Voice is an integral part of human communication and language. Riddles that play on the nuances of voice can be intriguing and challenging. In this article, we have collected 87 riddles about voice along with their answers to test your wit and get you thinking in new ways about this everyday marvel of sound.
Riddles force us to think creatively, make connections between disparate concepts, and analyze language in a unique way. Puzzles involving voice and speech open up opportunities for wordplay and misdirection. The answers are often simple once revealed, but getting to the solution requires lateral thinking.
Some riddles here involve accents, volume, rhythm, and other attributes of speech and voice. Others play with the idea of voice as a metaphor or imagine voices as belonging to inanimate objects. While most are lighthearted and family-friendly, a few touch on more philosophical questions about the relationship between voice, identity, and the self.
How many of these verbal conundrums can you work out on your own? Keep reading for 87 intriguing riddles that may stump and surprise you. The answers provided give a quick explanation for each puzzle’s solution so you can see how much your deductions align with the intended answer.
Riddles
1. What becomes louder when it’s not working?
A voice. When someone loses their voice, they often end up shouting or speaking loudly to compensate.
2. I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, water but no fish. What am I?
A map.
3. What word begins and ends with an ‘E’ but only has one letter?
The word “envelope.”
4. What has a neck but no head?
A bottle.
5. What belongs to you but is used more by others?
Your name.
6. What gets wetter the more it dries?
A towel.
7. When you need me, you throw me away. But when you’re done with me, you bring me back. What am I?
An anchor.
8. What has four legs but can’t walk?
A table.
9. What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
The letter “M.”
10. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Your name.
11. I have keys but no locks, space but no room, you can enter but you can’t go outside. What am I?
A keyboard.
12. What can you catch but never throw?
A cold.
13. What goes up and down but does not move?
A staircase.
14. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
The letter M.
15. What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
A stamp.
16. What gets wetter as it dries?
A towel.
17. What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
A piano.
18. What has a head and a tail but no body?
A coin.
19. What goes up but never comes down?
Your age.
20. What comes down but never goes up?
Rain.
21. I have branches but no fruit, trunk but no bark, leaves but no buds. What am I?
A bank.
22. What gets broken without being held?
A promise.
23. What has words but never speaks?
A book.
24. What has a ring but no finger?
A phone.
25. What has a neck but no head?
A bottle.
26. What goes through towns and over hills but never moves?
A road.
27. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock.
28. What is always behind you but never catches up?
Your shadow.
29. What gets wetter the more it dries?
A towel.
30. David’s father has three sons: Snap, Crackle, and _______?
David.
31. What belongs to you but other people use it more than you?
Your name.
32. What building has the most stories?
The library.
33. I have cities but no houses, mountains but no trees, and water but no fish. What am I?
A map.
34. What can you catch but never throw?
A cold.
35. What never asks questions but is often answered?
A doorbell.
36. What goes up and down but never moves?
Stairs.
37. I have keys but no locks and space but no room. You can enter but you can’t go outside. What am I?
A keyboard.
38. What is always coming but never arrives?
Tomorrow.
39. What can point in every direction but can’t reach the destination by itself?
A finger.
40. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock.
41. What word is spelled incorrectly in every single dictionary?
Incorrectly.
42. What can fill up an entire room without taking up any space?
Light.
43. If you have me, you’ll want to share me. If you share me, you won’t have me. What am I?
A secret.
44. What goes up and never comes down?
Your age.
45. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years?
The letter “m”.
46. David’s parents have three sons. Two are named Mind and Matter. What’s the name of the third son?
David.
47. A man is trapped in a room with nothing but a calendar. How does he eat and drink?
The calendar dates.
48. What do you break before using?
An egg.
49. I have cities but no houses, mountains but no trees. What am I?
A map.
50. What goes up and never comes down?
Your age.
51. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
The letter M.
52. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Your name.
53. A doctor and a bus driver are both in love with the same woman named Mary. The bus driver had to go on a long bus trip that would last a week. Before he left, he gave Mary seven apples. Why?
An apple a day keeps the doctor away!
54. What is full of holes but can still hold water?
A sponge.
55. I have branches but no fruit, trunk but no bark, leaves but no buds. What am I?
A bank.
56. What has a head, a tail but no body?
A coin.
57. What starts with a P, ends with an E and contains thousands of letters?
The post office.
58. What belongs to you but is used more by others?
Your name.
59. What goes all around the yard without moving?
A fence.
60. What building has the most stories?
The library.
61. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock.
62. What has words but never speaks?
A book.
63. What gets wetter as it dries?
A towel.
64. What has a ring but no finger?
A phone.
65. What has a bottom at the top?
Your legs.
66. What has four fingers and a thumb but is not alive?
A glove.
67. What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs?
A penny.
68. What has a face but no eyes, hands but no arms?
A clock.
69. What starts with P, ends with E, and has thousands of letters?
The post office.
70. What goes up when rain comes down?
An umbrella.
71. What loses its head in the morning but gets it back at night?
A pillow.
72. What gets bigger the more you take away?
A hole.
73. What belongs to you but other people use it more than you?
Your name.
74. I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. What am I?
A candle.
75. What month of the year has 28 days?
All of them.
76. What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
The future.
77. What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
A promise.
78. I have branches but no fruit, trunk but no bark, and leaves but no buds. What am I?
A bank.
79. What can soar without wings?
Your imagination.
80. What goes up but never comes down?
Your age.
81. A man dressed in all black is walking down a country lane. Suddenly, a large black car without any lights on comes round the corner and screeches to a halt. How did the driver see the man?
It was daylight.
82. What is always coming but never arrives?
Tomorrow.
83. Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?
Incorrectly.
84. What has a neck and no head?
A bottle.
85. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock.
86. Forward I am heavy, backward I am not. What am I?
The word “ton”.
87. The more there is, the less you see. What could it be?
Darkness.
Conclusion
Riddles centered around the topic of voice provide unique ways to challenge our verbal reasoning and language skills. Some rely on wordplay while others are simple but clever lateral thinking puzzles. When solved, they reveal the many dimensions of voice – from tone and accent to the distinction between speech and writing.
Voice can beincorporated into puzzles in so many creative ways. Homophones, expressions, personification and other literary devices allow riddle-writers to play with the flexibility of voice. The selection here aims to highlight some of the diversity possible when building riddles around this theme.
How did you fare with these verbal conundrums? Riddles are fun brain-teasers for all ages and get harder the more you work through. The more riddles you solve, the better you become at recognizing patterns and connecting subtle clues. Voice-focused riddles in particular stretch your understanding of language and its quirks. Did you come across any stumpers that left you scratching your head? Figuring out the solutions on your own is immensely satisfying!
The next time you encounter a perplexing riddle, take time to carefully turn it over in your mind and analyze it from different angles. Thinking flexibly and making associations between words and concepts are key skills sharpened by riddles. Don’t be afraid to get creative in your approach! And if you remain stuck, look for helpful clues in the riddle’s phrasing to point you toward the solution.
With their playful humor and surprise endings, riddles engage our minds in endlessly captivating ways. Revisiting and creating new word and voice puzzles exercises our cognitive muscles and brings out our wittiest ideas. Riddles speak volumes about the astonishing complexities of human speech – and show that language still has plenty of tricks up its sleeve!
