50 Really Hard Riddles [For Adults & Kids]

Riddles have been popular for centuries, and it’s easy to see why. Hard riddles are a fun way to challenge people of all ages to use their critical thinking skills and problem-solving ability to come up with solutions.

Riddles are a great opportunity to test logical reasoning, and whether you’re a teacher looking for a great classroom warm-up, or if you’re simply looking to challenge your friends and family, then we have some brain teasers that you’ll love.

We’ve arranged our riddles into different categories:

• Hard Riddles
• Toughest Riddles
• Math Riddles
• Easy Riddles

Perhaps you want challenging riddles that you can answer quickly, or you can choose from some of the hardest riddles out there to really challenge yourself! If you’re looking for some tricky riddles for adults and kids, read on for a list of hard riddles with answers.

Hard Riddles

Hard riddles are a great way to challenge yourself and your friends, allowing you to think outside of the box and use your creative thinking skills. We’ve listed an assortment of challenging riddles for adults and kids to enjoy, which you can use to leave your friends and family stumped!

1. I have a tail and a head, but no body. What am I?
   Show answer
   A coin.
2. I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and rivers but no water. What am I?
   Show answer
   A map.
3. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
   Show answer
   Footsteps.
4. I speak without a mouth, hear without ears, and have no body. What am I?
   Show answer
   An echo.
5. A bus driver goes the wrong way on a one-way street. He goes past the police but they don’t stop him. Why?
   Show answer
   He was walking.
6. How many letters are in the alphabet?
   Show answer
   Eleven (“the alphabet”).
7. 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?
   Show answer
   Coffin.
8. I can fly without wings, cry without eyes, but wherever I go, darkness follows me closely. What am I?
   Show answer
   Cloud.
9. I have keys but no locks, and space but no rooms. You can enter me, but you can never go out. What am I?
   Show answer
   A keyboard.
10. I am a five letter word and people eat me. Take away the first letter and I am type of energy. Take away the first two letters and you need me to live. If you scramble the last three letters, you can drink me. What am I?
    Show answer
    Wheat
11. 11. I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?
    Show answer
    Bank.
12. Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?
    Show answer
    The word “ton.”
13. The more you have of it, the less you see. What is it?
    Show answer
    Darkness.
14. You see me once in a year, twice in a month, but never in a week. What am I?
    Show answer
    The letter “e”
15. What has an eye but cannot see?
    Show answer
    A needle.
16. 16. What can you hold in your right hand, but never in your left hand?
    Show answer
    Your left hand.
17. What starts with an “e”, ends with an “e”, but contains only one letter?
    Show answer
    An envelope.
18. I am a word of seven letters. I become longer when my third letter is removed. What am I?
    Show answer
    Lounger.
19. A girl has as many brothers as sisters, but each brother has only half as many brothers as sisters. How many brothers and sisters are there in the family?
    Show answer
    Four sisters and three brothers.
20. If an electric train is traveling south, which way is the smoke going?
    Show answer
    There is no smoke, it’s an electric train.
21. A mother gave birth to two girls on the same day, at the same time, in the same month and year, yet they are not twins. How can this be possible?
    Show answer
    The two girls are two of a set of triplets.
22. There is a boat filled with people, but you don’t see a single person on the boat. Why?
    Show answer
    All the people on the boat are married.
23. A woman shoots her husband. Five minutes later, they enjoy a lovely dinner together. How can this be?
    Show answer
    She took a photo of him.
24. How can you physically stand behind your father while he is standing behind you?
    Show answer
    You and your father are standing back-to-back.
25. I’m written with two letters, but only said with one. What am I?
    Show answer
    Eye.
26. What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters?
    Show answer
    Queue.

The Toughest Riddles to Test Critical Thinking Skills

The tough riddles that we’ve compiled in this list are enough to leave you confused for days, but the accomplishment of solving them will make it all worthwhile. All of our riddles are suitable for different age groups, but be warned – these riddles are not for beginners! If you want to really challenge yourself and use your problem solving skills, then these are the riddles for you.

