DAILY RIDDLES 56

Q. Lovely and round,
I shine with pale light,
Grown in the darkness,
A lady's delight.
What am I ?

A. A pearl. They're formed in clams, which are of course dark.


Q. What has a tongue that can't taste, a throat that can't swallow, eyes that can't see and a soul that will never die ?

A. A shoe. It has a tongue, a throat, eyes (or eyelets) and a sole. I used soul here or else it would have given the answer away, but this riddle works best when told rather than read. And as the joke goes, old shoes never die, they just lose their sole.

DAILY RIDDLES 55

Q. I am taken from a mine and shut up in a wooden case from which I am never released. Yet I am used by almost everybody. What am I ?

A. Pencil lead. While modern pencils don't contain lead, that's still what we call the graphite compound. When real lead was used in pencils it was mined and nearly everyone has used a pencil at some point in their life.


Q. I am only useful when I'm full,
Yet I am always full of holes.
What am I ?

A. A sieve, used for straining food like pasta.

DAILY RIDDLES 54

Q. This is a place. The first letter is after A and before Z but nowhere in between. You can bring as many people as you want, as long as they're all dead. Where is it?

A. The cemetery. The letter C is after A and before Z, and it's not found in the word "between". The cemetery won't take live ones. Fortunately I don't speak from experience on that.


Q. I'm a medication with three parts. The first part is the surname of someone who has been a Mary and a Maria. The second part is a vital organ and the last is plentiful in the ocean. What am I?

A. Andrews Liver Salts, an antacid. Julie Andrews played the role of Mary Poppins in the movie of the same name, and Maria in the Sound of Music. It's tough to live without a liver and a taste of the ocean always includes a touch of salt.

DAILY RIDDLES 53

Q. Some form a parliament,
Others a company, congregation or convocation,
The mob can see a murder, or clamor and wake,
A bouquet is presented when flushed. What are we ?

A. Birds. These are collective nouns for groups of birds.
parliament - owls
company - parrots
congregation - plovers
convocation - eagles
mob - emus
murder - crows clamor - rooks
wake - buzzards
bouquet - pheasants (when flushed)


Q. My first is in alphabet, my third is in Guinness, my sixth is in donut and my eighth is in elephant. My fifth doesn't appear in walrus, my second isn't in stealth, but my seventh is in tremendous and my fourth is in horse. I can create peace. What am I ?

A. Everyone. Several words match the letter requirements, but only everyone satisfies the last statement. The other words are:
absentee
aperture
housetop
evermore

DAILY RIDDLES 52

Q. I can be told and can make you crazy,
Most people don't like me and think I'm harmful. What am I ?

A. A lie. Lies are told, can make people crazy with rage, and most people don't like to have lies told to them. Lies can't be harmful though (just kidding :)


Q.I'm a five letter word. Remove my last two letters and I'm a synonym of drag. My second and third letters form an exclamation and my first and second letters are a homophone with a number. What am I ?

 A. Towel. Tow is a synonym of drag, ow is an exclamation when you're hurt (and far more appropriate in mixed company than the four-letter alternatives) and to is a homophone of two.

DAILY RIDDLES 51

Q. I am a king but also a common device of measure. What am I ?

A. A ruler. A king is a ruler of people, a ruler is a device to measure distance.


Q. I cannot hear or even see,
But sense light and sounds there may be,
Sometimes I end up on a hook,
I can be combined with a book.
What am I ?

A. A worm. Worms don't have eyes or ears, but they can sense light and their bodies can detect vibrations in the ground. Fishers use worms as bait and the term bookwork is used for someone who loves to read.

DAILY RIDDLES 50

Q. I'm in an elevator with two other people. When it reaches the first floor, one person gets out and six get in. When it reaches the second floor, three people get out and twelve get in. At the third floor, five leave and nine enter. Suddenly, the elevator cable snaps and the car smashes to the ground. No one survives the fall, yet I'm alive. How is this possible ?

A. I got off at the first floor. I'm a security guard and knew how many people got on and off the elevator by watching the surveillance footage.


Q. A three-letter word I'm sure you know,
I can be on a boat or a sleigh in the snow,
I'm pals with the rain and honor a king,
But my favorite use is attached to a string.
What am I ?

