The Hobbit Riddles With Answers
1. Asked by Gollum
What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than trees Up, up, up it goes,
And yet never grows?
Answer: Mountain
2. Asked by Bilbo
Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
Then they stand still.
Answer: Teeth
3. Asked by Gollum
Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.
Answer: Wind
4. Asked by Bilbo
An eye in a blue face
Saw an eye in a green face.
‘That eye is like to this eye’
Said the first eye,
‘But in low place
Not in high place.’
Answer: Sun shining on daisies
5. Asked by Gollum
It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
It lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills.
It comes first and follows after,
Ends life, kills laughter.
Answer: Dark
6. Asked by Bilbo
A box without hinges, key or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.
Answer: Egg
7. Asked by Gollum
Alive without breath,
As cold as death;
Never thirsty, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking
Answer: Fish
8. Asked by Bilbo
No-legs lay on one-leg, two legs sat near on three legs, four legs got some.
Answer: Fish on a little one-legged table, man at table sitting on a three-legged stool, the cat gets the bones
9. Asked by Gollum
This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down.
Answer: Time
I can't be saved,
Though people try.
When fun is had,
They say I fly.
They say I'm money:
I can be spent,
I can be wasted,
But never lent.
10. Asked by Bilbo
What have I got in my pocket?
Answer: The Ring
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[[ from reddit ]]
Walk on the living, they don't even mumble. Walk on the dead, they mutter and grumble. What are they?
Leaves!
What is light as a feather, but becomes harder to keep the longer you hold it?
Your breath
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Ancient Sumer: The world’s oldest riddle
Even 4,000 years ago, people tested one another’s critical thinking skills with riddles and logic puzzles. This ancient civilization, located in what is today the country of Iraq, left us with one of the earliest known examples of a written riddle. (Ancient Sumer is also the civilization with the oldest surviving writing system that we know of!) Here is the riddle: “There is a house. One enters it blind and comes out seeing. What is it?”
school
A school. The Sumerians placed a significant emphasis on the value of education and knowledge, and some of their mathematical discoveries are still in use today.
William Shakespeare: The Riddle of Venice
This isn’t a riddle for Shakespeare’s readers to solve, but rather one that tricked some of his characters. In the Bard’s famous comedy The Merchant of Venice, the father of the young heiress Portia concocts a puzzle to ensure that his daughter marries a worthy suitor. He requires that any suitor must choose one of three caskets: one casket is gold, one is silver, and one is made of lead. One casket has a photo of Portia inside it, and only the suitor who chooses that casket may marry her. Here are the clues the suitors must use to decide:
On the gold casket: “Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.”
On the silver casket: “Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves.”
On the lead casket: “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.”
Answer:
The lead casket contains Portia’s picture. The first suitor opens the gold casket, only to find a skull inside and a note reading “All that glisters [glitters] is not gold,” warning him that valuing things only by their beauty is a mistake. The suitor who chooses the silver casket finds only a picture of a fool, “what he deserves” since he must be a fool to think he was automatically “deserving” of Portia’s hand. The note inside this one reads: “With one fool’s head I came to woo, / But I go away with two.” Finally, the suitor who chooses the lead casket is betrothed to Portia. Since the riddle said that the chooser of lead “must give and hazard all he hath,” Portia’s father knows that this man will be willing to make sacrifices and work hard at the marriage. And it just so happens that this lucky suitor is also the man Portia herself is in love with, and they live happily ever after. (The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s happier works.)
Jane Austen: Emma’s riddle
In Austen’s 1815 novel Emma, the title character outwits a mercenary suitor when she successfully solves his riddle. Think of this one in two parts, and, for another hint, think of what the suitor is doing.
“My first displays the wealth and pomp of kings,
Lords of the earth! their luxury and ease.
Another view of man, my second brings,
Behold him there, the monarch of the seas!”
Answer:
Courtship. The first part, which “displays the wealth and pomp of kings,” represents the “court” part of the word, and the second part, “the monarch of the seas,” is the “ship.” This fictional riddler sure was feeling confident, attempting to court a woman with a riddle about courtship. It doesn’t work in his favor, though, since Emma both beats his riddle and turns down his proposal. Can you crack these detective riddles only the smartest can solve?
