Riddles challenge your brain. Puns challenge your tolerance for wordplay. Together, they form the backbone of clever humor — the kind that makes you think, then laugh, then groan, then think again. This is the definitive collection: 40 of the best riddles with answers, and 40 of the finest puns ever constructed.
Riddles are one of humanity's oldest forms of intellectual entertainment. The Sphinx's riddle — "What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?" — appears in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex (c. 429 BC). Norse mythology is full of riddle contests between gods. The Hobbit's Bilbo-Gollum riddle battle is one of literature's most memorable scenes.
What makes a great riddle? Three elements: a vivid, misleading description; multiple layers of meaning; and an answer that feels both surprising and inevitable in hindsight. The best riddles make you feel clever when you solve them and equally clever for appreciating them if you don't.
Great riddlers use personification ("I have hands but no arms"), abstraction ("the more you take, the more you leave behind"), and misdirection (leading you to think of a physical object when the answer is a concept). These techniques have been refined over millennia. They're still working perfectly today.
Puns have been simultaneously beloved and maligned since antiquity. Aristotle referenced them. Shakespeare deployed them relentlessly. Samuel Johnson called them "the lowest form of humor" — yet he used them in his own writing. Oscar Wilde considered them "the highest form of literature."
The mechanics of a good pun require two things: a word or phrase with multiple meanings (or a near-homophone), and a context that sets up one meaning while delivering another. The best puns are those where the alternative meaning is both unexpected and perfectly fitting. The groan is a sign of appreciation, not failure — it means the pun worked.
Now — let's get to the good stuff.
The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
Footsteps!
I have cities, but no houses live in them. I have mountains, but no trees grow on them. I have water, but no fish swim in it. What am I?
A map!
I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?
An echo!
I have hands but I cannot clap. What am I?
A clock!
I can fly without wings. I can cry without eyes. Wherever I go, darkness flees. What am I?
A cloud!
The person who makes it sells it. The person who buys it never uses it. The person who uses it never knows they're using it. What is it?
A coffin!
I'm light as a feather, yet even the strongest person can't hold me for more than a few minutes. What am I?
Breath!
What has an eye, but cannot see?
A needle!
What gets wetter as it dries?
A towel!
What can you catch but not throw?
A cold!
What runs but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?
A river!
I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but you can't go inside. What am I?
A keyboard!
What has one head, one tail, but no body?
A coin!
What goes up but never comes down?
Your age!
I am always in front of you but can never be seen. What am I?
The future!
A man walks into a restaurant and orders albatross soup. He takes one sip, goes home, and kills himself. Why?
He was stranded on an island with his wife. When she died, his companion told him they were eating albatross soup — but they were actually eating his wife. The real soup confirmed he'd been lied to all along.
What has 13 hearts but no other organs?
A deck of cards! (13 hearts suit)
I start with E, end with E, and contain only one letter. What am I?
An envelope!
You see me once in June, twice in November, and not at all in May. What am I?
The letter "e"! (juNE, NovEmber, May has none)
A man shaves many times a day but still has a beard. How?
He's a barber!
The more you remove from me, the bigger I get. What am I?
A hole!
I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
A joke!
What has words but never speaks?
A book!
Feed me and I live, yet give me water and I die. What am I?
Fire!
I have a neck but no head, and arms but no hands. What am I?
A shirt!
You throw away the outside, cook the inside, eat the outside, and throw away the inside. What is it?
Corn on the cob!
What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
A stamp!
I'm found in socks, scarecrows, and mittens; hidden in sandwiches. Every kid who ever had me was delighted. What am I?
Stuffing (straw, filling)!
What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years?
The letter "M"!
I'm not alive, but I can die. What am I?
A battery!
A rooster sits on a roof facing north. The wind is blowing south. Which way does the egg roll?
Roosters don't lay eggs!
How many months have 28 days?
All 12! Every month has at least 28 days.
A man lives on the 10th floor. Every day he takes the elevator down to go to work. On rainy days, he takes the elevator all the way up. On sunny days, he takes the elevator to the 7th floor and walks up. Why?
He's too short to reach the button for floor 10! On rainy days, he uses his umbrella to press it.
Two fathers and two sons go fishing. They each catch one fish. They bring home exactly three fish. How?
There are three people: a grandfather, his son, and his grandson. The son is both a father and a son.
What is always in front of you but can't be seen?
The future!
I disappear every time you say my name. What am I?
Silence!
What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
"Short" — add "er" to get "shorter"!
What is seen in the middle of March and April, but not at the beginning or end of either month?
The letter "R"! (maRch, apRil)
David's father has three sons: Snap, Crackle, and ___?
David! (The question says "David's father.")
A woman shoots her husband, then holds him underwater for five minutes. An hour later they go out to dinner. How?
She's a photographer — she shot his photo and developed it in a darkroom!)
Now for the second half of our collection — the pun gallery. Brace yourself for maximum wordplay density.
"I used to hate facial hair... but then it grew on me."
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana." — Groucho Marx
"I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down."
"I used to be a banker, but I lost interest."
"Did you hear about the guy who invented Lifesavers? He made a mint."
"I'm on a seafood diet. I see food and I eat it."
"What do you call a factory that makes okay products? A satisfactory."
"I told a joke about paper. It was tearable."
"I have a joke about construction... I'm still working on it."
"Why did the bicycle fall over? Because it was two-tired."
"I couldn't figure out how lightning works, then it hit me."
"Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything."
"What did the ocean say to the beach? Nothing — it just waved."
"I used to be addicted to soap. I'm clean now."
"I don't trust stairs. They're always up to something."
"Why is Peter Pan always flying? He Neverlands."
"What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta."
"I went to a seafood disco last week. I pulled a mussel."
"Why did the coffee file a police report? It got mugged."
"I have a photographic memory. I just haven't developed it yet."
"I'm great at multitasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at once."
"What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear."
"Why did the math teacher open a bakery? Because she kneaded the dough."
"I wanted to learn to juggle, but I didn't have the balls to do it."
"What do you call cheese that isn't yours? Nacho cheese."
"Why did the tomato blush? It saw the salad dressing."
"I'd tell a joke about chemistry, but I know I'd get no reaction."
"What do you call a dog that can do magic? A labracadabrador."
"I tried to write a chemistry joke, but all the good ones argon."
"Why did the golfer bring extra pants? In case he got a hole in one."
"What's the best thing about Switzerland? The flag is a big plus."
"I would avoid the sushi if I were you. It's a little fishy."
"Did you hear about the Italian chef who died? He pasta way."
"I asked my dog what two minus two is. He said nothing."
"What do you call a happy cowboy? A jolly rancher."
"I wouldn't buy anything with velcro. It's a total rip-off."
"The scarecrow won an award. He was outstanding in his field."
"What do you call a number that can't keep still? A roamin' numeral."
"Why don't eggs tell jokes? They'd crack each other up."
"I invented a new word: Plagiarism."
For classic jokes, dad jokes, and animal humor, visit our sister site StuneJoke.com. And for amazing facts that are as mind-bending as our hardest riddles, check out BuzzLee.com!