RIDDLES ABOUT WORDS AND LETTERS

What is the word, the first two letters of which stand for a man, the first three for a
woman, the first four for a brave man, and the whole for a brave woman?
(А heroine.)

Why is the word “thousand” like the Sahara desert?

(Because both contain sand.)

What is the longest word in the English language?

(Smiles, because there is а mile between the first and the last letters.)

Why is the letter “w” quarrelsome?

(Because it makes ill-will.)

What two words, when combined, hold the most letters?

(Post office.)

Why is a selfish friend like the letter “p”?

(Because it is the first in pity and last in help.)

What makes a road broad?

(The letter “b”.)

What words may be pronounced quicker and shorter by adding syllables to them?
(Quick and short.)

Why is the letter “k” like a pig's tail?

(Because it is the end of pork.)

What is that which occurs twice in a moment, once in a minute and not once in a
thousand years?
(The letter “m”.)

The beginning of evening,

The end of time and space,
The beginning of every end,
And the end of every place.
What letter is it?
 (The letter “е”.)

The poor have two,

The rich have none,
Millions have many,
You have one.
What letter is it?
(The letter “о”.)

Why is the letter “g” like the sun?

(Because it is in the centre of light.)

Why is London like the letter “e”?

(Because it is the capital of England.)

With “d” and “f” I am at home; with “o” and “s” I am at the sea.
Find us!
(Door, floor, oar, shore.)

Which letter of the alphabet goes all round Great Britain?

(The letter “с”.)

What colour were the winds, and waves in the storm?

(The winds blew, the waves rose.)

What letter is the most prominent in the alphabet?

(The letter “a”, because it is used twice.)

What is in the middle of the day?

(The letter “a”.)

Why is the letter “a” like 12 o'clock?

(Because it is in the middle of day.)

Which letter is the most useful

To a deaf old woman?
(The letter “а”, because it makes her hear.)

How could you make a tea table into a food?

(By taking away the letter “t”, for it is eatable then.)
Why is the letter “t” like an island?
(Because it is in the middle of water.)

What is in the middle of nowhere?

(The letter “h”.)

What is it that you can keep even after giving it to somebody else?
(Your word.)

What four letters scare a burglar?

(“о”, “i”, “с”, “u”. Oh, I see you.)

We are five little things of a similar sort.

You will find us all on a tennis court.
(The vowels – “a”, “e”, “i”, “o” and “u”, which all appear
in the phrase “a tennis court”.)

Why is the letter “k” like a rest?

(Because it comes at the end of work.)

What letter of the alphabet is a drink?

(The letter “t” = tea.)

What letter of the alphabet is a vegetable?

(The letter “p” = pea.)

What letter of the alphabet is an insect?

(The letter “b” = bee.)

What is the quickest letter in the alphabet and why?

(The letter “r”, because it is the first in race.)

It is in a rock but not in stone,

It is in marrow but not in bone.
It is in a bolster but not in bed.
It's not in the living, and not in the dead.
(The letter “r”.)

Which is the hottest letter of the alphabet?

 (The letter “r”, because it's always in the midst of fires.)

What has every street and every school?

(The letters.)

Kiddies, standing in a row,

Tell us everything they know.
(The letters.)

There are six of us in every family, but only four in a town, what are we?
(The letters.)

What is the worst weather for rats and mice?

(When it’s raining cats and dogs.)

What is the difference between “here” and “there”?

(The letter “t”.)

Can you spell “mousetrap” in three letters?

(“c”, “a”, “t” = cat.)

Which word in the English language is most frequently spelled wrong?

(The word “wrong”.)

'Twas whispered in Heaven, 'twas muttered in Hell,

And echo caught faintly the sound as it fell;
On the confines of Earth 'twas permitted to rest,
And in the depths of the ocean its presence confes'd;
'Twill be found in the sphere when 'tis riven asunder,
Be seen in the lightning and heard in the thunder;
'Twas allotted to man with his earliest breath,
Attends him at birth and awaits him at death,
Presides o'er his happiness, honor and health,
Is the prop of his house and the end of his wealth.
In the heaps of the miser, 'tis hoarded with care,
But is sure to be lost on his prodigal heir;
It begins every hope, every wish it must bound,
With the husbandman toils, and with monarchs is crowned;
Without it the soldier and seaman may roam,
But woe to the wretch who expels it from home!
 In the whispers of conscience its voice will be found,
Nor e'er in the whirlwind of passion be drowned;
'Twill soften the heart; but though deaf be the ear,
It will make him acutely and instantly hear.
Set in shade, let it rest like a delicate flower;
Ah! Breathe on it softly, it dies in an hour.
(The letter “h”.)