Lewis Carroll: Alice’s Riddle in Wonderland
The classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, published in 1865, is chock-full of nonsense, and this riddle is no exception. When Alice is at the Mad Tea Party, the Hatter himself asks this perplexing question. Riddle-solvers, beware: don’t expect a straight answer from anyone in Wonderland. “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”
Answer:
The Mad Hatter hasn’t the slightest idea, and neither do we. This riddle is famous because of its lack of an answer: when Alice gives up and asks for the answer, the Hatter says, “I haven’t the slightest idea!” He was asking a question, not telling a riddle. Carroll even admitted that he himself hadn’t thought of an answer. However, readers pestered him so much about it that he eventually came up with one. In a preface to a later edition of Wonderland, he wrote, “because it can produce a few notes, though they are very flat; and it is never put with the wrong end in front!” The nineteenth-century puzzle expert Sam Loyd thought of another response: “because Poe wrote on both,” referencing Edgar Allan Poe’s celebrated work The Raven.
The Hobbit: Gollum’s final riddle
In this 1937 precursor to The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo Baggins, the titular Hobbit, finds himself riddle-solving for his life to escape from the underground lair of the evil Gollum. Gollum tells Bilbo he’ll grant him safe passage if he solves five separate riddles, the last of which is this:
“This thing all things devours;
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats mountain down.”
Answer:
Time. Bilbo solves every other riddle correctly, but with this one, he’s just lucky. Asking for Gollum to give him more time to solve it, he blurts out the word “time”… which is the correct answer!
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The other Sphinx’s riddle
In the fourth installment of the Harry Potter series, the young wizard must take part in the Triwizard Tournament, a dangerous magical competition. For the final task, he has to make his way through an obstacle-filled maze. One of the obstacles is a Sphinx who won’t let Harry pass until he solves her riddle. J.K. Rowling, of course, was showing off her substantial knowledge of literary history by having a Sphinx, one of the most famous riddle-tellers in literature, be the magical creature to test Harry’s riddling skills. Here’s the wizard-worthy puzzle:
“First think of the person who lives in disguise,
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.
Next, tell me what’s always the last thing to mend,
The middle of middle and end of the end?
And finally give me the sound often heard
During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together, and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?”
Answer:
A spider. This one essentially has three parts. The first, the liar in disguise, is a spy. The last thing in the word “mend,” which also appears at the middle of “middle” and ends the word “end,” is the letter D. And finally, “er” is the puzzled sound referenced in the third part of the clue. Once you’ve solved the three mini-clues (or only two, as Harry does), the riddle becomes a rebus puzzle, and you have to put the three parts together to form the answer: “spy-d-er.” Harry successfully solves the first and third parts, then puts them together and realizes that the unkissable creature must be a spider. The Sphinx lets him pass, and then moments later, Harry encounters a real giant spider in the same maze. So this riddle doubled as a warning. Ready for the next challenge? Those may have been the most famous riddles of all time, but these are the toughest.
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[[ the following list of riddles contain many repetition ]]
Riddles about the Concept of Time
1. I’m fast when I’m thin, slow when I’m fat, wind is my enemy. What am I?
An hourglass. The sand flows quickly through the narrow middle, and slowly when the glass is almost full.
2. I never was, am always to be, No one ever saw me, nor ever will, And yet I am the confidence of all, To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. What am I?
Tomorrow. It is always ahead in the future.
3. I give you a group of three. One is sitting down, and will never get up. The second eats as much as is given to him, yet is always hungry. The third goes away and never returns. What are they?
The past, present, and future. The past is gone and cannot return. The present is always here but never satisfied. The future never arrives.
4. I am free, I cannot see. I move fast, in colors three. I am warm, I light the night. Without me, there is no light. What am I?
Time. It moves freely without being seen, with past/present/future, it brings morning light.
5. The more of this there is, the less you see. What could it be?
Darkness. As darkness increases, visibility decreases.
Riddles about Time Measurement
6. Thirty white horses on a red hill. First they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still. What are they?
Teeth. Representing the 30 days in a month.
7. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock.
8. What goes up but never comes down?
Age. Our age continually increases.
