Talk:Riddle

Riddles are a global phenomenon. Riddles form a very important aspect of oral literature. You wouldn't know it if you read this article in its present state, hence the {{limitedgeographicscope}} tag. — mark ✎ 22:14, 30 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I fleshed out the function of irddles in Anglo-Saxon culture. -MadMax —Preceding unsigned comment added by MadMaxBeyondThunderdome (talk • contribs) 06:56, 5 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Boxers or Briefs?

I don't understand the Boxers or Briefs?. Why is "Depends" wrong?

In the United States, "Depends" is a brand name for a sort of adult diapers worn by those afflicted with urinary incontinence. Smerdis of Tlön 13:26, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Bible

Didn't the queen of Sheba test Solomon with riddles? And there is also another by Samson.

There is indeed a riddle by Samson. But the Queen of Sheba came to test Solomon's wisdom with "hard questions," which may not be the same. Smerdis of Tlön 16:11, 14 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Example tricky riddle

i'm not sure where in the article i would put this, so i'm putting it here :)

What do you strip the outside of, than cook, than eat the outside, and discard the inside?

Corn on the cob.

evil eh? — Nate | Talk 11:04, Aug 14, 2004 (UTC)

Gay Riddles/Comments

Can we be adult enough to not joke about homosexuality being something shameful or something to hide?

It's not being joked about, the article just states the fact that it's a question which is being relatively frequently asked by certain (stupid) people... I think. (And it could really have been a worse example, too. The version the kids kept asking me when I was a kid, translated into English, was "are you a fettered derogatory word for gay people?" and if you reply "no" the next line is "help, the f@*¿t is loose!" Hilarious... not.)

Rude Riddle

When I was at work, I wrote that the "What's brown and sounds like a bell?" riddle was found in a Monty Python skit. May I put the attribution back in? Pittsburgh Poet (talk) 13:57, 17 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Trick question

Trick question redirects to "riddle". This should not be the case, or at least the definition should be changed. A trick question is a very different thing from a riddle (not to mention a very different thing from a question designed to merely trick the one it's asked to). A riddle is a question designed to test the answerer's ability to see through confusing or disguised logic. A trick question is a question that, to be able to answer, one must automatically assume that a false statement is true, thus making the question impossible to answer correctly. Does anyone else think this way, or am I just making a fool of myself here? VolatileChemical 01:14, 17 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Solution to Amir Khusro's Riddle?

is there one?--84.174.225.104 21:24, 10 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Follow the links! This riddle is full of puns and various clues that play around with the gender of the object. Knowledge of Hindi and Urdu would help in solving it. For instance, the word jal of the jal jaati hai in the second line can mean burning as well as water. If you read the first two words in the last line together, you might see the answer.--Shantavira 07:01, 6 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If you really can't figure this one out (I couldn't - you need to know geography as well as Hindi gender pronouns) the answer is given in the "Amir Khusro" article. --134.226.1.229 02:04, 19 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

External links

There's a note in a comment in the External links section that says external links are being reviewed on the discussion page, but I didn't see anything about them so went ahead and added one. Hope no one minds. --Bookgrrl 04:55, 29 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hmmm, no discussion. Well, I'll propose something. I believe that links to single puzzles or collections of puzzles don't meet the requirements of Wikipedia:External links and propose that they all be deleted. There must be thousands on the web, and Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information. Notinasnaid 13:15, 18 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
- Hmm, I think that counts as a consensus of one. Ok I will go ahead. I will leave the DMOZ link; DMOZ should contain links to any and all notable sites collecting riddles. Notinasnaid 15:59, 1 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

T

What starts with T , ends with T and has T in it ? its very ease --Anishgirdhar 11:30, 15 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

'T'? Marasmusine 09:24, 10 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

'A Teapot.' But I can't claim credit for solving this; I read it in a book as a child. Pittsburgh Poet (talk) 13:53, 17 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Looking for a reference

Hello. I'm looking for a direct quotation for the riddle that goes something like "What grows larger as you take more away from it?" (answer = a hole). It's probably an incredubly old one with no known, exact origin, but if anyone can find a good source, I'd be much obliged. Thanks in advance! Kaiilaiqualyn 15:47, 6 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Riddle with no answer

The riddle on this page "A similarly deceptive riddling contest features prominently in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, in which the protagonists win by asking the difference between a truck full of bowling balls and a truck full of woodchucks." doesn't offer the answer to the riddle, which is you can't use a pitchfork to unload the bowling balls. It seems sort of unfair on the reader to present the riddle but not answer it. While I know it is meant to be a trick riddle, because the answer is not at all obvious, but the riddle does have an answer and it seems to me that on a page about riddles that the answer should be put there. What do you guys think? JayKeaton 05:08, 17 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think the argument could equally made that it is unfair to people who haven't read the work to "spoil the surprise", especially in a context where they might not expect to read this. There is a lively debate about "spoilers" today, to which this relates. It also is already too long for the context, in my view, and might be better off removing the question too. Notinasnaid 05:12, 17 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Having reread it in the article, I no longer think it is too long for the context. So let me ask: is this a "big surprise" to the reader, a major plot element? I think that knowing this will better help editors participate in the discussion of this point. The great "spoiler" debate, by the way, is on Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Policies/Wikipedia:Spoiler warning. Notinasnaid 06:05, 17 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It does not spoil the surprise, as it is now saying that the lead character outwitted the villain with a riddle spoils it more than having the answer to that riddle. Most other riddles on this page also have the answers to them also. JayKeaton 12:03, 17 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

A very large depository of riddles is this website.

It is not mine, but if any person wants to find a very large portion of riddles and their answers all in one place, here is the link.

http://www.strolen.com/netbooks/riddles2.txt

What is the Answer?

What Has Keys But No Locks, Space But No Room, That You Can Enter But Not Get In? I can't figure it out.

It's the keyboard of your computer. At least that's what I think it is, but then again a keyboard does have locks... --_The Hiddey_ 09:17, 29 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I turn polar bears white and I will make you cry. I make guys have to pee and girls comb their hair. I make celebrities look stupid and normal people look like celebrities. I turn pancakes brown and make your champagne bubble. If you squeeze me, I'll pop. If you look at me, you'll pop. Can you guess the riddle?

...And don't go saying the answer is "no", That makes the riddle a paradox, if the answer is that there are no answers. Every riddle has a solution, yet I've been unable to find any solution to this online or offline. I know this page isn't for discussion of anything other than the article, but I'm obviously not the only one breaking this rule. There certainly doesn't appear to be any solution after several years of discussion of this riddle, so I defy you to find a solution.

The anwer is time. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.162.64.209 (talk) 01:11, 28 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Added, In other cultures

JoshuaCruzPhilippines 12:23, 12 August 2009 (UTC)