Riddle Generator: 173 Old Riddles, Answers Hidden Until You Tap: how it works
This riddle generator holds 173 old riddles. Press New riddle and one comes up with its answer under a cover, so guess first, then tap Show answer. We found each in an old riddle book or a book of nursery rhymes, the oldest printed in 1830, and told it again in plain words.
Pick how hard, or pick a kind
Three chips set how hard the riddle is: 57 are Easy, 83 are Medium and 33 are Tricky. Three pick the kind. What am I? has 77 riddles where a thing tells you about itself. Word play has 69 that turn on a letter, a spelling or a word with two meanings. Trick questions has 27 where the plain answer is the right one. No riddle comes back until you have seen every one under your chip. The address keeps the chip, so a link ending in #easy opens on the easy riddles.
Where the riddles come from
The books that printed these riddles do not say who made them up. Humpty Dumpty is one: the answer is an egg. We found all 173 in nine old books, free to read at Project Gutenberg and named under the full list. One is The Nursery Rhymes of England from 1886. We left out the unkind riddles and the ones meant for grown-ups.
Tips
Read the riddle out loud and give everyone one guess before anybody taps Show answer.
Set the count to 5 for a quick quiz, write your guesses down, then tap Show all answers to mark them together.
Everyone sees the same riddle of the day, so a teacher can write it on the board and let the class guess until home time.
Questions and answers
Can it make a riddle about my word?
No. It is a collection, and each press picks one of the 173 by chance. To write your own riddle, choose a thing, list what it has and what it cannot do, and leave out its name: a clock has a face and two hands, but no arms and no legs.
Are these riddles good for kids?
Yes. We read every riddle twice and kept the ones about things a child knows: clocks, eggs, shoes, rivers, the wind and the letters of the alphabet. A child of eight can read them alone. Start with Easy, and leave Tricky for an older brother or sister.
Where can I see all the answers?
In the full list under the tool. It prints all 173 riddles with the answer beside each one, so it works as an answer key. Keep it off the screen while people are still guessing. The riddle of the day shows no answer, so check it there.
A boy falls into a pond. What is the first thing he does?He gets wet.
A jug has how many sides?Two. An inside and an outside.
He sat on a wall and had a great fall, and no one could put him together again. What was he?An egg.
How do you keep a fish from smelling?Cut off its nose.
How many peas are there in a pint?One. There is one P in pint.
I am full of holes, yet I can hold water. What am I?A sponge.
I copy everything you do. I creep over the grass and leave no mark, and you can touch me but never feel me. What am I?Your shadow.
I have a face and two hands, but no arms and no legs. What am I?A clock.
I have a face on my front. You lick my back, press me down, and off I go with your letter. What am I?A postage stamp.
I have a mouth but never eat, and a bed but never sleep. What am I?A river.
I have three letters. I read the same forwards and backwards, and you are using two of me right now. What am I?Eye.
I met a little fellow on the bridge with pins and needles all over his back. Who was he?A hedgehog.
I skip from tree to tree and hide nuts away for winter. Who am I?A squirrel.
I wear a white dress and a red nose. The longer I stand, the shorter I grow. What am I?A candle.
If you dug a hole right through the Earth and jumped in, where would you come out?Out of the hole.
In which month do people talk the least?February. It is the shortest month.
It belongs to you, but your friends use it far more than you do. What is it?Your name.
It is higher than a house and higher than a tree, and it only shows at night. What is it?A star.
My body is thin, I have no wings, and my tail is very long. Still I can fly. What am I?A kite.
On which side of a jug is the handle?The outside.
Purple, yellow, red and green. The king cannot reach it, and neither can the queen. What is it?A rainbow.
Some people do not like to wear us, but without us they could not read a word. What are we?A pair of glasses.
Thirty white horses stand on a red hill. They bite, they stamp, and then they stand still. What are they?Your teeth.
We are two brothers. We are full all day and empty all night. Who are we?A pair of shoes.
What can run but has no legs, and sits in the middle of your face?Your nose.
What can you find in a pocket that is empty?A hole.
What comes after cheese?A mouse.
What does a hen do when she stands on one foot?She lifts up the other one.
What grows bigger the more you take away from it?A hole.
