Best Riddles and Brain Teasers

110 Best Riddles for Adults & Kids (plus Answers)

Call them what you want, riddles, mind-bogglers, mysteries, puzzles, brainteasers, quandaries, questions, sticklers, or brain-twisters… the best riddles for adults & kids are just a fun way to exercise your brain.

Who doesn’t want to play a good game? Not everyone is gifted at poetry, logic, or jokes. When I was in college, I loved riddles. These are the types of puzzles that helped me focus and to remain engaged in my studies and my social life.

Riddles have endured throughout history, and continue to be a source of fun, entertainment, and brain exercises to this day. In today’s digital age, the internet has become the ultimate tool to disseminate some of the best riddles across the entire globe.

But, I think, part of the fun of riddles – especially some of the best riddles – is the pride in having figured out the answer on your own. Whether you are looking for logic riddles, math riddles, riddles for kids, or riddles for adults – you’re sure to find a bunch from this massive collection of some of the best riddles.

And to make it fun for everyone, we’ve “hidden” the answers in our list of the best riddles. To unlock the correct answer, simply click the “Answer” tab above each riddle. But try to figure it out for yourself first! Or you can watch the video, where we have narrowed the list down to 65 of the best riddles.

Different Types of Riddles

There are different types of riddles that one can find in this list, but the two main types are classified as “Enigmas” and “Conundrums.

Enigma riddles are problems expressed in a way that requires careful thinking and ingenuity to solve. These are more logic-based and require a person to think about the relationships within the riddle and how to solve a complex problem.

Conundrum riddles are questions that rely on wordplay or puns to create misdirection within the riddle. After all, words can have different meanings depending on how you use them, and these types of riddles rely on that slight-of-word.

Some of them are easy riddles, some are hard. Some of the best riddles are far easier than you think they are, you just need to look past what you “think” the answer should be and consider the different possibilities. That’s one of the reasons riddles are so good for the brain, they teach us to problem solve in new and unique ways.

How Answering Riddles Can Improve Your Brain

Answering riddles can make you a better problem solver. No matter how bored you might be with your current job, you will get a lot more satisfaction from answering riddles and brain-teasers and gaining knowledge and intelligence from them than you ever will from reading The Wall Street Journal.

According to the University of Otago, working memory can improve dramatically if you spend some time solving a riddle or a brainteaser. Researchers at the University of Otago found that working memory capacity is directly related to the level of difficulty of a brainteaser. In other words, if a problem can be solved by rote memorization, then it is easy; if it can be solved by engaging your brain, then it is considered difficult.

How Many From This List of the 110 Best Riddles Can You Answer?

Now it is time to challenge yourself.  Don’t worry, this isn’t a timed test and nobody is keeping score (except yourself), but go through each riddle and see if you can figure out the answer before clicking on the answer tab. 

How many did you get right?  Let us know in the comments at the bottom!!!! And don’t feel bad, almost nobody figures out the very last riddle. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I left it for last… it is the best of the best riddles (in my opinion). 

The more of me there is, the less you see. What am I?

Darkness

Darkness

What has to be broken before you can use it?

An egg

Darkness

When you need me, you throw me away. When you don’t need me, you bring me back. What am I?

An anchor

Darkness

What word contains 26 letters but only has three syllables?

The alphabet.

Darkness

I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?

A candle

Darkness

You do not want me when you don’t have me, but when you have me you don’t want to lose me. What am I?

A lawsuit.

Darkness

You bury me when I’m alive and dig me up when I’m dead. What am I?

A plant

Darkness


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If you drop me, I’m sure to crack but smile at me, and I’ll always smile back. What am I?

A mirror

Darkness

What can you keep after giving it to someone?

Your word (or a promise)

Darkness

You draw a line. Without touching it, how do you make that line longer?

Simply draw a shorter line next to it. The first line will now be the longer line in comparison.

Darkness

What month of the year has 28 days in it?

All of them

Darkness

What loses its head in the morning and gets it back at night?

A pillow

Darkness

What question can you never answer yes to?

Are you asleep yet?

Darkness

What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?

The future

Darkness

There’s a one-story house in which everything is yellow. Yellow walls, yellow doors, yellow furniture. What color are the stairs?

There aren’t any—it’s a one-story house.

Darkness

What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?

A promise

Darkness

What goes up but never comes down?

Your age (your actual age, not the age you tell people). 🙂

Darkness

What kind of coat do you have to put on wet?

Paint (or Nail Polish)

Darkness

I shave every day, but my beard stays the same. What am I?

