Short Riddles With Answers
Updated · Best Riddles With Answers editorial team
Quick answer: Each of these 42 short riddles fits in a line or two, yet many carry a real twist. You will find wordplay, spelling tricks, number puzzles and quick lateral thoughts, all with answers. They are made for sharing in a chat, a classroom, a queue or a pub quiz, when you want a puzzle that takes seconds to read and longer to solve.
Easy Short Riddles
I am as round as an apple and as deep as a cup, and all the king's horses cannot pull me up. What am I?
A well.
What gets whiter the dirtier it gets?
A blackboard.
What kind of dress can you never wear?
An address.
Which room do ghosts avoid?
The living room.
What is worse than finding a worm in your apple?
Finding half a worm.
I have a tread but no feet, and I go round and round. What am I?
A tyre.
I have scales, but I am not a fish. I tell the truth about your weight. What am I?
Bathroom scales.
I have a crown and a bridge, but I have no kingdom. What am I?
A tooth.
I am a web with no spider, and you can surf me without a board. What am I?
The internet.
What piece of furniture becomes a prize when spelled backward?
A drawer, which becomes reward.
What fabric becomes dug out of the ground when spelled backward?
Denim, which becomes mined.
What royal word becomes a drink when spelled backward?
Regal, which becomes lager.
Trickier Short Riddles
How can you make one disappear by adding a letter to it?
Add a G and one becomes gone.
What word turns evil when you spell it backward?
Live.
What has 18 legs and catches flies?
A baseball team: nine players with two legs each.
How do you make a fire with two sticks?
Make sure one of them is a match.
Which letter of the alphabet is a drink?
T, which sounds like tea.
Which letter of the alphabet is a vegetable?
P, which sounds like pea.
Which letter of the alphabet asks a question?
Y, which sounds like why.
What can jump higher than a building?
Anything. Buildings cannot jump.
Which three whole numbers in a row add up to 24?
7, 8 and 9, because 7 + 8 + 9 = 24.
Which two whole numbers add up to 10 and multiply to 21?
3 and 7, because 3 + 7 = 10 and 3 x 7 = 21.
What do the numbers 11, 69, 88 and 96 have in common?
They read the same when turned upside down.
Why is the letter A like a flower?
Because a bee (B) comes after it.
Hard Short Riddles
What comes next? 1, 2, 6, 24, 120, ...
720. Each term is the previous one multiplied by 2, 3, 4, 5, then 6.
What comes next? 1, 8, 27, 64, ...
125, because these are the cubes 1x1x1, 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 4x4x4 and then 5x5x5.
What letter comes next? A, C, F, J, O, ...
U. The gaps between letters grow by one each time: 2, 3, 4, 5, then 6.
Which four-digit number, when you multiply it by 4, gives the same digits in reverse order?
2178, because 2178 x 4 = 8712.
What is the smallest whole number with exactly six factors?
12. Its factors are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12.
What is the largest three-digit number that is a perfect square?
961, because 31 x 31 = 961.
What is the smallest number you can write as the sum of two cubes in two different ways?
1729: 1 + 1728 (1 cubed plus 12 cubed) and 729 + 1000 (9 cubed plus 10 cubed).
What is the fewest number of weights you need on a balance scale to weigh any whole number of kilograms from 1 to 40?
Four: 1, 3, 9 and 27 kg. Weights can go on either pan.
How many squares of every size are in a 4 by 4 grid?
30, because 16 + 9 + 4 + 1 = 30.
How many of the whole numbers from 1 to 100 contain the digit 7?
19. Ten end in 7, ten are in the seventies, and 77 is counted in both.
Quick-Fire Short Riddles
What colour is the wind?
Blew.
What is at the end of the world?
The letter D.
I am black and blue, and I appear after a bump. What am I?
A bruise.
I roar without a throat and I burn without being a fire. What am I?
An engine.
I am cut every summer and grow back again. What am I?
Grass.
I am thirteen in the baker's world. What am I?
A baker's dozen.
You wipe your feet on me, and I say welcome. What am I?
A doormat.
I catch fish and I hold coats. What am I?
A hook.
How to Use These Riddles
Short riddles are the easiest to share. They fit into a text message, a social post or a pause in conversation. Because they are quick to read, you can try several in a row and keep a score of who solves the most.
Do not mistake short for simple. The number puzzles in the third set take real thinking, and the spelling-trick riddles in the first set depend on spotting that the word is read backward. Keep pen and paper handy, and enjoy the groan when the answer is revealed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a short riddle?
A short riddle is a puzzle of one or two lines, usually under twenty words. The brevity forces the twist to be sharp, so the best short riddles are built on a single clever turn of meaning.
Why are short riddles popular?
They are quick to read, easy to remember and simple to share, so they travel well in messages, social posts and conversation. People can try one in seconds and tell it to someone else.
Are short riddles easier than long ones?
Not necessarily. A long riddle gives you more clues, while a short one gives fewer, which can make it harder. Some short riddles, like the 1729 puzzle, are among the toughest on this page.
How can I memorise a short riddle?
Say it aloud twice, picture the answer, and tell it to a friend within a day. Riddles with a pun or reversal, like live and evil, stick especially well.
