Long Legs Crooked Thighs

Long legs, crooked thighs,
Little head and no eyes.
No burn, make a ting,
Use hands, but no ring.

What am I?

A pair of tongs.

Posted in Riddles

Nine-Letter Word, Common as Air

A nine-letter word, common as air,
When each letter’s cut, a new word to pare,
Take a letter each round and continue to one.
Name the word and the path and then you’ll be done.

Surprisingly, there are several nine-letter words that can have one letter removed in each round to make a new word all the way to one letter, which must be ‘a’ or ‘i’. Startling is the most common answer, but I’ve included the other words I’m aware of. I don’t include plural words, like cleansers, drownings, splatters, starvings, trappings and wrappings because it’s kind of cheating.

startling
Remove the l to make starting (or remove the t to make starling)
Remove the t to make staring
Remove the a to make string
Remove the r to make sting
Remove the t to make sing
Remove the g to make sin
Remove the s to make in
Remove the n to make I

splitting
Remove the l to make spitting
Remove the p to make sitting
Remove a t to make siting
Remove the first i to make sting
Remove the s to make ting
Remove the g to make tin
Remove the t to make in
Remove the n to make I

stringier
Remove the r to make stingier
Remove the i to make stinger
Remove the t to make singer
Remove the r to make singe
Remove the g to make sine
Remove the e to make sin
Remove the s to make in
Remove the n to make I

strapping
Remove the s to make trapping
Remove the t to make rapping
Remove the p to make raping
Remove the r to make aping
Remove the a to make ping
Remove the g to make pin
Remove the p to make in
Remove the n to make I

Posted in Riddles

A Smiling Guard

Two guards were on duty outside a barracks. One faced up the road to watch for anyone approaching from the North. The other looked down the road to see if anyone approached from the South. Suddenly one of them said to the other, “Why are you smiling?”

How did he know his companion was smiling?

They were facing each other. As to why his companion was smiling, the world may never know.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Decorating With Tiles

You are decorating for spring and you’ve found a bargain. A huge box of beautifully decorated tiles, enough to provide a border in two rooms. You really can’t figure out how to arrange them. If you set a border of two tiles all around, there’s one left over. If you set three tiles all around or four or five or six there’s still one tile left over. Finally you try a block of seven tiles for each corner and you come out even. What is the smallest number of tiles you could have to get this result?

301. This is the smallest number that even divides by 7, but when divided by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 gives you one left over.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Mountain at Night, Morning a Meadow

In the night a mountain in the morning a meadow. What am I?

A bed.

Posted in Riddles

A Perfect Gentleman

He was the perfect gentleman even though his nephew couldn’t see it. Who was he?

A fine chap with a blind nephew (or an exemplary uncle who died before his nephew was born).

Posted in Brain Teasers

You Heard Me Before

You heard me before,
Yet you hear me again,
Then I die,
‘Till you call me again.

An echo.

Posted in Riddles

What Goes Up And Down But Doesn’t Move?

What goes up and down but doesn’t move?

A staircase. They go up and down, but you’re the one moving.

Posted in Riddles

How Many Months Have 28 Days?

Some months have 30 days and some have 31 days. How many months have 28 days?

All of them. Every month has 28 days. Some just continue on after reaching 28.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Dragon Lewis

Rearrange the letters in this phrase to make a single word.

DRAGON LEWIS

A SINGLE WORD. Tricky, eh? But you can’t complain, since I gave you the answer.

Posted in Brain Teasers