s a one-story house.
137.) Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.
138.) A cowboy rides into town on Friday. He stays three days, then rides out of town on Friday. How?
His horse is named Friday.
Alphabet Riddles
139.) What 5-letter word typed in all capital letters can be read the same upside down?
SWIMS
140.) What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters?
Queue.
141.) What word in the English language has three consecutive double letters?
Bookkeeper.
142.) You’ll find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. But never Neptune, or Venus. What am I?
The letter “R”
143.) How do you make the number one disappear?
Add the letter G and it’s “gone”.
144.) Where does Thursday come after Friday?
The dictionary.
145.) What is in seasons, seconds, centuries, and minutes but not in decades, years, or days?
The letter N.
146.) Which letter of the alphabet has most water
The letter C.
147.) Which is the only English letter with “uu” in it?
Vacuum.
148.) Which is the only English word with “ii” in it?
Skiing
149.) Which word in the dictionary is always spelled incorrectly?
Incorrectly.
150.) What is the center of gravity?
The letter “V”.
Riddle Synonyms
Here are some synonyms for riddles:
Mind-boggers, mysteries, puzzles, teasers, quandaries, questions, sticklers, stumpers, twisters, brainteasers, and brain-twisters.
When to use Riddles?
Here are some times to pull out this list of riddles and quiz friends and family members:
A.) At the dinner table after supper.
B.) On long car rides.
C.) When a teacher has a few minutes before the next transition.
D.) When you’re waiting for a bus.
E.) Right before bed.
F.) When you’re waiting for a ride.
H.) As a break from looking at the TV or monitors.
I.) To start or end a practice if you’re a youth sports coach.
J.) When waiting for a doctor or dentist appointment.
Best Riddles FAQ
Here are some frequently asked questions about the best riddles.
What’s the best riddle you’ve heard lately?
With pointed fangs and in plain sight, my bloodless victims are bound by my bite. What am I? Answer: A stapler.
What’s a good riddle for teenagers?
How do you drop a raw egg on a concrete floor without cracking it? Answer: Easily, you can drop the egg from any height because concrete is hard to crack when the object weighs as little as an egg.
What’s a good riddle for a sports fan?
You leave home, take three left turns, and return home. Who are the two masked men waiting for you? Answer: The opposing catcher and the umpire. It’s a game of baseball.
That’s a Stumper!
It’s no doubt that the level of difficulty carried by good riddles may be comprehended differently by different people.
Some riddles might be easy for you while difficult to solve for others. Either way, we hope you weren’t too stumped and had a blast solving this list of riddles!
By Michael O’Halloran
Mike is the founder and editor of Greeting Card Poet.
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