9. What gets wet while drying?
A towel.
10. Peter’s father has five sons named Lester, Chester, Den, Walter and?
Peter. He is the fifth son.
11. The more there is, the less you see. What is it?
Darkness.
12. What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?
A clock.
13. What goes up and down but does not move?
A staircase.
14. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock.
15. What has a neck but no head?
A bottle.
16. What can you catch but not throw?
A cold.
17. I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?
A map.
18. What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
The letter “R”.
19. What goes up but never comes down?
Your age.
20. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
The letter “M”.
Riddles about Time Passing
21. I’m tall when I’m young and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
A candle.
22. What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?
A towel.
23. I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?
A bank.
24. What goes up but never comes down?
Your age.
25. The more you take away, the bigger I become. What am I?
A hole.
26. What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
A stamp.
27. I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?
A map.
28. What gets broken without being held?
A promise.
29. What goes all around the yard without moving?
A fence.
30. The more there is, the less you see. What could it be?
Darkness.
31. What can fill a room but takes up no space?
Light.
32. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Your name.
33. What gets wetter the more it dries?
A towel.
34. What goes up and down but doesn’t move?
A staircase.
35. What comes down but never goes up?
Rain.
Riddles about Speed of Time
36. What goes slow but flies high?
A hot air balloon.
37. What fastens two people yet touches only one?
A wedding ring.
38. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?
Footsteps.
39. What gets whiter the dirtier it gets?
A chalkboard.
40. What goes up when rain comes down?
An umbrella.
41. I’m sometimes white and sometimes black. I take you there but never bring you back. What am I?
A road.
42. What can fill up a room without taking up space?
Light.
43. What belongs to you but other people use it more than you?
Your name.
44. I have keys but no locks. I have a space but no room. You can enter, but can’t go outside. What am I?
A keyboard.
45. What can you break, without touching it?
A promise.
Riddles about Utilizing Time
46. What gets sharper the more you use it?
A pencil.
47. What has words, but never speaks?
A book.
48. What has a neck but no head?
A bottle.
49. What has four legs but can’t walk?
A table.
50. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock.
51. What has a thumb and fingers but is not alive?
A glove.
52. What has a head and a tail but no body?
A coin.
53. What has teeth but cannot bite?
A comb.
54. What has a face but no head?
A clock.
55. What gets broken without being held?
A promise.
56. What has four fingers and one thumb but is not alive?
A glove.
57. What has a tongue but cannot taste?
A shoe.
58. What has hands but cannot clap?
A clock.
59. What can point in every direction but can’t reach the destination by itself?
A finger.
60. What has a head, a tail, but no body?
A coin.
Riddles about Time of Day
61. What gets broken without being held?
A promise
62. What has teeth but can’t bite?
A comb
63. What has words but never speaks?
A book
64. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
The letter M
65. What belongs to you but other people use it more than you do?
Your name
66. What has one head, one foot and four legs?
A bed
67. What can you hold in your right hand, but never in your left hand?
Your left hand
68. What goes through cities and fields, but never moves?
A road
69. What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
A piano
70. What has a thumb and fingers but is not alive?
A glove
Riddles about Wasting Time
71. What question can you never answer yes to?
“Are you asleep?” If you’re asleep, you can’t answer.
75. What is full of holes but still holds water?
A sponge.
78. What has one eye but can’t see?
A needle.
86. What has a head, a tail, but no body?
A coin.
92. What building has the most stories?
The library.
94. I have cities but no houses. I have mountains but no trees. I have water but no fish. What am I?
A map.
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Riddles about Time
I am in a race that never ends. Running without legs, I pass cities, towns, and bends. I am often watched, yet I never see. What am I?
I have hands but cannot clap, a face but cannot smile. I’m in your house, often making a ticking sound. What am I?
You visit me often, but never for long. I age by the second, my face is always changing, yet remains the same. What am I?
I flow from top to bottom, never rising, never stopping. Grains within me, yet I’m not alive. Time is my measure, though I’m not a clock. What am I?
I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have nobody, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?
Today I am here, but tomorrow I am gone. I am always ahead, never behind. I am the future, never the past. What am I?