What has a nose but cannot smell?A teapot.
What has a tongue but cannot say a word?A shoe.
What has ears but cannot hear?A field of corn.
What has eyes but cannot see a thing?A potato.
What is black and white and read all over?A newspaper.
What is the best light of all, and costs nothing?Daylight.
What is the first thing a gardener puts in the garden?A foot.
What makes a pair of boots?Two boots.
What makes more noise than a pig stuck under a gate?Two pigs.
When is a door not a door?When it is ajar.
When was beef the highest it has ever been?When the cow jumped over the moon.
When will water stop running downhill?When it gets to the bottom.
Where can you find every word you said today, already written down?In the dictionary.
Which animal keeps the best time?A watchdog.
Which girl's name reads the same forwards and backwards?Anna. Hannah works too.
Which is the best day of the week for cooking pancakes?Friday. It is fry day.
Which is the jolliest letter in the alphabet?U. It is always in fun.
Which is the longest word you know?Smiles. There is a mile between the first letter and the last.
Which letter makes oil boil?B. Put it in front of oil.
Which letter of the alphabet asks a question?Y.
Which letter of the alphabet is a bird?J. A jay is a blue bird.
Which letter of the alphabet is a drink?T.
Which part of a fish weighs the most?The scales.
Which word gets shorter when you add two letters to it?Short. Add E and R and it says shorter.
Why do we all go to bed?Because the bed will not come to us.
Why does a dog wag his tail?Because he has a tail to wag.
Why is a book like a tree?Both are full of leaves.
Why is the letter K like a pig's tail?It is the end of pork.
Medium 83
A hunter's dog did not walk in front of him, or behind him, or on one side of him. Where did it walk?On the other side of him.
A strong man cannot push past it, but I get through with one small turn. What am I?A key.
A white house with no doors and no windows holds a ball of gold. What is it?An egg.
All the king's horses and all the king's men cannot chase it off the kitchen door. What is it?Sunshine.
Always coming, never here. People wait for me every day, and I never arrive. What am I?Tomorrow.
An old lady has one eye and a long tail. Each time she goes through a gap she leaves a bit of tail behind. Who is she?A needle and thread.
He roars across the land, and a king with all his power cannot turn him back. Who is he?The wind.
He wears a red cap, holds a stick in his hand and has a stone in his throat. Who is he?A cherry.
How do you make a coat last?Make the trousers first.
How far can a rabbit run into a wood?Halfway. After that it is running out of the wood.
How many eggs can a giant eat on an empty stomach?One. After that his stomach is not empty.
I am a snake of fire that lives in the clouds. I strike only once, and then I am gone. What am I?Lightning.
I am black myself, yet I help the whole world to read. What am I?Ink.
I am spelled the same forwards and backwards, and I come everywhere at the same hour. What am I?Noon.
I begin every end, and I end every place. What am I?The letter E.
I go up the hill and down the hill, and yet I never move. What am I?A road.
I grew in a field. Now I stand in a corner until there are crumbs on the floor. What am I?A broom.
I have four legs and one foot, and I stay in your room all night. What am I?A bed.
I have three feet and not one toe. What am I?A yardstick. Three feet make a yard.
I have two legs, but they only touch the ground when I rest. When I go, my one wheel does the running. What am I?A wheelbarrow.
I live in winter, I am gone by summer, and I grow with my root at the top. What am I?An icicle.
In a field I found something good to eat. It was not fish, meat or bone. I kept it until it ran off alone. What was it?An egg. It hatched into a chick.
It has a hundred eyes and never a nose. What is it?A sieve.
My coat is as fine as velvet, my house is under the ground, and the gardener is cross when I pop up. Who am I?A mole.
My head is white and I am laced with a cord. I am beaten with sticks, but not for being bad. What am I?A drum.
On my way to St Ives I met a man with 7 sacks. Each sack held 7 cats. How many were going to St Ives?One. Only I was going there. The man, the sacks and the cats were coming the other way.
On the bridge I met a cart full of fingers and thumbs. What was in the cart?Gloves.
Round as an apple, deep as a cup, and all the king's horses cannot pull it up. What is it?A well.
Sam's father is Tom's son. Who is Tom to Sam?His grandfather.
