A Synonym of Drag

I’m a five letter word. Remove my last two letters and I’m a synonym of drag. My second and third letters form an exclamation and my first and second letters are a homophone with a number. What am I?

Towel. Tow is a synonym of drag, ow is an exclamation when you’re hurt (and far more appropriate in mixed company than the four-letter alternatives) and to is a homophone of two.

Posted in Riddles

Four Legs But No Tail

I have four legs but no tail. Usually I am heard only at night. What am I?

A frog. The frog is an amphibian in the order Anura (meaning “tail-less”) and usually makes noises at night during its mating season.

Posted in Riddles

Making Lots of Shirts

In a textile factory, 5 machines take exactly 5 minutes to make 5 shirts. How many minutes will it take 100 machines to produce 100 shirts?

5 minutes. It takes each machine 5 minutes to make a shirt, so if you have all 100 machines running at the same time, they’ll produce the 100 shirts in 5 minutes.

Posted in Brain Teasers

Garlic or Spice

Before any changes I’m a garlic or spice. My first is altered and I’m a hand-warming device. My second is changed and I’m trees in full bloom. The next letter change makes a deathly old tomb. Change the fourth to make a fruit of the vine. Change the last for a chart plotted with lines. What was I? What did I become? What did I turn out to be?

clove
glove
grove
grave
grape
graph

Posted in Riddles

One Tooth To Bite

One tooth to bite,
He’s the forest’s foe.
One tooth to fight,
As all Norse know.

What is it?

An axe.

Posted in Riddles

If My Hand Is Forced I Can Sink Ships

I move quickly with hurried steps,
If my hand is forced I can sink ships,
I’ll cause you to shudder when driving your car,
And haul your fuel to where you are,
I’ll watch you bleed from a cut,
Add a rear and I’ll tell you what’s what.

What am I?

Scuttle. To scuttle is to scurry or run hurriedly. Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of your own ship. Scuttle shake is felt in convertibles where the passengers feel a distinct shudder. A coal scuttle is a bucket-like container to haul coal. A shaving scuttle holds hot water when you’re shaving. And adding a “rear” forms scuttlebutt, or rumors and gossip.

Posted in Riddles

As Long As They’re Dead

This is a place. The first letter is after A and before Z but nowhere in between. You can bring as many people as you want, as long as they’re all dead. Where is it?

The cemetery. The letter C is after A and before Z, and it’s not found in the word “between”. The cemetery won’t take live ones. Fortunately I don’t speak from experience on that.

Posted in Riddles

Picking Red Balls

A bag contains 64 balls of eight different colors. There are eight of each color (including red).
What is the smallest number you would have to pick, without looking, to be sure of selecting 3 red balls?

59. The first 56 balls could all be non-red colors. If that happened, you’d have to choose from the 8 remaining balls, all of which would be red.

Posted in Brain Teasers

A Square and a Cube

What two-digit number is the square of one number and the cube of another?

64

82 = 64
43 = 64

Posted in Brain Teasers

The Color of Clouds

First, think of the color of clouds. Next think of the color of snow. Last, think of the color of the moon. Now, what do cows drink?

Water. If the teaser worked, you guessed milk.

Posted in Brain Teasers