A barber

Darkness

You see a boat filled with people, yet there isn’t a single person on board. How is that possible?

All the people on the boat are married.

Darkness

I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?

A bank

Darkness

What can’t talk but will reply when spoken to?

An echo

Darkness

David’s parents have three sons: Snap, Crackle, and what’s the name of the third son?

David

Darkness

I follow you all the time and copy your every move, but you can’t touch me or catch me. What am I?

Your shadow

Darkness

What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?

A piano

Darkness


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What can you hold in your left hand but not in your right?

Your right elbow

Darkness

What is black when it’s clean and white when it’s dirty?

A chalkboard

Darkness

What gets bigger when more is taken away?

A hole

Darkness

I’m lighter than a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for more than five minutes. What am I?

Your breath.

Darkness

Where does success come before work?

The dictionary

Darkness

What invention lets you look right through a wall?

The window

Darkness

If you’ve got me, you want to share me; if you share me, you haven’t kept me. What am I?

A secret

Darkness

What can’t be put in a saucepan?

It’s lid

Darkness

What goes up and down but doesn’t move?

A staircase

Darkness

It belongs to you, but other people use it more than you do. What is it?

Your name

Darkness

If you’re running in a race and you pass the person in second place, what place are you in?

Second place

Darkness

What has lots of eyes, but can’t see?

A potato

Darkness

What has many needles, but doesn’t sew?

A pine tree

Darkness

What has hands, but can’t clap?

A clock

Darkness

What has legs, but doesn’t walk?

A table

Darkness

What has one head, one foot and four legs?

A bed

Darkness


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What can you catch, but not throw?

A cold

Darkness

What kind of band never plays music?

A rubber band

Darkness

What has many teeth, but doesn’t bite?

A comb

Darkness

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 takes his picture and then develops it in the darkroom.

Darkness

What has one eye, but can’t see?

A needle

Darkness

What is cut on a table, but is never eaten?

A deck of cards

Darkness

How can the number four be half of five?

IV (4 in Roman Numerals)

Darkness

What has words, but never speaks?

A book

Darkness

What runs all around a backyard, yet never moves?

A fence

Darkness

I have keys, but no doors, and space but no rooms. You can enter, but you can’t go outside. What am I?

A keyboard

Darkness

What can travel all around the world without leaving its corner?

A stamp

Darkness

So I’m challenging my smart, intelligent friends, to have a crack at guessing the answer to the riddle below. When you think you know, PM me in Messenger the answer. Don’t answer in the comments, it will be deleted. If you are not going to follow the instructions after you lose, please don’t answer.

Good luck

Your turn! Read the riddle. If your answer is incorrect, I can choose any of your photos and you have to post it along with the riddle. If you answer correctly, I’ll write your name in the comments (with a trophy emoji.)

It’s 7 am.

You are asleep and there is a sudden knock on the door.

Behind the door are your parents who came to have breakfast. In your fridge are bread, milk (pasteurized), juice, and a jar of jam.

To answer, what will you open first? Answer directly through Messenger only, answers in the comment section will be deleted.

Note: It’s not what you think. So far no one has got it. Read carefully.

The first thing you open is Messenger. See the Facebook riddle explanation here.

Darkness

What has a thumb and four fingers, but is not a hand?

A glove

Darkness

What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?

The letter “M”

Darkness

Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

Darkness

You have three stoves: a gas stove, a wood stove, and a coal stove, but only one match. Which should you light first?

The match!

Darkness


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You approach a mountain that has two paths. One leads to the other side of the mountain, and the other will get you lost forever. Two twins know the path that leads to the other side. You can ask them only one question. Except one of the twins always lies and the other one always tells the truth, and you don’t know which is which. So, What do you ask which brother?

You ask each twin – Which path would your brother use?  And then take the opposite path. This works because the liar would know his brother was honest and he would say the left side, but since the liar lies, he would say right. If you asked the honest twin the same question, he would say right, because he knows his brother will lie. Therefore, you would know that the correct path was the left!

Darkness

What is full of holes but can still hold water?

A sponge.

Darkness

What has a head and a tail but no body?

A coin

Darkness

What gets wetter the more it dries?

A towel

Darkness

I am a word with six letters; my first three letters refer to an automobile; my last three letters refer to a household animal; my first four letters is a fish; my whole is found in your room. What am I?

A carpet.

Darkness

What building has the most stories?

The library

Darkness

What tastes better than it smells?