Say my name and I am gone. What am I?Silence.
We are black, and people dig deep to find us. We tire the horse that pulls us, but we keep you warm. What are we?Lumps of coal.
We let the sunshine in when you wake, and we draw the curtains when you sleep. You have two of us. Who are we?Your eyelids.
What can pass in front of the sun and never make a shadow?The wind.
What comes twice in a moment, once in a minute and never in a thousand years?The letter M.
What do we often give back but never borrow?Thanks.
What does a penny do when you put it on the table?It looks round.
What does everyone look past, even the cleverest person, though it is right in front of their eyes?Their own nose.
What gets longer when you cut it at both ends?A ditch.
What goes all over the field, up and down, wears out shoes, and never has any shoes itself?A football.
What holds more feet in winter than in summer?A skating rink.
What is always behind time?The back of a clock.
What is more wonderful than a horse that can count?A spelling bee.
What is only a few inches long and still holds a whole foot?A shoe.
What is the doormat to the doorstep?A step farther.
What kind of cat lives in every library?A catalogue.
What lets you see everything, yet cannot be seen itself?Light.
What must you keep after you have given it to someone?Your word.
What never asks a question, yet gets answered many times a day?A doorbell.
What plays when it works and works when it plays?A fountain.
What was tomorrow once, and will be yesterday soon?Today.
When can you carry water in a sieve?When it is frozen into ice.
When is a clock on the stairs a danger?When it runs down.
When is a suitcase like two letters of the alphabet?When it is M T.
Which bird can lift the heaviest loads?The crane.
Which coat has no buttons and is always put on wet?A coat of paint.
Which eat more grass, white sheep or black sheep?White sheep, because there are more of them.
Which four letters give a fright to someone who is hiding?O, I, C, U. Oh, I see you.
Which is the smallest bridge in the world?The bridge of your nose.
Which letter gives a farmer a surprise?G. It turns his oats into goats.
Which letter should you never put in the icebox?M. It turns ice into mice.
Which letters always come late to dinner?U, V, W, X, Y and Z. They all come after T.
Which odd number becomes even when you take away its first letter?Seven.
Which plant is bad news for mice?Catnip.
Which question can you only ever answer with yes?What does Y-E-S spell?
Which roof never keeps out the rain?The roof of your mouth.
Which side of a pudding is the left side?The side that has not been eaten.
Which small animal turns into a big one when it loses its first letter?A fox. Take away F and you have an ox.
Which snake is good at sums?The adder.
Which table has no legs, and you still have to learn it?The multiplication table.
Which travels faster, heat or cold?Heat. Anyone can catch a cold.
Which two animals go to bed with you every night?Your two calves.
Which two letters do little brothers love best?Two T's. They love to tease.
Which word has three syllables and twenty-six letters?Alphabet.
Which word of five letters leaves one when you take two letters away?Stone. Take away S and T.
Who makes shoes without any leather, for customers who wear four at a time?A blacksmith. The shoes are for horses.
Who stays just the same after you take all his letters away?The postman.
Why did Noah not want the letter D on board?It made the ark dark.
Why does a miller wear a white hat?To keep his head warm.
Why is an island like the letter T?Both are in the middle of water.
Why is the letter A like a flower in the garden?A B always comes after it.
Why is the letter A like twelve o'clock?It comes in the middle of day.
You can hang me on the wall. But if you take me down, you can never hang me up again. What am I?Wallpaper.
You whip me round and I dance. You like me best when I stand up straight. When I get tired I fall over. What am I?A spinning top.
Tricky 33
Change the place of one letter and I turn into my opposite. Joined, I become loose. What word am I?United. Swap two letters and it says untied.
Clean my face and I show everybody. Scratch my back and I show nobody. What am I?A mirror.
Elizabeth, Betsy and Bess found a nest with five eggs. They each took one, and four were left. How?They are one girl. Betsy and Bess are short for Elizabeth.
How do you make a slow boat fast?Tie it to the dock. A boat that is tied up is made fast.
I am as soft as silk and as white as milk, behind a strong wall, with a green coat over it all. What am I?A walnut.
I am in tea but never in coffee. I am in cream but never in milk. What am I?The letter A.
