Home > Puzzles > Riddles and Jokes
Handsome.
My first's the heart of honest trade...
Speculation.
Short was my life, and brilliant my career...
Spark.
Rail and Liar
A cooking vessel... and a child's toy or the highest point.
Pot and Top
To be wicked... and in real time or what we all long to do.
Evil and Live.
Riddles and Jokes
The solutions to the riddles are at the bottom of the page. Try to resist peeking until you have given the riddles a try. The answers to the jokes follow immediately.
Fair Bessie promised to bestow
My first upon her lover,
And much I hope that no dark clouds
Around the pair may hover.
Sweet Bessie's age is just eighteen,
Of gold she has my second;
On bearing off the lovely prize
How many beaux have reckoned.
And now my riddle I'll conclude,
And hope you will not me quiz,
For what I say is very true
My whole fair Bessie is...
My first's the heart of honest trade,
When 'tis judicially displayed;
But when 'tis of its head bereft,
It then becomes a public theft.
Short was my life, and brilliant my career;
Behead me, I in lovely green appear;
Behead again, I was once made to save
My chosen inmates from a watery grave.
To scold, part of a fence or what a train travels on... and a person who isn't telling the truth.
A cooking vessel... and a child's toy or the highest point.
To be wicked... and real time or what we all long to do.
Because it doesn't run long without winding.
What pudding makes the best baseball player?
A good batter.
Tom went out, his dog with him; he went not before, behind, nor on one side of him, then where did he go?
On the other side.
Why was Moses the most wicked man that ever lived?
Because he broke all ten commandments at once.
Why are crockery-ware dealers different from other merchants?
Because it won't do for them to crack up their goods.
Why is a baby like wheat?
Because it is first cradled, then thrashed and finally becomes the flower of the family.
On what toe does a corn never come?
The mistletoe.
What is the difference between a hungry man and a glutton?
One longs to eat and the other eats too long.
Where lies the path of duty?
Through the Custom House.
Why should turtles be pitied?
Because theirs is a hard case.
Why should young ladies set good examples?
Because young men are so apt to follow them.
Why should the male sex avoid the letter A?
Because it makes men mean.
Why must chimney-sweeping be a very agreeable business?
Because it suits 'soot's everyone who tries it.
Why is a joke less durable than a church bell?
Because after it has been told 'tolled' a few times it is worn out.
Why is Ireland likely to become the richest country in the world?
Because its capital is always doubling 'Dublin'.
Why should you never tell a man to take a back seat?
Because, if you do, he will likely take affront.
Riddles
Sam Loyd's book, Cyclopedia of Puzzles, had riddles sprinkled amongst the more sophisticated puzzles. Here are some riddles from the first part of his book.Fair Bessie promised to bestow
My first upon her lover,
And much I hope that no dark clouds
Around the pair may hover.
Sweet Bessie's age is just eighteen,
Of gold she has my second;
On bearing off the lovely prize
How many beaux have reckoned.
And now my riddle I'll conclude,
And hope you will not me quiz,
For what I say is very true
My whole fair Bessie is...
My first's the heart of honest trade,
When 'tis judicially displayed;
But when 'tis of its head bereft,
It then becomes a public theft.
Short was my life, and brilliant my career;
Behead me, I in lovely green appear;
Behead again, I was once made to save
My chosen inmates from a watery grave.
Forwards and Backwards Word Riddles
These riddles have two answers. The second answer is simply the first answer spelled in reverse.
Jokes
Why is a watch like a river?Because it doesn't run long without winding.
What pudding makes the best baseball player?
A good batter.
Tom went out, his dog with him; he went not before, behind, nor on one side of him, then where did he go?
On the other side.
Why was Moses the most wicked man that ever lived?
Because he broke all ten commandments at once.
Why are crockery-ware dealers different from other merchants?
Because it won't do for them to crack up their goods.
Why is a baby like wheat?
Because it is first cradled, then thrashed and finally becomes the flower of the family.
On what toe does a corn never come?
The mistletoe.
What is the difference between a hungry man and a glutton?
One longs to eat and the other eats too long.
Where lies the path of duty?
Through the Custom House.
Why should turtles be pitied?
Because theirs is a hard case.
Why should young ladies set good examples?
Because young men are so apt to follow them.
Why should the male sex avoid the letter A?
Because it makes men mean.
Why must chimney-sweeping be a very agreeable business?
Because it suits 'soot's everyone who tries it.
Why is a joke less durable than a church bell?
Because after it has been told 'tolled' a few times it is worn out.
Why is Ireland likely to become the richest country in the world?
Because its capital is always doubling 'Dublin'.
Why should you never tell a man to take a back seat?
Because, if you do, he will likely take affront.
Solutions follow. No peeking!
Fun Riddles
Fair Bessie promised to bestow...Handsome.
My first's the heart of honest trade...
Speculation.
Short was my life, and brilliant my career...
Spark.
Forwards and Backwards Word Riddles
To scold, part of a fence or what a train travels on... and a person who isn't telling the truth.Rail and Liar
A cooking vessel... and a child's toy or the highest point.
Pot and Top
To be wicked... and in real time or what we all long to do.
Evil and Live.
