Tricky Riddles With Answers
These tricky riddles with answers are a test for you and your friends. Answer more than one-half correctly, and folks may put you in the genius class. Miss them all? Well, that’s another story.
No matter how you perform, you’re sure to learn a lot by exposing your mind to different curves and twists. Enjoy!
Best Tricky Riddles With Answers
Good luck, everyone – and let’s face it, some of you will need it – let’s begin.
1.) Which of the following is correct: A.) Ostrich can fly, or B.) Ostriches can fly?
Neither. Ostriches can’t fly.
2.) Mia gets in the shower, but surprisingly her hair is not wet when she gets out. How is this possible?
She didn’t turn the water on!
3.) In a one-story pink house, there was a pink cat, a pink fish, a pink computer, a pink chair, a pink table, a pink telephone, a pink shower– everything was pink! What color were the stairs?
There weren’t any stairs; it was a one-story house!
4.) If you paint a brown house white, it will become a white house; if the stoplight changes from red to green, the light is green. So, if you throw a white shirt into the Red Sea, what will it become?
It will become wet. There would be no color change because the Red Sea is not actually red in color.
5.) What do you get when you cross a vampire and a teacher?
A blood test.
Short Puzzlers
We decided to show answers immediately after each riddle because you can learn a lot just by reading through these riddles.
6.) What question can you never honestly answer yes to?
“Are you asleep?”
7.) What do pandas have that no other animal has?
Baby pandas. You might like our National Panda Day page. It’s full of jokes, fun facts, and FAQs about pandas.
8.) What is the word that, even in plain sight, remains hidden?
Hidden.
9.) What is the longest word in the dictionary?
Smiles, because there is a mile between each ‘s’.
10.) What can you hold in your right hand, but never in your left hand?
Your left hand.
11.) What has branches, but no fruit, trunk, or leaves?
A bank.
Tricky Riddles For Kids
12.) First, you eat me; then you get eaten. What am I?
A fishhook.
13.) How many letters are in the alphabet?
There are 11 letters in “the alphabet.”
14.) What word, when pronounced wrong, is right, but when pronounced right, is wrong?
The word is “Wrong.”
15.) Which word does not belong in the following list: Stop cop mop, chop prop shop, or crop?
The word ‘or’ is the only one that doesn’t end with ‘op.’
16.) A seven-letter word containing thousands of letters?
Mailbox.
17.) I have cities but no houses. I have mountains but no trees. And I have water but no fish. What am I?
A map.
18.) How many sides does a circle have?
Two.
19.) I come from a mine and am always surrounded by wood. Everyone uses me. What am I?
Pencil lead.
20.) What word starts with the letter E and ends with the letter E but only has one letter in it?
Envelope. (Okay, this is one of those classic, tricky riddles that nearly everyone has heard before. But, the reason for its longevity: it’s good!)
Check out More Easy Riddles For Kids.
Riddles for Adults
21.) What are the next three letters in this combination? OTTFFSS
E N T (Each letter represents the first letter in the written numbers: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, etc.).
22.) What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
The letter “R.”
23.) If a military camp has 183 soldiers and a military rebel has one shot at getting them all, what would the rebel do to make sure one shot got all 183?
He would ask all 183 to stand close so that they all fit in the photo.
24.) I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have nobody, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?
An echo.
25.) A man is in his car. He sees three doors. A golden one, a diamond one, and a silver one. Which door does he go through first?
His car door.
26.) 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.
A candle.
27.) It has keys, but no locks. It has space, but no room. You can enter, but can’t go inside. What is it?
A keyboard.
Math Problems
28.) 2 men catch 2 fish in 2 minutes. At this rate, how many men could catch 500 fish in 500 minutes?
2 men.
29.) A doctor gives you three pills and tells you to take one every half an hour. How long will the pills last?
One hour.
30.) When is 99 more than 100?
99 would be 1 minute and 39 seconds on a microwave, and 100 would be 1 minute.
31.) 4 rubber ducks were floating in the bathtub, 2 floated away, and 2 drowned. How many rubber ducks are still alive?
Zero, because rubber ducks aren’t alive and cannot drown.
32.) Twelve pears hanging high, twelve men passing by. Each took a pear and left eleven hanging there. How can this be?
“Each” was the name of one of the twelve men passing by.
33.) On a bus, there is a pregnant lady who is 24 years old, a security guard who is 37 years old, a random woman who is 56 years old, and a bus driver who is 68 years old. Who is the youngest?
The baby of the pregnant lady.
34.) How can the number four be half of five?
IV, the Roman numeral for four, “half” (two letters) of the word five.
35.) 10 fish are in a tank. 2 Drown, 4 Swim away, and 3 Die. How many are left?
10.
Long Tricky Riddles With Answers
36.) One night, a man receives a call from the police. The police tell the man that his wife was murdered and that he should reach the crime scene as soon as possible. The man drops the phone, shocked, and drives 20 minutes to the crime scene. As soon as he reaches the crime scene, the police arrest him, and he is convicted of murder. How did the police know that he committed the crime?