I am the moment between day and night, when the sky is a blend of light. Neither sun nor moon, but a fleeting middle. What am I?
I travel the world but stay in the corner. I mark the passing of days, yet I do not count the hours. What am I?
I’ve been around for centuries, but I’m no more than a month old. I am present in calendars, but absent in time. What am I?
I preserve moments, yet I’m not a memory. I hold images of the past, but I do not age. What am I?
I follow you by day, move when you move, standing still when you’re still. I’m absent in darkness, present in light. What am I?
I begin anew every 24 hours, bringing hope and end. I’m always moving forward, yet I repeat endlessly. What am I?
I am always taking something away, never returning it. You can’t hold me, but you can waste me. What am I?
I record your life in numbers, yet I don’t know your story. I’m often watched, yet I don’t perform. What am I?
I witness your joys, sorrows, and mundane moments, always moving, never pausing. You check on me, but I never check on you. What am I?
I divide the future from the past, a thin line that’s never crossed. Always present, never lasting. What am I?
I travel around the world but stay in my corner. I am essential for travel, yet I do not move. What am I?
I stand tall and grand, marking the passage of hours. I chime, I strike, but I do not talk. What am I?
I run faster than any man, crossing countries in a single stride. You can’t outrun me, yet I have no legs. What am I?
I wake up at dawn and sleep at dusk. My hands move throughout the day, yet I do not stir. What am I?
I have seen empires rise and fall, witnessed the change of centuries, yet I do not speak. What am I?
I count down to your important moments, yet I make no sound. I am often watched as I approach zero. What am I?
I dance without feet, flicker without flame. Seen in moments of joy and sorrow, I am constant yet ever-changing. What am I?
I am with you from birth until death, always moving forward. I can be saved, spent, or wasted, but never stopped. What am I?
I paint the world in light and dark, creating shades with my movement. I am intangible, yet my work is clear. What am I?
I am always coming but never arrive today. I am the promise of what is yet to come. What am I?
I have witnessed epochs and eras, yet I am as young as the current second. I am omnipresent in history, yet I belong to no one. What am I?
I flow without water, race without feet. Through valleys of moments and mountains of decades, I travel. What am I?
I show you your past but never your future. I am filled with memories, yet I do not remember. What am I?
I shape every life, carve lines on faces, and turn the new into old. I am relentless, yet I am cherished. What am I?
I flow without water, rush without wind. I have banks but no money. What am I?
I chase the day, flee the night, yet I never move from my place. What am I?
I paint the world every day, but my brush is unseen. I create light and dark but am neither. What am I?
I am always in front of you but often forgotten. I represent what’s to come, not what has been. What am I?
I nurture growth and bring decay, I witness life and herald change. Yet, I neither sow nor reap. What am I?
I watch over history, yet I do not judge. I am always looking forward but often reflect back. What am I?
I connect yesterday and tomorrow, but I am not a day. I am always here, yet I am always moving. What am I?
I guide without words, show without sight. I bring you to moments but stay behind. What am I?
I teach without speaking, show without pointing. I represent knowledge but hold no information. What am I?
I travel without moving, from life to life, seen in youth and in age. What am I?
I tell a story without words, a tale of seasons and years. What am I?
I am a maze without walls, a journey without end. You travel through me, but I remain still. What am I?
I mark time but am not a clock, seen in the night, guiding sailors and dreamers alike. What am I?
I am always with you, but you cannot touch me. I follow you in life, but you cannot outrun me. What am I?
I capture moments but am not a camera. I hold memories but have no mind. What am I?
Answers
1. A Clock.
2. A Clock.
3. A Clock or a Watch.
4. An Hourglass.
5. An Echo.
6. Tomorrow.
7. Twilight or Dusk.
8. A Stamp.
9. The Moon.
10. A Photograph or Photo Album.
11. Your Shadow.
12. A Day.
13. Time.
14. A Calendar.
15. A Clock or a Watch.
16. The Present Moment.
17. A Postage Stamp.
18. A Grandfather Clock.
19. Light.
20. A Sun Dial.
21. A Historical Monument or Building.
22. A Timer or Countdown Clock.
23. A Shadow.
24. Time.
25. Sunlight.
26. Tomorrow.
27. Time.
28. Time.
29. A Photograph or Photo Album.
30. Time.
31. A River of Time.
32. A Shadow.
33. Sunlight or Daylight.
34. The Future.
35. Time.
36. A Clock or a Watch.
37. Today.
38. A Calendar.
39. A History Book.
40. Age or Time.
41. A Tree or its Rings.
42. Time.
43. The Stars or Constellations.
44. Time or Age.
45. A Journal or Diary.
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What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it?
silence
You can drop me from the tallest building and I'll be fine,
but if you drop me in water I die.
