Classic Riddles
Riddle: A dagger thrust at my own heart, Dictates the way I'm swayed. Left I stand, and right I yield, To the twisting of the blade. What am I?
Answer: A Lock.
Riddle: Why is green grass like a mouse?
Answer: Green grass is like a mouse, because the cattle eat it (cat’ll eat it).
Riddle: What has wings, But can not fly. Is enclosed, But can outside also lie. Can open itself up, Or close itself away. Is the place of kings and queens, And doggerel of every means. What is it upon which I stand? Which can lead us to different lands. What is it?
Answer: The stage.
Riddle: Shifting, Shifting, Drifting deep. Below me great and mighty cities sleep. Swirling, Scurling, All around. I'm only where no water will be found. What am I?
Answer: The desert.
Riddle: What creature has one voice, but has four feet in the morning, two feet in the afternoon, and three feet in the evening?
Answer: Man crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two as an adult, and needs a walking cane when old.  The Sphinx posed this riddle to Oedipus who solved the riddle correctly.
Riddle: Do not begrudge this, For it is the fate of every man. Yet it is feared, And shunned in many lands. Causes problems, and sometimes gaps, Can hobble the strongest, and make memory lapse. What is this danger we all face? For being a part - of the human race. What is it?
Answer: Growing old.
Riddle: Sweet tooth, Ah shoot, All gone, We all long, For another piece of it. What is it?
Answer: Candy.
Riddle: My love, when I gaze on thy beautiful face, Careering along, yet always in place The thought has often come into my mind If I ever shall see thy glorious behind. What am I?
Answer: The Moon.
Riddle: In camps about the centre I appear; In smiling meadows seen throughout the year; The silent angler views me in the streams, And all must trace me in their morning dreams, First in the mob conspicuous I stand, Proud of the lead, and ever in command. What am I?
Answer: The letter M.
Riddle: Name a five letter word which has three consonants all the same and two different vowels. Every now and then you see this while running a Windows 95/98 on your PC. What is it?
Answer: Error!
Riddle: As I was walking across the London Bridge, I met a man who tipped his hat and drew his cane, and in this riddle, I said his name. What is it?
Answer: And drew = ANDREW.
Riddle: Dawns away, The day's turned grey And I must travel far away. But I'll be back And then we'll track, The light of yet another day. What is it?
Answer: The Sun or a shadow. The riddle is written as if the sun is speaking to us. It's not saying the sun tracks its light; it's saying:
  • “I’ll be back” → the sun will rise again.
  • “And then we’ll track the light”we(humans) will follow, notice, and live by its light through another day.
  the sun leaves (sets), returns (rises), and then together with us it “tracks” the day—meaning we move through the day guided by its light. If you don’t like that reading, a more literal alternative answer that fits the “tracking light” idea nicely is a shadow  
Riddle: Up a hill, Down a hill, Over them I may roam, But after all my walking, There's no place like my own. What am I?
Answer: Home.
Riddle: What has to be broken before you use it?
Answer: Eggs.
Riddle: President Clinton was our 41st president, but only 40 men had held the office. Why?
Answer: Grover Cleveland held office during 2 nonconsecutive terms. He was our 22nd and 24th president.
Riddle: Sleeping during the day, I hide away. Watchful through the night, I open at dawn's light. But only for the briefest time, Do I shine. And then I hide away, And sleep through the day. What am I?
Answer: A morning glory.
Riddle: This thing is a most amazing thing. For it can be both as sharp as a knife, Or as flat as a floor. And yet, for all that it can be, It is as natural as a bee. What is it?
Answer: Music.
Riddle: Almost everyone needs it, asks for it, gives it, but almost nobody takes it. What is it?
Answer: Advice
Riddle: I know what my job is, The point has been made. You say I have a big head, And you're right, I'm afraid. Put me in my place, And then leave me alone. What I need most, Is someone to drive me home. What am I?
Answer: A Nail!
Riddle: I saw a creature: his stomach stuck out behind him, enormously swollen. A stalwart servant waited upon him. What filled up his stomach had travelled from far, and flew through his eye. He does not always die in giving life to others, but new strength revives in the pit of his stomach; he breathes again. What is he?
Answer: Bellows.