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...