What am I?
paper
There was a green house. Inside the green house there was a white house.
Inside the white house there was a red house.
Inside the red house there were lots of babies.
What is it?
watermelon
What kind of room has no doors or windows?
mushroom
What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?
palm
Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?
incorrectly
If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me.
What am I?
secret
Feed me and I live, yet give me a drink and I die.
fire
I am not alive, but I grow; I've got no have lungs, but I need air; I don't have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
Answer:
Fire.
What invention lets you look right through a wall?
window
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The person who makes it does not need it. The person who purchases it does not use it. A person who does use it does not know they are using it. What is it?
Answer:
A coffin.
I have keys but no doors, I have space but no rooms, I allow you to enter, but you are never able to leave. What am I?
Answer:
A Keyboard.
I make a loud noise when I am changing. I get larger but weigh less when I do. What am I?
Answer:
Popcorn.
Why was the clock in trouble at the library?
Answer:
It tocked too much.
Go ahead and groan. It's bad, but I bet it made you smile anyway!
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What do you have to keep when you give it?
When you give your word, you have to keep it.
a promise?
What have heads, like dogs, and feet like dogs, and tail like dogs, are aren't dog?
puppies (puppy is an English word for, not yet fully grown dog)
My eyes are in the middle of my chest, and my flesh is inside my bones?
What am I?
crabs or lobster
[[ crabs, lobsters and others have shell on the outside (their bones), and their inside is most meat? ]]
What crosses in front of the sun, without making any shadow?
Wind!
Wind crosses in front of the sun without making a shadow.
What's the treasure you can keep and share at the same time?
a story
[[ this is the Sphinx riddle ]]
What walks on four legs in the early morning, and two legs at lunch time, and three legs in the evening?
It's a person. A baby crawls on all fours. Children and grown-ups walk on two legs. And come old people need a cane.
source:
Crossley-Holland, Kevin, author
The riddlemaster / Kevin Crossley-Holland
illustrations by Stéphane Jorisch
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she [The sphinx] asked all passersby the most famous riddle in history: "Which creature has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?" She strangled and devoured anyone who could not answer. Oedipus solved the riddle by answering: "Man—who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and then uses a walking stick in old age".[20] In some lesser accounts,[28] there was a second riddle: "There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters?" The answer is "day and night" (both words—ἡμέρα and νύξ, respectively—are feminine in Ancient Greek). This second riddle is also found in a Gascon version of the myth and could be very ancient.[29]
source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphinx
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A sphinx was a mythical monster, which had the head of a human and the body of a lion. Sphinxes also appeared in Egyptian mythology; the two cultures had tight links and had considerably influenced each other.
Sphinx's Portayal
In Greek mythology, the sphinx was considered to be a woman. One sphinx was only considered to exist in Greek mythology; she was the daughter of Orthus, and either Echidna or Chimera. Apart from the human head and the body of the lion, she also had the wings of an eagle and the tail of a serpent.
The Riddle of the Sphinx
According to the myth, she dwelt outside the city of Thebes, and asked a riddle to all travellers, in order to let them pass. The riddle she asked is a famous one; which is the creature that has one voice, but has four feet in the morning, two feet in the afternoon, and three feet at night? Anyone who struggled to answer was eaten by the monster. However, Oedipus managed to answer correctly; he replied "the man", who crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two as an adult, and needs a walking cane when old.
The Second Riddle
It seems that there was a second riddle following the first; "there are two sisters; one gives birth to the other, who in turn gives birth to the first. Who are they?" The correct answer is "day and night", two words that are both feminine in the Greek language.
source:
https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Monsters/Sphinx/sphinx.html
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