23 lateral thinking riddles with answers
Read the situation, ask what the wording leaves out, and reveal the explanation when you are ready.
Updated
Two fathers and two sons share three apples. Each person gets one whole apple. How?
easy
There are three people: a grandfather, his son, and his grandson.
The middle person is both a father and a son, so three people satisfy all four relationship roles.
A driver travels the wrong way along a one-way street. An officer watches but does not stop the driver. Why?
easy
The driver is walking, not driving a vehicle.
The word "driver" describes the person's occupation or identity, not what the person is doing on the street.
Several times each day, a man shaves someone. He still finishes work with a beard. Who is he?
easy
A barber who shaves other people.
The clue never says he shaves his own face, so his beard can remain while he shaves customers.
Everyone on a boat is married, yet there is not a single person aboard. How can both statements be true?
easy
Nobody aboard is single.
"Single" refers to marital status, so a boat full of married people contains no single people.
Six people each take one egg from a basket holding six eggs. One egg remains in the basket. Explain.
medium
The sixth person takes the basket with the final egg still inside it.
The last person takes an egg by taking the basket that still contains it.
From three apples, you take two. How many apples do you have?
easy
Two, because those are the apples you took.
The question asks how many you possess after taking them, not how many remain.
Straight upward, a child kicks a ball ten feet. It returns without striking a wall or another person. How?
easy
Gravity brings the ball back down.
The distance does not have to be horizontal. A ball kicked upward can return along its path.
Heavy rain soaks a person walking without a hat or umbrella, yet no hair gets wet. Why?
easy
The person is bald.
Rain can soak the person's skin and clothes, but there is no hair to become wet.
Four daughters each have the same one brother. How many children are in the family?
easy
Five children: four daughters and their shared brother.
The daughters share one brother rather than each having a different brother, so the total is four plus one.
A clock is stopped and displays 6:00. For how much of the next hour does it display 6:00?
easy
The entire hour.
Because the clock is stopped, its display does not advance.
A five-minute timer sits untouched and is never started. When will its countdown finish?
easy
It will not finish.
A duration on an unstarted timer never begins to elapse.
An empty drawer receives one sealed envelope. Without opening anything, is the drawer still empty?
easy
No.
The envelope now occupies the drawer, regardless of whether the envelope itself is opened.
One runner enters a race and completes it. Which finishing positions does that runner hold?
easy
Both first and last.
With only one finisher, the same person is earliest and latest.
A box contains three tiles labeled FIVE, SIX, and SEVEN. You remove the tile labeled SEVEN. How many tiles did you remove?
easy
One tile.
SEVEN is the label on the single tile removed, not the number of tiles removed.
Miko must cross a line drawn across the floor but may not step over the line. How can Miko reach the other side?
medium
Walk around one end of the line.
The line has ends, and the rule forbids stepping over it rather than going around it.
A locked box bears a note saying, "The key is inside." You do not know whether the note is true. Can you locate the key from the note alone?
medium
No.
An unverified statement and its opposite remain possible, so the key's location is undetermined.
A key is under either the red mat or the blue mat. You are also told that the red mat is not blue. Which mat hides the key?
medium
It cannot be determined.
The color statement adds no information about which of the two possible locations contains the key.
Lee says, "I watched the painter with binoculars." Who had the binoculars?
medium
It cannot be determined.
The phrase can describe Lee using binoculars or a painter who had binoculars.
A guide says, "Old teachers and students entered." Must the students be old?
medium
No.
Old can describe only the teachers or both the teachers and the students.
Ira told Kim that they were late. Who was late?
easy
It cannot be determined.
Without more context, they can refer to Ira, Kim, or another group.
A voice says, "Visiting relatives can be tiring." What are the two possible sources of the tiredness?
hard
The act of visiting relatives, or relatives who are visiting.
Visiting can describe an activity or the relatives.
The announcer says, "We will meet next Friday." Can you name the date from that sentence alone?
easy
No.
The date depends on when the sentence was spoken, and that time is not supplied.
Mina says, "I almost answered every question." Give the two possible meanings.
hard
She answered nearly all of them, or she came close to answering each one but answered none.
Almost can apply to the whole set or separately to the act of answering each question.
Plan the round and team scores
8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.
60
These are adjustable house rules. Pause whenever the group needs more time.
Team 1: 0
Team 2: 0
Use this set with a group
Read a prompt, allow thinking time, then invite an answer or a pass. For a timed round, choose a turn length before starting. A host can keep the printed answers out of view until the round ends.