This is the site's collection of classic short-form riddles — the "what am I" format, usually solved through wordplay or a shift in perspective rather than deduction.
Most of what's here is drawn from public-domain sources and imported in bulk, so almost every riddle currently carries an "unreviewed import" label rather than a reviewed one — we haven't hand-checked each for accuracy or a single clean answer yet. That's an honest state, not a hidden one: the label is on every card, and none of these are run through the constraint solver the site's logic puzzles are, since a riddle's answer isn't the kind of thing that format checks.
Showing 12 of 213
My first bears many a noble name. If you add two letters, it remains unchanged. I saw my second among dark waters; it was the last of noble daughters. My whole, though picturesque, may also be grotesque, and Shakespeare …
I eagerly hunt for my first so the pack can pursue the game, yet when the interest wanes, the sport feels bland. My second is seen on lavish garments and can also be found in terrapin and buttermilk. My whole merrily fli…
Although it's true that 'the pen is mightier than the sword,' without my first, the pen becomes ineffective. Long ago, my second was a dark water into which an innocent victim was thrown, the hero of a famous song. My wh…
I love my dogs and adore my horses, yet my last is more cherished. Though my first is lesser, my whole is known to have been my last’s unconquered foe.
My first is commonly seen and worn by both cats and kings, part of my lady's fine attire and the soldier’s pride. My second is a character with a vacant stare. Once, at a festive event, he captured a queen. My whole is o…
What is my first, ground beneath the oppressor’s wheel, subjected to barbaric tyranny? It is encased in wire and thrown into fire. Take my second from my first, and my whole remains the same.
My first is a historical home, known worldwide, associated with a lady of great pride. It’s a treasure that many adore and seek, along pathways shady or in lands unique.
If my last rests on my first, the world would be better. My whole helps you write a perfect letter. Bad men live in my first's realm, while my whole gives joy at the helm.
My whole was a queen with a mournful fate, who built in the past with a heavy weight. In sorrow she vowed to my first and my last, her legacy and love forever steadfast.
While hunting in the woods, I heard a song near my first, the young green of my whole begins to surface - that means spring is here.
My first represents freedom, standing strong for years, while my last, though thin, has caused many fears. Without my whole, stovepipes would seem no use, A message of liberty, they cannot refuse.
Untidy but kind, my first is a scribe, while my second brings fear in a mighty tribe. Across summer seas, graceful boats sail, that is how my total prevails.