A. A bow. It has three letters, the bow of a boat is the front, bows are found on the presents on Santa's sleigh, rainbows come with the rain, one bows before a king and a bow and arrow requires a string.

DAILY RIDDLES 49

Q. We are not flesh, feather, scales nor bone;
Yet we still have fingers and thumbs of our own.
What are we ?

A. Gloves. They're not made of flesh, feather, scales or bone, but have fingers and thumbs.


Q. Ten white men standing on a dirt road.
Killed by three eyes as black as night.
What happened ?

A. Someone bowled a strike. The ten white men are the pins, the dirt road is the bowling alley (it's not dirt, but it's the color of dirt, and if it said a smooth wooden alley it wouldn't be much of a riddle). Three eyes as black as night are the finger holes in the bowling ball.

DAILY RIDDLES 48

Q. What is in your body for free the first and the second time but the third time you have to buy yourself ?

A. Your teeth. You get baby teeth and adult teeth as part of the life package, but once you lose those you get to pay for dentures (or scare small children with your sunken face).


Q. I am two-faced, but bear one head.
Men spill their blood for me.
I have no legs but travel widely.
I make kings immortal.
I am potent when shared,
Yet lust for my power keeps me locked away.
What am I ?

A. Money (coins specifically). Coins have two faces, heads and tails. People fight for money, and money travels far and wide. Kings live on when they're depticted on a coin. Sharing money with others is a meaningful experience yet many people keep their money locked up.

DAILY RIDDLES 47

Q. A 9-letter word with but one vowel,
After I'm used you may need a towel,
Tests can be used to learn what I am,
Once I am known you can hit a grand slam.

A. Strengths. It has 9 letters with only one vowel, when you use your strengths the exertion can cause you to sweat, requiring a towel, tests can identify ones strengths and once you know what they are, you can hit a metaphorical grand slam by employing them in an area of your choosing.


Q. What always works with something in its eye ?

A. A needle. Thread goes in the eye of the needle when you sew. If you sew nowadays... 

DAILY RIDDLES 46

Q. What is made of wood but can't be sawed ?

A. Sawdust. It's still made up of wood, but a saw will be of no use.


Q. I am a five-letter word and am feared by most but experienced by all. If you remove my first and last letters I bring life. If you add an 'r' between the third and fourth letters I am almost nothing and if you remove the first letter from this new word, I am your home. What am I ?

A. Death (eat, dearth, earth). No one can escape death, but many fear it. Removing the first and last letters leaves eat, and we must eat to stay alive. Adding the 'r' turns death into dearth, which is scarcity and removing the first letter of dearth leaves earth, where you live, assuming this riddle hasn't reached extraterrestrials.

DAILY RIDDLES 45

Q. 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.
What am I ?

A. Water. As ice I'm hard and cold, as water vapor I'm hard to hold and I'm always present in the air as humidity (aka water vapor). If the earth ever runs out of water, we're toast.


Q. I have seven letters and am something you eat. My only anagram can help your pain. If you remove my first 2 letters I wear things down. Removing my first 3 letters is an adjective and removing my first 4 letters leaves a measure of time. What am I ?

A. Sausage. You eat sausage, assuage is the only single-word anagram and provides relief from pain. Usage wears things down, sage is an adjective and age is a measure of time.

DAILY RIDDLES 44

Q. More precious than gold, but cannot be bought,
Can never be sold, only earned if it's sought,
If it is broken it can still can be mended,
At birth it can't start nor by death is it ended.

A. Friendship. It is more precious than gold to have a genuine friend, and true friendship cannot be bought or sold, only earned. When a friendship is broken it can be fixed and infants aren't able to make friends until they're older, but death can't end it. Love doesn't work as an answer because a friendship requires two people to interact, while parents love their children as soon as they're born.


