Riddle

A riddle is a short puzzle in the form of a question or description whose answer is hidden behind a double meaning, a misleading detail or an unexpected point of view.

"I have keys but open no locks, I have space but no room, you can enter but cannot go outside." The answer is a keyboard. Every line is true, and every line points somewhere else first.

How riddles work

Most riddles run on a small set of tricks.

• A double meaning. "Keys" and "space" each have two senses, and the riddle uses the wrong one first.
• The object speaks. Many old riddles are told in the first person by the thing itself, such as an ice cube, a candle or a book.
• A false category. The description sounds like an animal or a person, and the answer is an object.
• A hidden pattern. The answer lives in the letters, as in a word that reads the same backward.

The Sphinx asked what walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon and three in the evening. The answer is a human, crawling, walking and then using a cane. The Exeter Book riddles use the same method for plows, swords and storms.

Why it matters to a writer or editor

A riddle is a lesson in fair play. The same is true of a mystery plot: every clue must be there, and each must point two ways. Writers use riddle logic when they plant a detail that means one thing on first read and another on second, which is setup and payoff in miniature.

To edit a riddle, check that no line is false of the answer, and that the first guess is a good wrong one. Bossfeed's daily riddle is a good place to practise, and the pun and double entendre are close relatives.

Read an example

Public domain riddles to try. Answers are below.

• The riddle of the Sphinx, from the Greek story of Oedipus: "What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon and three in the evening?"
• A traditional nursery rhyme: "Thirty white horses upon a red hill, / Now they champ, now they stamp, now they stand still."
• An Old English riddle from the Exeter Book, about a thousand years old, describes a creature that eats words and is no wiser for it. It is small, and it lives among books.

Answers: a human being, a set of teeth, and a bookworm.

Bossfeed posts a new classic riddle every day. Read the daily riddle archive, play the Daily Riddle, or start with one from Aug 1, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What makes a good riddle?

It is fair: every clue is true of the answer. And it is misleading: the clues point first at something else. The answer should feel obvious once you know it.

What is the oldest known riddle?

Riddles appear in the oldest written cultures. The Sphinx's riddle in the story of Oedipus and the roughly ninety riddles of the Old English Exeter Book, about a thousand years old, are among the best known.

How is a riddle different from a joke?

A joke surprises you with its ending. A riddle asks you to find the ending yourself, and the pleasure is in solving.