1. What English word has three consecutive double letters?
   Show answer
   Bookkeeper
2. You must transport a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage across a river. However, you can only take one item with you on the boat at a time. If the wolf is left alone with the goat, it will eat it, and if the goat is left alone with the cabbage, it will eat it. How can you safely transport all three across?
   Show answer
   Take the goat across first, then return alone. Take the wolf across next and bring back the goat. Leave the goat on the original side and take the cabbage across. Leave it with the wolf and come back for the goat. Finally, take the goat across, and all three will have been safely transported.
3. The detective interviews the family members and gets the following alibis: 
   The wife said she was reading a book.
   The butler said he was taking a shower.
   The maid said she was getting the mail.
   The gardener said they were planting seeds.
   The cook said they were making breakfast.
   Who is the murderer?
   Show answer
   The maid is the murderer. There is no mail delivery on Sundays, so her alibi is false.
4. You are in a pitch-dark room with a box of matches, a candle, and a stove. What do you light first?
   Show answer
   The match.
5. There are two doors, one leading to freedom and the other to certain death by a hungry lion. Both doors are guarded by two guards. One guard always tells the truth, and the other always lies. You don’t know which guard is which, and you can only ask one guard one question. What do you ask to find the door to freedom?
   Show answer
   Ask either guard, “If I were to ask the other guard which door leads to freedom, what would they say?” Then choose the opposite door of what the guard presents as the correct one.
6. Three different doctors said that Paul is their brother yet Paul claims he has no brothers. Who is lying?
   Show answer
   No one is lying because the three doctors are Paul’s sisters.
7. You have twelve identical-looking coins, but one of them is slightly lighter than the rest, which are all identical in weight. You have a balance scale for weighing. How can you determine which coin is lighter using the scale only three times?
   Show answer
   Divide the twelve coins into three groups of four. First, compare any two groups on the scale. If they balance, the lighter coin is in the third group. If not, take the lighter group and weigh two of the coins against each other. If they balance, the lighter coin is the remaining unweighed coin.
8. In the green glass door, you can take apples but not oranges, chairs but not tables, and mirrors but not glass. What is the rule for what can go through the green glass door?
   Show answer
   Only words with a double letter can go through the green glass door, like apples, chairs, mirrors, and so on.
9. You are trapped in a prison cell with two switches outside the cell. One switch turns off the electric fence surrounding the prison, while the other does nothing. However, you don’t know which switch controls the fence. You can only approach the switches once. How can you determine which switch turns off the fence?
   Show answer
   Turn one switch on for a few minutes, then turn it off. Then turn the other switch on and quickly approach the fence. The switch that turns off the electric fence is the one that wasn’t affecting it, as it will still be off when you approach.
10. Two fathers and two sons go fishing. They all catch one fish each, but when they return home, they only have three fish. How is this possible?
    Show answer
    The fishing group consists of a grandfather, his son, and his grandson. So, there are only three individuals: the grandfather (who is both a father and a son), his son (the father), and his grandson (the son).
11. I’m a word in the English language. 
    My first two letters signify a male,
    My first three letters signify a female,
    My first four letters signify a great man,
    And my the entire word signifies a great woman.
    What am I?
    Show answer
    Heroine

Math Riddles

Whether you’re a math teacher looking to test your students, or if you’re simply someone who loves solving a difficult question, then our selection of math riddles will be perfect for you.

1. I am an odd number. If you take away one letter from me, I become even. What number am I?
   Show answer
   Seven.
2. I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is five more than my ones digit, and my hundreds digit is eight less than my tens digit. What number am I?
   Show answer
   194.
3. I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is five less than my ones digit, and my hundreds digit is one more than my ones digit. What number am I?
   Show answer
   253.
4. What three positive numbers give the same answer when multiplied and added together?
   Show answer
   1, 2, and 3.
5. I am a number whose digits add up to 15. If you reverse my digits, I become a number five times bigger. What number am I?
   Show answer
   69.

Easy Riddles

For kids, or simply adults who don’t want too much of a challenge, this selection of easy riddles will help get your brain warmed up for the day without leaving you stuck in confusion for too long!

1. I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
   Show answer
   Joke.
2. What belongs to you but is used more by others?
   Show answer
   Your name.
3. Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it?
   Show answer
   A shadow.
4. I am not alive, but I grow. I don’t have lungs, but I need air. I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
   Show answer
   Fire.
5. What has four fingers and a thumb, but is not alive?
   Show answer
   A glove.
6. How do you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
   Show answer
   Concrete floors are too hard to be cracked by an egg.
7. What can travel around the entire world but remains in one corner?
   Show answer
   A postage stamp.
8. Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?
   Show answer
   Incorrectly.

The process of solving riddles can be both frustrating and satisfying, leading to a sense of triumph and accomplishment once the answer is finally revealed. The journey of unraveling these puzzling enigmas can boost our cognitive abilities, strengthen memory retention, and even improve overall brain health.

Whether used as a recreational activity or an educational tool, hard riddles serve as a delightful exercise for individuals of all ages and backgrounds. So, embrace the enigma and challenge yourself with some mind-bending riddles – you never know how far outside the box you’ll be able to think!

Eleanor Griffiths

Eleanor is a qualified English teacher and has received a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE), specializing in Secondary English, and holds a BA (Hons) in English Literature from Liverpool John Moores University. She is certified to teach English as a foreign language (TEFL) and has worked with students in the U.K. and South East Asia. She currently works as an English teacher in Vietnam, teaching students across a range of ages.

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