You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I’m quick when I’m thin and slow when I’m fat. The wind is my enemy.
Hard riddles want to trip you up, and this one works by hitting you with details from every angle. The big hint comes at the end with the wind. What does wind threaten most? You have to stretch your brain to come up with a something tiny and unexpected.
Answer: A candle
I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?
This riddle aims to confuse you and get you to focus on the things that are missing: the houses, trees, and fish. You might guess you need to think about something inanimate.
Answer: A map
What is seen in the middle of March and April that can’t be seen at the beginning or end of either month?
This riddle works by trying to get you to think about the weather or holidays or other events linked to a calendar. To get this one right you actually need to get super literal.
Answer: The letter “R”
You see a boat filled with people. It has not sunk, but when you look again you don’t see a single person on the boat. Why?
Hard riddles like this brainteaser are tricky because they seems to invite straightforward, logical thinking. You may come up with answers like “they all went below deck” or “jumped overboard.” But you need to focus on the word “single” and think about its other meanings.
Answer: All the people were married.
What word in the English language does the following: the first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four letters signify a great, while the entire world signifies a great woman. What is the word?
This is hard because it gets you thinking about gender and the ways they’re different. You have to think of one word that holds the others. It’s easy when you think about it!
Answer: Heroine
And there’s plenty more from The Readers Digest:
https://www.rd.com/funny-stuff/challenging-riddles/
