Riddles for Adults
The children have gone to bed, the fire is low, and there is something agreeable in your glass. Now we may have the other sort of riddle.
These twenty-five are not about combs and kites. They are about time and truth, lies and jealousy, grief and habit; the things one only learns to recognise after a few decades of living. Others are plain trickery: questions that sound like arithmetic or geography and turn out to be nothing of the kind. I recommend reading those very slowly, for the trap is usually in the wording.
They make a fine game for a dinner table. Read one out, let the arguments begin, and refuse to reveal the answer until somebody has changed their mind at least twice.
Gerald, my crow, is of the view that riddles for adults ought to involve more shiny objects. I have told him that is a matter for his own collection, and he has gone off to sulk on the battlements.
How many months have 28 days?
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All twelveEvery single month has at least 28 days.
When does tomorrow come before yesterday?
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In a dictionaryIn alphabetical order, T comes before Y.
A bear walks one mile south, one mile east, then one mile north and ends up exactly where it started. What colour is the bear?
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White — it is a polar bear at the North PoleThe only place on Earth where you can walk one mile south, one mile east, and one mile north and end up in your exact starting position is the North Pole.
If a ship captain has 15 fish and the sea is full of sharks, how many fish does he have?
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15 — the fish are already on the shipThe riddle implies the sharks will eat the fish, but the fish are on the ship — not in the sea.
What is half of 8? There are two correct answers.
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4 — or 0 (if you fold the digit 8 horizontally, both halves are 0)Half of eight is four mathematically.
I am white when dirty and black when clean. What am I?
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A BlackboardA blackboard is black when clean and empty.
The more you remove from me, the larger I become. What am I?
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A HoleWhen you dig out or remove material from a hole, it gets bigger.
I am a party where the guest of honour cannot attend. I am a gathering held for someone who no longer gathers. I am sombre yet I often end with stories and laughter. What am I?
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A FuneralA funeral is held to mark a death — the guest of honour, the deceased, cannot attend in the usual sense.
I am always in front of you but can never be seen. What am I?
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The FutureThe future is always ahead of you — by definition it has not happened yet.
Everyone wants to tell me but wishes they hadn't. The more people know me, the less I am. What am I?
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A SecretPeople often feel compelled to share secrets then regret it.
I am born in an instant and can live forever. I never breathe yet I spread faster than disease. One of me can destroy a lifetime's reputation. What am I?
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A LieA lie is created in a moment but its consequences can last indefinitely.
Some refuse to see me even when I am directly in front of them. I hurt at first but heal in the long run. I am the same for everyone, even when people disagree. What am I?
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The TruthPeople often deny the truth even when presented with clear evidence.
I get better with age but am ruined by heat. I am treasured when old but ignored when young. I come from grapes or grain. What am I?
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WineWine improves over years in the barrel or bottle.
I approach like a wave that grows larger the closer it gets. Before me, people do nothing. As I arrive, people do everything. I am the greatest motivator known to humanity. What am I?
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A DeadlineA deadline is the point by which work must be completed.
I am the loudest thing in an empty room. I am what you hear when all sound is gone. I am uncomfortable for many yet peaceful for few. What am I?
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SilenceWhen there is no sound, silence becomes almost physically present — especially in an empty room.
I am made in seven seconds and can last a lifetime. I cannot be unmade. You make me about everyone you meet and everyone makes one of you. What am I?
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A First ImpressionResearch suggests first impressions are formed within seven seconds of meeting someone.
Shakespeare called me the green-eyed monster. I poison what I touch. I am a sign that you care — but also that you do not trust. What am I?
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JealousyShakespeare coined the phrase 'the green-eyed monster' in Othello to describe jealousy.
I am not an action, I am what an action becomes. I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I take weeks to make and a lifetime to break. What am I?
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A HabitA habit is a behaviour that through repetition becomes automatic.
I am a longing for a time that may never have been quite as good as I remember. I make the past warmer than it was. I am a kind of beautiful sadness. What am I?
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NostalgiaNostalgia is the bittersweet longing for the past.
I have no weight yet I can crush you. I have no arms yet I can embrace you. I live in your mind but affect your whole body. What am I?
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A ThoughtThoughts are weightless and invisible, yet a single thought can cause overwhelming anxiety or beautiful joy — physically affecting heart rate, breathing, and more.
I feed no one yet I have sustained millions through famine. I cure nothing yet the sick hold onto me. I cost nothing yet I am priceless. What am I?
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HopeHope provides no food or medicine yet it has kept people alive through the worst conditions imaginable.
I am the price you pay for love. The greater the love, the heavier I am. I am not an illness yet I can break the strongest person. What am I?
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GriefGrief is experienced in proportion to the love felt for what was lost.
I am dug for the living yet filled by the dead. I cost everything but give nothing back. What am I?
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A GraveA grave is dug in preparation for someone still alive — the dying or recently deceased.
On me, going up forever never gets you higher. Going down forever never gets you lower. I exist in art but not in physics. What am I?
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An Escher Staircase (Penrose Steps)The Penrose steps, made famous by M.C.
I say the opposite of what I mean. I require tone of voice to work. I cannot survive translation. Children under four years old cannot understand me. What am I?
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SarcasmSarcasm communicates meaning through tone that contradicts the literal words.