Your tongue

Darkness

I’m lighter than what I am made of, and more of me is hidden than is seen. What am I?

An iceberg

Darkness

What has 13 hearts, but no other organs?

A deck of cards

Darkness

What has ears but never listens?

Corn

Darkness

What has a bottom at the top?

Your legs

Darkness

What has four wheels and flies?

A garbage truck

Darkness

I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?

Seven

Darkness

What three whole numbers, none of which is zero, give the same result whether they’re added or multiplied?

One, two and three

Darkness

Mary has four daughters, and each of her daughters has a brother. How many children does Mary have?

Five—each daughter has the same brother.

Darkness


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Which is heavier: a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?

Neither—they both weigh a ton.

Darkness

Three doctors said that Bill was their brother. Bill says he has no brothers. How many brothers does Bill actually have?

None. Bill has three sisters.

Darkness

A man was out for a walk when it started to rain. He did not have an umbrella and he wasn’t wearing a hat. His clothes were soaked, yet not a single hair on his head got wet. How could this happen?

This man is bald!

Darkness

Two fathers and two sons are in a car, yet there are only three people in the car. How?

They are a grandfather, father and son.

Darkness

If there are three apples and you take away two, how many apples do you have?

You have two apples.

Darkness

Re-arrange the letters, O O U S W T D N E J R, to spell just one word. What is it?

‘Just one word’

Darkness

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

Darkness

What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?

Short (becomes Shorter when you add er)

Darkness

What begins with an “e”, ends with an “e”, but only contains one letter?

An envelope

Darkness

A word I know, six letters it contains, remove one letter and 12 remains. What is it?

Dozens

Darkness

You see me once in June, twice in November, and not at all in May. What am I?

The letter “e”

Darkness

A man calls his dog from the opposite side of a wide river. The dog immediately crosses the river without getting wet, and without using a bridge or boat. How?

The river was frozen

Darkness

What can you put in a wooden barrel to make it lighter?

Holes

Darkness

I have lakes with no water, mountains with no stone, and cities with no buildings. What am I?

A map

Darkness

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

Darkness

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 in the painting?

The man’s son

Darkness

The person who makes it has no need for it; the person who buys it has no use for it. The person who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?

A coffin

Darkness


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I am always hungry and will die if not fed, but whatever I touch will soon turn red. What am I?

Fire

Darkness

What goes through cities and fields, but never moves?

Roads

Darkness

What breaks yet never falls, and what falls yet never breaks?

Day and Night

Darkness

The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?

Footsteps

Darkness

What can fill a room but takes up no space?

Light

Darkness

What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?

A river

Darkness

What is so fragile that simply saying its name breaks it?

Silence

Darkness

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 person, while the entire word signifies a great woman. What is the word?

Heroine

Darkness

I am a word that begins with the letter “i.” If you add the letter “a” to me, I become a new word with a different meaning, but that sounds exactly the same. What word am I?

Isle (Becomes “Aisle” when you add an “A”)

Darkness

What word is pronounced the same if you take away four of its five letters?

Queue

Darkness

I am a word of letters three; add two and fewer there will be. What word am I?

Few

Darkness

What is 3/7 chicken, 2/3 cat and 1/2 goat?

Chicago

Darkness

I have two hands, but I can not scratch myself. What am I?

A clock

Darkness

Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?

The word “ton”

Darkness

What 4-letter word can be written forward, backward or upside down, and can still be read from left to right?

NOON

Darkness

If eleven plus two equals one, what does nine plus five equal?

2… 11 o’clock plus 2 hours = 1 o’clock and 9 o’clock plus 5 hours = 2 o’clock

Darkness

I am the beginning of everything, the end of everywhere. I’m the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space. What am I?

The Letter “e”

Darkness



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

Stone

Darkness

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”

Darkness

A windowless room contains three identical light fixtures, each containing an identical light bulb or light globe.

Each light is connected to one of three switches outside of the room. Each bulb is switched off at present. You are outside the room, and the door is closed. Before opening the door you may play around with the light switches as many times as you like.

Once you’ve opened the door, you may no longer touch a switch. After this, you go into the room and examine the lights. How can you tell which switch goes to which light?

Switch on switches 1 & 3, wait a minute and then switch off number 3.

Switch #1 will be the light that is one.
Switch #2 will be the light that is off.
Switch #3 will be the light that is off, but the bulb is warm.

Darkness

We Hope You Enjoyed This List of the Riddles

Did you keep score? How many did you figure out (before you checked the Anser tab?). Let us know in the comments below!

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