Days of Summer

My days are in the summer
When you’ll eat me when I’m hot
In fact I’ll even eat myself
Where battles tough are fought
But when you find me in a fight
‘Twill be high in the sky
And if you catch me napping
I suggest you let me lie
When you’re bad come to my house
From Ma get thoughts profound
Am I big or am I small?
Some say I’m just a pound.

Dog. Dog days, hot dog, dog pound, dog fight.

Posted in Riddles

Favorite Use Is Attached To A String

A three-letter word I’m sure you know,
I can be on a boat or a sleigh in the snow,
I’m pals with the rain and honor a king,
But my favorite use is attached to a string.

What am I?

A bow. It has three letters, the bow of a boat is the front, bows are found on the presents on Santa’s sleigh, rainbows come with the rain, one bows before a king and a bow and arrow requires a string.

Posted in Riddles

Never For Breakfast

What two things can you never have for breakfast?

Lunch and dinner.

Posted in Riddles

A Silent Z

What word in the English dictionary has a silent z?

The word rendezvous. Even though it’s a French word, it’s in the English dictionary and is pronounced [rahn-duh-voo].

Turns out rendezvous isn’t the only one. Another word is oyez.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Consecutive Christmas Caroling

My family sings Christmas carols at the hospital where my wife works.
We do this every year and since we started, have not missed a single year.
The next time we do this will be the 18th consecutive Christmas.
My 15 year old daughter has been every time.

How is this possible?

She was born in March 1999 so the first year she came was December 1999 (before her 1st birthday).
Her first time was when she was 0, second time when she was 1, third time when she was 2, etc…

Now that she is 15, she has been 16 times. Oh and of course she was also present in December 1998 in her mum’s belly, due to be born the next March.

So, a total of 17 times and next time will be the 18th.

Thanks to Michael for submitting this real-life brain teaser about his family.

Posted in Brain Teasers

From Cold To Warm In Four Steps

How do you get from cold to warm in four steps, changing only one letter at a time to form a new word at each step?

cold
cord
word
worm
warm

An alternative is:
cold
cord
word
ward
warm

Yet another option, thanks to Beth:
cold
cord
card
ward
warm

Posted in Brain Teasers

Find The Hidden Color

Find the color in each of these sentences.

1. Temper or anger are signs of weakness.
2. The money is for Edward.
3. You’ll find I got it elsewhere.
4. One dancer, I see, is out of step.
5. “I’m a gent and a lady’s man,” he said.

1. orange
2. red
3. indigo
4. cerise (This was a tough one)
5. magenta

Posted in Brain Teasers

The Old Man’s Book

Milton shuffled slowly along the shelves browsing books. He finally walked up to the counter and handed the girl a book. She looked at the inside cover and told him it would be $3.75. Milton handed her the money and walked away without the book. The girl watched him leave empty-handed but didn’t try to stop him. Why?

Milton was a forgetful and naughty fellow. He was summoning his courage to approach the counter to return his overdue book. The kindly lass at the counter saw the book was 15 days overdue and had accrued the egregious late fee of $3.75 (25 cents a day). Lesson learned, Milton never returned a book late again.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Celebrate, Hide Their Shame or Commit Crime

Some use me to celebrate,
Others use me to hide their shame,
Others use me to commit crime.

What am I?

Alcohol. People have a drink to celebrate, but also drink to hide their shame. Lastly, drunk driving is a crime.

A mask is also a valid answer. They can be used to celebrate Halloween or at dress-up parties, a mask can hide your shame and masks are used by thieves.

Update: This one has more valid answers than I thought. Money, drugs and night also work.

Posted in Riddles
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I Always Tell the Truth

You see me quite often,
But don’t really care.
If you pass by me,
You’ll often stop and stare.

I can’t speak or see,
But don’t think me uncouth,
Because no matter what,
I always tell the truth.

What am I?

A mirror.

Posted in Riddles
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