Author: Mr. P. K. Jayaraj, Faculty, RIESI, Bengaluru

One of the great things about the English language is that it gives you so many possibilities for playing around. The more youplay with language the more you will learn about how to use it and how to enjoy it. Many jokes, such as riddles, puzzles and puns consist of playing with language.

Have you read stories about Birbal who lived in the court of Emperor Akbar? Here is a Birbal story for you. One day Akbar drew a line on the floor of the open court and commanded, “Make this line shorter, but don’t by any means erase any part of it.” Everyone was shocked by the Emperor’s order. It was a difficult puzzle to solve. When it was Birbal’s turn, he at once drew a longer line next to the first one drawn by the Emperor. He didn’t touch the first one. Everyone in the court saw it and said, “That’s true, the first line is shorter.

What is a Riddle?
A riddle is a puzzling question that requires some clever thinking to answer correctly. It may be a problem with a hidden solution to be discovered or guessed. Riddles have been popular since ancient times. Early people took their riddles seriously and often felt humiliated if they couldn’t solve them. According to legend, the Greek poet Homer is said to have died of shame because he couldn’t find answer to a riddle.

Puzzles and riddles come from ancient times. Archaeologists have found evidence of puzzles with a history that can be traced back thousands of years. In Greek mythology, a famous riddle was asked by the Sphinx, a winged monster with a lion’s body and a woman’s head. Here is the riddle asked by the Sphinx: “What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three at night?” The Sphinx destroyed all those who passed by if they were unable to give the correct answer. Oedipus, a Greek hero, solved the riddle. A person crawls on all fours when a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and walks on three (with a cane) in old age. The Sphinx was so upset that she killed herself.

Riddles in Poetic Form
The poetic form of riddles became very popular in Victorian times. Each line of a classic riddle would describe individual letters or syllables of the solution, with the last line describing the complete answer, for example,

My first is in tea but not in leaf
My second is in teapot and also in teeth
My third is in caddy but not in cosy
My fourth is in cup but not in rosy
My fifth is in herbal and also in health
My sixth is in peppermint and always in wealth
My last is in drink, so what can I be?
I’m there in a classroom, do you listen to me?
The solution here is Teacher. Here is another poetic form of riddle for you.

My first is in Riddles but not in Puzzles
My second is in Chair but not in Stair
My third is in Pretty but not in Cute
My fourth is in Home but not in Hearth
My fifth is in Ears and also in Nose
I entertain
By sounding the same
Who am I?
 Can you find out the answer?

"The beginning of eternity
The end of time and space
The beginning of every end,
And the end of every place."
Answer: The letter “e”

I never was, am always to be,
No one ever saw me, nor ever will
And yet I am the confidence of all
To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball."
Answer: Tomorrow

Riddle Game
The Riddle Game is a contest of wit and skill in which players take turns asking riddles. The player that cannot answer loses.

1. Why is six afraid of seven?
2. Because seven eight (ate) nine.
3. What month do soldiers hate?   
4. What is the longest word in the English language?  The word “smile” because there is    ‘a’ mile between the beginning and the end of it.
5. What is the poorest bank in the world?  The river bank
6. What did the big chimney say to the little chimney while working?
7. What do you get if you cross a sheep with a kangaroo?
8. What two words contain thousands of letters?   Post office.
9. What is black when it is clean and white when it is dirty?  The black board

What makes a question a riddle?
Riddles are not like ordinary questions. Ordinary questions require answers. Riddles do require an answer.  But the answer is not like the answer to a normal question- it involves a puzzle or a trick. Now, answer the following question.

Q: What are two things people never eat before breakfast?
A: Lunch and supper.
Q: Why did the man throw a bucket of water out the window?
A: He wanted to see the waterfall.
Q: Why did the man throw the butter out the window?
A: He wanted to see the butterfly.
Q: Why did the man put the clock in the safe?
A: He wanted to save time.

To work out the answer to a riddle like this, you have to do some lateral thinking.  Hence riddles are questions meant to provoke your thinking skills. Riddles are wonderful tools for teaching English in second language contexts. They are excellent tools because they require students to practice a variety of language skills in order to find a solution.

Look again at the next two riddles and explore the links between month and soldiers and between the big chimney and little chimney.

• What month do soldiers hate?   
• What did the big chimney say to the little chimney while working?

The trick in these riddles relate to puns. Puns can be made when a word has two meanings- or more. A pun is called a play of words.  What is common between month and soldiers?  Soldiers hate ‘march (v)’ and ‘March (n)’ is the name of a month. Hence soldiers hate “March”

Riddles usually start with one of the following ways.
What is the difference between……..?
When is a ….?
What do you call …?
Why did the …?
Once you hear a set of words like these you can assume that there is a riddle coming.

How to Find Great Riddles for ESL Students
There are many good riddle sites on the internet. Here are just a few:

• Wu:riddles: A great compilation of riddles and puzzles ranging from relatively easy to difficult.
• www.riddles.com: This site has a "Riddle a Day" feature, as well as a section of riddles for kids.
• Tricky Riddles: Another good collection of riddles, including "Who am I" and "What am I" riddles.

Whether used as a small group activity or a warm-up at the beginning of a lesson, riddles are excellent tools to help students of varying levels learn to speak and argue precisely, creatively and logically.

You have gone through a number of riddles. Can you make up some riddles of your own?