I dress in green all year round. I have horns, but I am no animal. What am I?A holly tree. The horns are its prickly leaves.
I have two bodies joined as one. The stiller I stand, the faster I run. What am I?An hourglass. The sand runs while it stands still.
I walk with my head down all day long, right under your foot. What am I?A nail in the sole of your shoe.
I was made long ago, and I was made again this morning. I am used most while others sleep. What am I?A bed.
I went to the woods and got it. I sat down to look for it and could not find it, so I took it home. What was it?A thorn in my finger.
It is taken from you before you get it. What is it?Your photograph.
Once I am lost you can never get me back, and yet you always have some of me left. What am I?Time.
Two legs sat on three legs holding one leg. In came four legs and ran off with one leg. Who are they all?A man on a stool with a leg of meat, and a dog.
What can go up a chimney down, but cannot go down a chimney up?An umbrella.
What cuts things apart by coming together?A pair of scissors.
What goes along with a wagon, is no use to the wagon, and yet the wagon cannot go without it?Noise.
What is a good thing to part with?A comb.
What is full of knots that nobody tied and nobody can untie?A stack of firewood. The knots are in the wood.
What is in the very middle of gravity?The letter V.
What stands taller with its head off than with its head on?A pillow. It plumps up when you lift your head.
Which has more legs, a cow or no cow?No cow. A cow has four legs, but no cow has eight legs.
Which is heavier, a new moon or a full moon?The new moon. The full moon is lighter.
Which is the biggest room in the world?Room for improvement.
Which letter do friends need most?R. Without it they are fiends.
Which letter makes a pig's sty nasty?N. Put it in front of 'a sty' and it spells nasty.
Which letter of the alphabet is a tree?U. A yew is a dark green tree.
Which word makes you ill when you drop its first letter?Music. Without the M it says you sick.
Why can we never get on without the letters N and O?Because without O and N there is no ON.
Why is a watchdog bigger at night than in the morning?He is let out at night and taken in in the morning.
You can take away the whole of me and still have some left. What word am I?Wholesome.
You go to the shop for ten cents' worth of sharp tacks. What do you want them for?For ten cents.
Your uncle's sister is not your aunt. Who is she?Your mother.
How this list was compiled: Traditional riddles found in nine books on Project Gutenberg, all printed before 1931: The Nursery Rhymes of England (J. O. Halliwell, 1886) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32415; The Handbook of Conundrums (Edith B. Ordway, 1915) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32898; The Book of Riddles (1846) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36571; How to Solve Conundrums (1900) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44099; Conundrums, Riddles and Puzzles (Dean Rivers, 1903) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52598; The Santa Claus' Book of Games and Puzzles (1864) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54508; Holiday Frolics (1830) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61229; The Twentieth Century Standard Puzzle Book (A. Cyril Pearson) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63884; Nuts to Crack (1895) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69528. Book texts fetched and each riddle matched to a passage in its book on 2026-09-18. Every riddle, answer and hint was then reworded in plain English for children. Second pass by the page writer on 2026-09-18: each answer checked against the book, and anything about drink, smoking, weapons, death, romance or gambling removed. Fix pass on 2026-09-19, after two reviews: the ten book texts were fetched again from https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/<id>/pg<id>.txt. The pancake riddle is in The Handbook of Conundrums ("What is the best day for making pancakes? Fry-day.") and not in How to Solve Conundrums, so its citation was moved. A shadow riddle that is in none of the nine books was replaced with a retelling of the shadow verse in The Handbook of Conundrums ("I ape each creature... Touch me you may, but I can ne'er be felt"). Two answers that explained their word play wrongly were rewritten from the book: N "makes a sty nasty", and "we cannot get ON well without" N and O. One name was changed (the book has Dick, the page has Sam), and the icicle riddle now says "gone by summer" where Halliwell has "dies in summer". A key-word check of all 173 riddles against their cited books flagged 11; ten were then found by hand in the cited book and the eleventh was the pancake riddle. The line under each riddle (d) is its answer: the tool keeps it under a cover, and the full list on the page prints it beside the riddle as an answer key. Licence: public domain sources (Project Gutenberg, https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/permission.html); the wording of each riddle, answer and hint is own work