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Riddles

Riddles for Adults with Answers

Here are 108 riddles for adults with answers, each with a hint, and every answer stays hidden until you tap it.

Good riddles for adults hide the answer behind wordplay, logic or a number trick, so you need to think sideways rather than just know a fact. This list has 55 medium and 53 hard riddles for adults, teens, dinner parties, office breaks and anyone who likes a challenge. 22 of them are from the Quiz Zoomies riddle video, and the rest were written and checked by the Quiz Zoomies team. Try each one before you open the answer, and use the hint if you get stuck.

108 riddles for adults

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

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    The letter M Hint: Look at the letters, not the time.

  2. A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9 run away. How many are left?

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    9 Hint: Read the words 'all but' very carefully.

  3. Mary's father has five daughters: Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono. What is the fifth one's name?

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    Mary Hint: The answer is in the first three words.

  4. What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?

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    A stamp Hint: It goes on an envelope.

  5. What disappears as soon as you say its name?

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    Silence Hint: Saying anything at all ruins it.

  6. What starts with T, ends with T, and has T in it?

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    A teapot Hint: It is something you pour tea from.

  7. Feed me and I live, but give me a drink and I die. What am I?

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    Fire Hint: It crackles in a fireplace.

  8. What has 13 hearts but no other organs?

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    A deck of cards Hint: Think of a card game.

  9. Which word is spelled wrong in every dictionary?

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    Wrong Hint: Read the question literally.

  10. Forward I'm heavy, but backward I'm not. What am I?

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    A ton Hint: Spell the word backward.

  11. Which 5-letter word gets shorter when you add two letters to it?

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    Short Hint: The answer is literally in the question.

  12. It's black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away. What is it?

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    Charcoal Hint: It goes on a barbecue grill.

  13. What can you hold in your right hand, but never in your left hand?

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    Your left elbow Hint: Try it with your own hands.

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

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    A bank Hint: Think of a place that keeps money.

  15. People make me, save me, spend me, change me and raise me. What am I?

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    Money Hint: You keep me in a wallet.

  16. I have no life, but I can still die. What am I?

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    A battery Hint: Remote controls need me.

  17. People throw me away when they want to use me, and pull me back in when they are done. What am I?

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    An anchor Hint: Think of ships.

  18. A brick weighs 1 kilogram plus half a brick. How much does one whole brick weigh?

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    2 kilograms Hint: Half a brick must weigh 1 kilogram.

  19. Two hens lay two eggs in two days. How many eggs does one hen lay in four days?

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    2 Hint: Work out how many eggs one hen lays per day.

  20. A frog is at the bottom of a 10 meter well. Each day it climbs up 3 meters, and each night it slides back 2 meters. On which day does it reach the top?

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    Day 8 Hint: On the last day it does not slide back.

  21. Using only addition, how can you add eight 8s to get 1,000?

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    888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 Hint: Some of the 8s can stick together.

  22. A clock strikes 6 times at 6 o'clock, and it takes 5 seconds from the first strike to the last. How long does it take to strike 12 times at noon?

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    11 seconds Hint: Count the gaps, not the strikes.

  23. I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is 5 more than my ones digit, and my hundreds digit is 8 less than my tens digit. What number am I?

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    194 Hint: The tens digit must be as big as it can be.

  24. Which number, written in English, has all its letters in alphabetical order?

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    Forty Hint: It is between 30 and 50.

  25. If a hen and a half lays an egg and a half in a day and a half, how many eggs does one hen lay in one day?

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    Two thirds of an egg Hint: Fewer hens and fewer days means fewer eggs, twice over.

  26. Seven friends meet, and each one shakes hands with every other friend once. How many handshakes are there?

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    21 Hint: The first friend shakes 6 hands, the next one 5 new hands.

  27. A dad is 30 years older than his son. In 5 years he will be 3 times as old as his son. How old is the son now?

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    10 Hint: Try a few ages for the son.

  28. Sam is 12 years old but has only had 3 birthdays. How is that possible?

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    Sam was born on February 29 Hint: Some dates do not come every year.

  29. A house has four walls, and every one of them faces south. A bear walks past. What color is the bear?

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    White Hint: Where could every wall face south?

  30. A man looks at a photo and says: Brothers and sisters I have none, but that man's father is my father's son. Who is in the photo?

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    His son Hint: My father's son, with no brothers, is me.

  31. You have two US coins that add up to 30 cents. One of them is not a nickel. What are the two coins?

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    A quarter and a nickel Hint: Only one of them is not a nickel.

  32. A woman has 7 children and half of them are boys. How can that be?

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    They are all boys Hint: Half of them can still be boys if more are.

  33. What comes next: 1, 11, 21, 1211, 111221?

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    312211 Hint: Read each number out loud, describing the one before it.

  34. Which four-letter word reads the same forward, backward and upside down when written in capital letters?

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    NOON Hint: It is the middle of the day.

  35. Which English word has three double letters in a row?

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    Bookkeeper Hint: Someone who keeps the accounts.

  36. I am a word of three letters. Add two more letters and fewer there will be. What word am I?

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    Few Hint: The answer is hidden in the riddle.

  37. What is the longest word in the dictionary?

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    Smiles, because there is a mile between the first and last letter Hint: Look for a hidden distance.

  38. What starts with P, ends with E, and has thousands of letters?

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    A post office Hint: The letters are mail.

  39. Which kind of cheese is made backwards?

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    Edam Hint: Spell it in reverse.

  40. Where does today come before yesterday?

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    In the dictionary Hint: Put the words in order.

  41. What is it that, after you take away the whole, some still remains?

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    Wholesome Hint: Take away w-h-o-l-e.

  42. What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three legs in the evening?

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    A human Hint: Think of a whole life as one day.

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

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    Pencil lead Hint: You write with me.

  44. Thirty white horses on a red hill. First they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still. What are they?

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    Teeth Hint: Smile in the mirror.

  45. Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye, and a long tail which she let fly. Every time she went through a gap, a bit of her tail she left in a trap. What is she?

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    A needle and thread Hint: Think of sewing.

  46. What has a heart that never beats?

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    An artichoke Hint: You can find it in the vegetable aisle.

  47. It lives in winter, dies in summer, and grows with its root upward. What is it?

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    An icicle Hint: Look under the roof on a cold day.

  48. In marble walls as white as milk, lined with skin as soft as silk, within a fountain crystal clear, a golden apple does appear. No doors there are to this stronghold, yet thieves break in and steal the gold. What is it?

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    An egg Hint: A hen could tell you.

  49. A hill full, a hole full, yet you cannot catch a bowl full. What is it?

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    Mist Hint: Early morning over a field.

  50. What can go up a chimney when it is down, but can't go down a chimney when it is up?

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    An umbrella Hint: Open or closed?

Share a single riddle: every riddle on this page has its own page
  1. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
  2. A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9 run away. How many are left?
  3. Mary's father has five daughters: Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono. What is the fifth one's name?
  4. What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
  5. What disappears as soon as you say its name?
  6. What starts with T, ends with T, and has T in it?
  7. Feed me and I live, but give me a drink and I die. What am I?
  8. What has 13 hearts but no other organs?
  9. Which word is spelled wrong in every dictionary?
  10. Forward I'm heavy, but backward I'm not. What am I?
  11. Which 5-letter word gets shorter when you add two letters to it?
  12. It's black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away. What is it?
  13. What can you hold in your right hand, but never in your left hand?
  14. I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?
  15. People make me, save me, spend me, change me and raise me. What am I?
  16. I have no life, but I can still die. What am I?
  17. People throw me away when they want to use me, and pull me back in when they are done. What am I?
  18. A brick weighs 1 kilogram plus half a brick. How much does one whole brick weigh?
  19. Two hens lay two eggs in two days. How many eggs does one hen lay in four days?
  20. A frog is at the bottom of a 10 meter well. Each day it climbs up 3 meters, and each night it slides back 2 meters. On which day does it reach the top?
  21. Using only addition, how can you add eight 8s to get 1,000?
  22. A clock strikes 6 times at 6 o'clock, and it takes 5 seconds from the first strike to the last. How long does it take to strike 12 times at noon?
  23. I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is 5 more than my ones digit, and my hundreds digit is 8 less than my tens digit. What number am I?
  24. Which number, written in English, has all its letters in alphabetical order?
  25. If a hen and a half lays an egg and a half in a day and a half, how many eggs does one hen lay in one day?
  26. Seven friends meet, and each one shakes hands with every other friend once. How many handshakes are there?
  27. A dad is 30 years older than his son. In 5 years he will be 3 times as old as his son. How old is the son now?
  28. Sam is 12 years old but has only had 3 birthdays. How is that possible?
  29. A house has four walls, and every one of them faces south. A bear walks past. What color is the bear?
  30. A man looks at a photo and says: Brothers and sisters I have none, but that man's father is my father's son. Who is in the photo?
  31. You have two US coins that add up to 30 cents. One of them is not a nickel. What are the two coins?
  32. A woman has 7 children and half of them are boys. How can that be?
  33. What comes next: 1, 11, 21, 1211, 111221?
  34. Which four-letter word reads the same forward, backward and upside down when written in capital letters?
  35. Which English word has three double letters in a row?
  36. I am a word of three letters. Add two more letters and fewer there will be. What word am I?
  37. What is the longest word in the dictionary?
  38. What starts with P, ends with E, and has thousands of letters?
  39. Which kind of cheese is made backwards?
  40. Where does today come before yesterday?
  41. What is it that, after you take away the whole, some still remains?
  42. What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three legs in the evening?
  43. I am taken from a mine and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost everybody. What am I?
  44. Thirty white horses on a red hill. First they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still. What are they?
  45. Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye, and a long tail which she let fly. Every time she went through a gap, a bit of her tail she left in a trap. What is she?
  46. What has a heart that never beats?
  47. It lives in winter, dies in summer, and grows with its root upward. What is it?
  48. In marble walls as white as milk, lined with skin as soft as silk, within a fountain crystal clear, a golden apple does appear. No doors there are to this stronghold, yet thieves break in and steal the gold. What is it?
  49. A hill full, a hole full, yet you cannot catch a bowl full. What is it?
  50. What can go up a chimney when it is down, but can't go down a chimney when it is up?

Frequently asked questions

How many riddles for adults are on this page?

108 riddles for adults (55 medium and 53 hard), over 2 pages. Each has a hint and an answer hidden under a Show answer button, and its own page you can share.

What are some good riddles for adults?

What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? The letter M. A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9 run away. How many are left? 9. Mary's father has five daughters: Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono. What is the fifth one's name? Mary.

Are riddles for adults family-friendly?

Yes. On Quiz Zoomies, for adults means harder thinking, never mature content, so you can share any of these riddles with the whole family.

What is a good riddle for adults?

A brick weighs 1 kilogram plus half a brick. How much does one whole brick weigh? 2 kilograms. It sounds like 1.5 kilograms, which is why it catches so many people.

Can I print these riddles?

Yes. Press Print above the list: every answer opens for the printout and the page drops its menus, so you get a clean sheet for a classroom or a party.

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