Q. What word of five letters has only one left when two letters are removed ?

A. Any 5-letter word with the word 'one' somewhere in it. Examples include shone, stone, alone, money, loner, or onery. Note it doesn't say there is only one letter left, but only 'one' left. Tricky tricky ;) 

DAILY RIDDLES 43

Q. What 5-letter word sounds like 6 letters when pronounced ?

A. Cello. The pronunciation of c is 'ch', making it sound like the word has 6 letters.


Q. What is black when it's clean and white when it's dirty ?

A. A chalkboard. It's solid black when clean, and as you write on it with white chalk it becomes dirty.

DAILY RIDDLES 42

Q. If I can, I can,
If I can't, I freeze.
What am I ?

A. Someone preserving food. The two most common ways of preserving food are canning and freezing. So when you preserve food, if you can can it, you do, otherwise you freeze it.


Q. This word starts with the same letter it ends with and there are two of the same along the way. There is another pair and one each of two more, just to make you smile. What is the word ?

A. Giggling. It starts and ends with 'g' and there are two more 'g's in the middle. It also has a pair of 'i's and one 'l' and 'n'. Plus, giggling makes you smile ;)

DAILY RIDDLES 41

Q. I am one of very few, perhaps the only one, to look like what I represent. What am I ?

A. The word 'bed', which looks like an actual bed. The 'b' is the headboard, the 'e' is the mattress and the 'd' is the footboard. If you know of another word that looks like the object it represents, let me know.


Q. First I am one, then I seem none,
In death I birth new life.
What's raised exceeds me,
For on bent knee,
I add to a world that's rife.
What am I ?

A. A seed. One seed turns into a plant or tree and seemingly disappears. When a plant dies, the seeds can be harvested to create new plants. From a single seed, hundreds more are created, vastly exceeding the original. Gardeners care for plants on bent knee and each new plant helps make the air fresher.

RIDDLES 40

Q. A tiny thing, that you exist,
Sweet and valuable, but lightning fast,
Combined minds and a member of royalty,
Without me you would die.
What am I ?

A. The letter 'b', the verb to be or a bee. The letter b and a bee are both small and to be means you exist. Bees make honey, which is sweet, and their wings are going at around 230 beats per second. Bees are valuable because they pollinate flowers. They live in hives and the queen bee runs the show. If it weren't for bees, we would probably starve to death.


Q.A descending nudge,
Or a marvelous jibe,
An abode on excursion,
And a bashing immersion,
We all live in this tribe.
What am I ?

A. Sports. A descending nudge is a touchdown (nudge = touch, descending = down), a marvelous jibe is a grand slam, an abode on excursion is a home run and a bashing immersion is a slam dunk. All of these phrases are found in sports, more specifically American football, baseball and basketball.

RIDDLES 39

Q. People speak through me, yet I do not make a sound.
People can sell me, yet I have many clones.
I can bring you laughter between breakfast and tea,
Yet I can also break your heart easily.
I cover the earth like trees of old,
Whose leaves can blind and yet enfold.

A. A book. Authors can speak to you through a book, yet the book makes no sound. Books are sold and have many duplicate copies. A book can bring the reader to tears and laughter, they span the globe and the leaves of a book (a single sheet in a book is called a leaf) can get you wrapped up in the story that you're unaware of what's going on around you.


Q. After the tenth one it didn't matter that he came from an ethnic minority. Who was it ?

A. Moses from the Bible. The Pharaoh wouldn't release the ill-treated Israelites (an ethnic minority) from slavery until being visited by ten plagues.

RIDDLES 38

Q. I work hard most every day,
Not much time to dance and play,
If I could reach what I desire,
All like me would now retire.
What am I ?

A. A doctor. They work hard to eradicate illness, but if they ever succeeded, they would no longer be needed. Hey, that rhymed and I didn't even intend it to.


Q. I am eight letters long and am kept a secret from everyone. Letters two through four spell an animal, letters four to the end make a weapon, letters one, two and eight make what you use in an exam and my third and fourth letters are the same. What am I ?

A. A password. You should keep your password a secret from everyone, letters two through four spell ass, an animal also known as a donkey. Letters four to the end spell sword, which is a deadly weapon and the letters one, two and eight make pad, which is used for writing during an exam. Lastly, the third and fourth letters are both 's'.

RIDDLES 37

Q. A box without hinges, lock or key, yet golden treasure lies within. What is it ?

A. An egg.


Q. Forward I'm heavy, but backwards I'm not. What am I ?

A. Ton.