The police didn’t tell the man where the crime scene was, but the man knew.
37.) Friday, Pete and Jeff went to the store to buy some bread. The total of $12 was divided equally among the friends. Pete paid $4, and Jeff paid $4 as well. Who paid the other $4?
Their friend, Friday.
38.) 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.
Have some tricky riddles that we missed? Would you please let us know via the Contact page?
Hard Riddles with Answers
39.) The mad scientist wanted to take a person with 5 heads, remove 4 of them, and sew them onto a clown’s head. He estimated that it would take 43 minutes per head. How long would it take him to complete the entire procedure?
He can’t complete it because no person has 5 heads.
40.) In a one-story house at the corner of the road, the bedrooms were yellow, the kitchen was blue, the living room was orange, the garage was green, the entry hall was red, and the sitting room was purple. What color were the stairs?
There are no stairs in a one-story house.
41.) A man is found murdered on Sunday morning. His wife calls the police immediately. The police question the wife and staff. The wife said she was asleep, the cook said he was cooking breakfast, the gardener said she was picking vegetables, the butler said he was cleaning the closet, and the maid said she was getting the mail. The police immediately arrested the murderer. Who was the murderer?
The maid because there’s no mail on Sundays.
Really Hard Riddles
42.) A woman shoots her husband, then holds him underwater for five minutes. Next, she hangs him. Right after, they enjoy a lovely dinner. Explain.
She took a picture of him and developed it in her darkroom.
43.) A man is sitting in his cabin in Michigan. Three hours later, he gets out of his cabin in Texas. How is this possible?
He is a pilot in the cabin of the airplane.
44.) Three doctors said that Robert was their brother. Robert said he had no brothers. Who is lying?
Neither of them was lying. The doctors were his sisters.
Brain Games
45.) Which of the following is not white? Egg whites, The White House, polar bears, golf balls, milk, marshmallows, and white onions.
Polar bears because their fur is colorless. Each fur strand is actually transparent and pigment-free with a hollow core that reflects light.
46.) 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?
Four sisters and three brothers.
47.) Two fathers and two sons go fishing together in the same boat. They all catch a fish but the total catch for the day is just three fish. How can that be?
There are three men: A grandfather, a father (son of the grandfather), and the father’s son.
48.) George, Helen, and Steve are drinking coffee. Bert, Karen, and Dave are drinking Pepsi. Following this pattern, is Elizabeth drinking coffee or soda? Coffee, just like all the other names with two E’s.
Difficult and Challenging Riddles
More tricky riddles to put young minds to the test.
49.) What English word has three consecutive double letters?
Bookkeeper.
50.) A grandmother, two mothers, and two daughters went to the cafe for some tea. They ordered one cup each. What was the total number of cups that they ordered?
3, one for each person (the grandmother is also a mother, and the mother is a daughter). Or 2 (both people are mothers and daughters, and one is a grandmother).
51.) First, think of the color of the clouds. Next, think of the color of the snow. Now, think of the color of a bright full moon. Now answer quickly what do cows drink?
Water.
Logic Puzzles
52.) If an electric train is traveling south, then which way is the smoke going?
There is no smoke—it’s an electric train.
53.) I am something people celebrate or resist. I change people’s thoughts and lives. To some people I am obvious but, to others, I am a mystery. What am I?
Age.
54.) 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.
55.) Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you die. What is it?
Nothing.
Funny Tricky Riddles With Answers
56.) How can you drop a raw egg from a height onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
Concrete floors are very hard to crack.
57.) What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters?
Queue.
58.) What is always on its way but never arrives?
Tomorrow.
59.) Where is the only place where today comes before yesterday?
The dictionary.
60.) Which candle will burn longer- the ones on the birthday cake for a boy or the ones on the birthday cake for a girl?
None- candles do not burn longer; they only burn shorter.
61.) What is 3/7 chicken, 2/3 cat, and 2/4 goat?
Chicago!
Stumpers
62.) A man goes out for a walk on a rainy day with nothing to protect him from the rain. He doesn’t have a hat, a hood, or an umbrella. But by the end of his walk, there isn’t a single wet hair on his head. Why doesn’t the man have wet hair?
He’s bald.
63.) With pointed fangs, I sit and wait; with piercing force, I crunch out fate; grabbing victims, proclaiming might; physically joining with a single bite. What am I?
A stapler.
64.) It can’t be touched and can’t be felt. It can’t be seen, or heard, or smelt. And it lies behind stars and under hills and any empty holes it fills. It comes early and follows after, ends life, and kills laughter. What is it?
Darkness.
65.) Where does charity begin?
At C (sea).
66.) What are the strongest two days of the week?
Saturday and Sunday. The others are weekdays.
67.) What three letters in the alphabet frighten criminals?
F.B.I.
By Michael O’Halloran
Michael has co-authored four trivia books for kids and is the founder of Greeting Card Poet.
Etcetera
You’re on our Tricky Riddles page.
You may like these other riddling pages:
