Clever Openers 😄
The person who makes it has no need of it. The person who buys it doesn’t use it. The person who uses it doesn’t know it. What is it?
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A coffin.
I am taken from a mine, and shut in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost every person. What am I?
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Pencil lead (graphite).
A man is looking at a photograph. Someone asks, 'Whose picture are you looking at?' He replies, '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.
You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I’m quick when I’m thin and slow when I’m fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I?
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A candle.
What can you hold without ever touching?
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A conversation.
What gets broken without being held?
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A promise.
What kind of coat is always wet when you put it on?
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A coat of paint.
What building has the most stories?
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A library.
What has a neck but no head?
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A bottle.
Tricky Riddles 🎯
What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs?
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A penny.
What type of cheese is made backward?
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Edam.
What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
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Short.
A plane crashes on the border of the U.S. and Canada. Where do they bury the survivors?
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You do not bury survivors.
What has a ring but no finger?
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A telephone.
What is always in front of you but cannot be seen?
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The future.
What goes up and down but does not move?
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A staircase.
What has many teeth but cannot bite?
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A comb.
Forward I am heavy, backward I am not. What am I?
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The word ton.
What English word has three consecutive double letters?
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Bookkeeper.
Logic Riddles 🧩
If it takes five machines five minutes to make five widgets, how long would one hundred machines take to make one hundred widgets?
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Five minutes.
A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
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5 cents. (Bat $1.05 + ball $0.05 = $1.10.)
A man is twenty years old but has only had five birthdays. How?
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He was born on February 29 during a leap year.
How many times can you subtract five from twenty-five?
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Once. After that you are subtracting five from twenty.
What belongs to you, but other people use it more than you do?
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Your name.
What has thirteen hearts but no other organs?
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A deck of cards.
A farmer has seventeen sheep. All but nine run away. How many are left?
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Nine.
How many months have twenty-eight days?
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All twelve. Every month has at least twenty-eight days.
You have two U.S. coins that total thirty cents. One of them is not a nickel. What are the coins?
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A quarter and a nickel. Only one of them is not a nickel.
Hard Riddles 🔥
What is harder to catch the faster you run?
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Your breath.
The more you have of me, the less you see. What am I?
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Darkness.
What question can you never answer yes to?
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Are you asleep yet?
What has a heart that does not beat?
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An artichoke.
I turn once, what is out will not get in. I turn again, what is in will not get out. What am I?
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A key.
A cowboy rode into town on Friday. He stayed three days and left on Friday. How?
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His horse’s name was Friday.
What breaks yet never falls, and what falls yet never breaks?
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Day breaks and night falls.
A man pushes his car to a hotel and tells the owner he’s bankrupt. Why?
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He’s playing Monopoly.
Clever Riddles 🧠
I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
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A joke.
The more you take from me, the bigger I get. What am I?
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A hole.
You see a boat filled with people, yet there isn’t a single person on board. How?
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They’re all married.
What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
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The letter 'M'.
The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
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Footsteps.
What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?
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A river.
What 8-letter word remains a word as you remove each letter one by one?
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Starting → Staring → String → Sting → Sing → Sin → In → I.
I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?
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A map.
What begins and ends with an 'e', but only contains one letter?
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An envelope.
I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?
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An echo.
What can fill a room but takes up no space?
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Light.
I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but can’t go outside. What am I?
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A keyboard.
What word is always pronounced wrong?
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Wrong.
I’m not alive, but I grow. I don’t have lungs, but I need air. What am I?
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Fire.
What disappears as soon as you say its name?
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Silence.
What can travel all around the world without leaving its corner?
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A stamp.
What has words but never speaks?
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A book.
Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it, you die. What is it?
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Nothing.
I have branches, but no fruit, trunk, or leaves. What am I?
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A bank.
What gets sharper the more you use it?
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Your mind.
Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain on Earth?
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Mount Everest. It was still the tallest even before it was discovered.
For a deeper challenge, try challenging riddles for adults, logic riddles for adults, and tricky riddles for adults. Want something lighter instead? Try easier riddles for adults. Prefer a debate game? Try would you rather questions for adults.
FAQ
What makes a riddle good for adults?
Look for wordplay, logic twists, and answers that are not obvious at first glance. Mix clever and tricky riddles so the group stays engaged.
How many riddles should I use at trivia night?
Ten to fifteen is a solid round. Pull a few from each section so difficulty varies.
Where should I go for the hardest puzzles?
Start with the Hard Riddles section here, then move to hard brain teasers for adults when you want fewer, tougher teasers.