Riddles

Hello. How are you today? Today we are going to talk about riddles. If you don’t already know, a riddle is a type of puzzle. It is usually a question or statement to be solved. 

Normally, riddles are worded in a confusing or misleading way. Many have a double or hidden meaning that requires creative, out-of-the-box thinking. Their answers are often unexpected, so you must think very carefully when solving them.

I’m going to explain some examples to you – but if you know any good riddles in English then get in touch with me to share them!

Here is an easy one to start with :

How many months of the year have 28 days? Do you know the answer? 

12 – all of the months of the year have 28 days, most of them have even more than that. January has 31 days, for example. Many people will answer February for this riddle. That would be correct if the question said “How many months of the year have exactly 28 days?”.

OK – time for another one. (That’s a little clue). What has hands and a face, but can’t hold anything or smile? Think about it for a moment. What has hands and a face, but can’t hold anything or smile? The answer is a clock or watch. The front part, where the numbers are, is called the face of the watch and the parts that move to show the time are called the hands. So a clock has hands and a face, but of course it can’t hold anything or smile.

Here is another one…What belongs to you, but is used more by other people? Can you think of anything that belongs to you but other people use more often? Your name! It is yours, but other people use it when they talk to you. It’s a little unusual to use your own name when speaking. 

This one is a little easier. What 2 things can you never eat for breakfast? Do you know 2 things you can never eat for breakfast? My mother used to tell me I couldn’t have ice-cream for breakfast, but she was wrong. I did it this morning. What 2 things can you never have for breakfast? The answer is very obvious – lunch and dinner!

Right, now this one is the most difficult. At least for me. It sounds like it should be simple, but like with all riddles there is a twist. Are you ready? OK. Where is the only place in the world where today comes before yesterday? 

Remember, it’s a riddle, so you have to think laterally. 

Do you think you know the answer? Let’s check. The answer is in the dictionary. If you look in a dictionary, the word Today comes earlier than the word Yesterday. T is before Y in the dictionary.

These little puzzles can be fun – but they can also be very annoying!

If you want to double check any of the vocabulary in this podcast you can check out the transcript on the webpage. You can also leave a comment there if you know any good riddles!