Letter Riddles

Press the button for one riddle about letters and spelling, then tap Show answer.

  1. Why is the letter F like a cow's tail?
All 34

How it works

These letter riddles are 34 old riddles where the answer is a letter, a few letters said aloud, or a word to spell. Each answer stays hidden until you tap Show answer.

Read the full guide

Three kinds of letter riddle

One letter asks why a letter is like something: T is the happiest, because it is next to U. Letters that say words are read aloud: K N sounds like cayenne. Spelling puzzles need a pencil, such as the six-letter word that holds six more words.

Where they come from

Every riddle is in an old riddle book printed between 1900 and 1915, free to read at Project Gutenberg and named under the full list. We told each again in plain words and checked every spelling answer letter by letter.

Tips
  • Write the letters of a Letters that say words answer on a board, then have the class read them aloud until someone hears the word.

Questions and answers

What are good spelling riddles for a class?

Try "Which word holds all five vowels in their right order?" The answer is facetious, and abstemious works too. The Spelling puzzles chip holds 11 like it; each answer spells out why it works.

Why are some answers in brackets?

The brackets give the word the letters sound like when you say them: C D is seedy, and I W is I double you. Say the letters out loud and the joke lands.

Where are the letter riddles about T for tea and M in a moment?

On the main riddle page, which holds about thirty letter riddles of its own. None of the 34 here repeats them, so the two pages together give you a long run without a repeat.

All 34 riddles

One letter 21

  • How long is the longest letter in the alphabet? An L long (an ell, an old measure of cloth).
  • When does a blacksmith start a fight in the alphabet? When he makes a poke-R and a shove-L.
  • Which letter can never be seen, yet is never out of sight? I. It sits in 'invisible' and in 'sight'.
  • Which letter do you need to make a shoe? The last. A last is the foot shape a shoe is made on.
  • Why is a false friend like the letter P? It is always first in pity and last in help.
  • Why is a fish-hook like the letter F? It makes an eel feel.
  • Why is a horse like the letter O? Gee makes it go.
  • Why is a teacher like the letter C? It turns lasses into classes.
  • Why is O the only vowel you can hear? All the others are in audible (inaudible).
  • Why is T the happiest letter in the alphabet? It is always next to U (you).
  • Why is the letter D like a crying baby? It makes ma mad.
  • Why is the letter D like a sailor? It follows the C (sea).
  • Why is the letter F like a cow's tail? It is the end of beef.
  • Why is the letter G like the sun? It is the center of light.
  • Why is the letter L in 'military' like your nose? It stands between two i's (eyes).
  • Why is the letter P like a Roman emperor? It is near O (Nero).
  • Why is the letter S like a cheeky reply? It begins and ends sauciness.
  • Why is the letter S like a sewing machine? It makes needles needless.
  • Why is the letter S like thunder? It turns our cream into sour cream.
  • Why is the letter T like a frog? It lives in both earth and water.
  • Why is the letter W like gossip? It makes ill will.

Letters that say words 10

  • Describe a suit of worn-out clothes in two letters. C D (seedy).
  • How do you say in two letters that you are twice as big as your friend? I W (I double you).
  • How do you spell a blind pig with two letters? P G. It is a pig without an I (eye).
  • What must every letter of the alphabet be to be clever? Wise (Y's).
  • Which are the two hottest letters in the alphabet? K N (cayenne).
  • Which four letters describe a bee that feels unwell? A B C D (a bee seedy).
  • Which letters are most like a Roman emperor? The C's (Caesars).
  • Which three letters are most often seen on a note that says you owe money? I O U.
  • Which word of ten letters can you spell with five? X P D N C (expediency).
  • Why is teasing like the letter D on horseback? It is D riding (deriding).

Spelling puzzles 3

  • Take two letters from a word of one syllable and you get a word of two. What is it? Plague. Take away P and L and you have ague.
  • Which six-letter word holds six more words without moving a letter? Herein: he, her, here, ere, rein and in.
  • Which word holds all five vowels in their right order? Facetious. Abstemious does too.
How this list was compiled

Traditional riddles found in 3 public domain books on Project Gutenberg: The Handbook of Conundrums (Edith B. Ordway, 1915) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32898; How to Solve Conundrums (1900) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44099; Conundrums, Riddles and Puzzles (Dean Rivers, 1903) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52598. Book texts fetched from https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/<id>/pg<id>.txt on 2026-09-24, and a script found the key words of every riddle and answer in one passage of its cited book (the line number is kept in x.line). Every riddle and answer was then told again in plain words for this page. Every answer is a letter, a string of letters or a word to spell. None is on this site's riddle-generator page, which already holds about thirty letter riddles (T for tea, M in moment, OICU and the rest), or on another page of the riddles set. Licence: public domain sources (Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/permission.html); the wording of each riddle and answer is own work