From what heavy seven-letter word can you take away two letters, and have eight
left?
(There are at least two possibilities: freight or weights.)

How can you say rabbit without the letter “r”?

(Bunny.)

Why is “e” the most important letter?

(Because it comes first in everything.)

Which is the cleanest letter in the alphabet?

(The letter “h”, because it is in the middle of “washing”.)

Do you know anything that has four eyes?

(Mississippi has four “is”.)

When does Thursday come before Wednesday?

(In a dictionary.)

Where can you find every word of your last conversation?

(In a dictionary.)

What can always be found between town and country?

(And.)

It's used with soap but not with dirt.

It's seen in you but not in me.
It's in the door but not in key.
What is it?
(The letter “o”.)

Which is the unhappiest letter of the alphabet?

 (The letter “s”, because it always starts sighing and sobbing.)

Why must you never put the letter “m” into the refrigerator?
(Because it will change "ice" into "mice".)

Which letter takes a long time standing and waiting?

(The letter “q”: queue.)

What is the best butter in the world?

(А goat.)
Примечание. Butter – масло; to butt – бодать.

When is water like a tiger?

(When it makes а spring.)
Примечание. Spring – источник; to make а spring – совершить прыжок.

What jam is hardest to spread?

(А traffic jam.)
Примечание. Jam – варенье; traffic jam – транспортная пробка.

Why is it dangerous to fall asleep in a train?

(Because trains run over sleepers.)
Примечание. Sleeper – 1) спящий; 2) шпала.

What is the difference between an engine driver and a schoolteacher?

(One minds the train, and the other trains the mind.)
Примечание. To mind – заботиться, присматривать; mind – ум, разум; train – поезд; to train
– обучать, тренировать.

What kind of coat has no buttons and is put on when it is wet?

(А coat of paint.)
Примечание. Coat – пальто; coat of paint – слой краски.

What is the difference between ammonia and pneumonia?

(One comes in bottles and the other comes in chests.)
Примечание. Chest – 1) ящик сундук; 2) грудная клетка, грудь.

Why is the sea always restless?

(Because it has such а rocky bed.)
Примечание. To rock – качаться; rocky – 1) скалистый; 2) качающийся; bed – 1) кровать; 2)
дно (моря).
 What is the difference between a doctor and a dressmaker?
(One dresses cuts and the other cuts dresses.)
Примечание. To dress – перевязывать (рану); dress – одежда, платье; cut – порез; to cut –
резать, кроить.

What are the silent watches of the night?

(The ones we forget to wind.)
Примечание. Watch – 1) часы; 2) сторож, часовой; to wind – завести (часы).

Why is spring a dangerous time of year?

(The grass is full of new blades, the trees and shrubs аrе shooting
and every flower has а pistil (pistol).
Примечание. Blade – 1) былинка, лист; 2) лезвие; to shoot – 1) стрелять; 2) расти; давать
почки, ростки, побеги.

What match can't be put in a matchbox?

(А football match.)

How can you keep cool at a football match?

(Sit next to а fan.)
Примечание. Fan 1) болельщик; 2) веер, вентилятор.

What is the difference between a soldier and a young girl?

(А soldier faces powder, а girl powders face.)
Примечание. To face – сталкиваться лицом к лицу (с чем-л.), смотреть в лицо (чему-л.) без
страха; powder – порох; to powder пудрить .

Why is a coward like a leaky barrel?

(Because they both run.)
Примечание. To run – 1) бежать; 2) течь.

Why are our laws like oceans?

(Because the most trouble is caused by the breakers.)
Примечание. Breaker – 1) большая волна; 2) нарушитель.

Which travels faster – heat or cold?

(Heat, because you can catch cold easily.)
Примечание. To catch cold – простудиться.

Why is a cherry like a book?

(Because it is read (red).)
 What is the difference between a watchmaker and a jailer?
(The former sells watches and the latter watches cells.)

When is a fool wise?

(When he is silent.)

When is the only time that a ship is not on water?

(When it is on fire.)

If you were locked in a concrete room with no windows or doors, and all you have
with you is a bed and a calendar, how would you eat and drink?
(Dates from the calendar, and water from the bed springs.)

When can you carry water in a sleeve?

(When it is frozen.)

Where do fish keep their money?

(In a riverbank, of course!)

There is one eye and one horn, but not the rhinoceros?
(The cow looks out because of an angle.)

Which letter is the most useful to a deaf old woman?

(The letter “a”, because it makes her hear; inserting the letter
“a” turns the word “her” into “hear”.)