157+ Sphinx Riddles With Answers: Ancient Puzzles That Challenge The Mind
Sphinx riddles stand as legendary challenges that have captivated minds for centuries.
These enigmatic puzzles, originally linked to the mythological creature with a human head and lion’s body, represent some of the earliest examples of intellectual tests.
The most famous sphinx riddle—which asked what walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening—forced travelers to think beyond literal interpretations.
Today, sphinx riddles continue to intrigue party-goers, Dungeons & Dragons players, children, and adults alike.
Their enduring appeal lies in their ability to make us pause, ponder, and perceive the world differently through cleverly disguised clues and unexpected perspectives.
Sphinx Riddles for Party
These riddles will enliven any gathering, offering just the right balance of challenge and fun to keep your guests engaged.
Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young, and short when I’m old. What am I?
💡 Answer: A candle
Riddle: I have cities without houses, forests without trees, and oceans without water. What am I?
💡 Answer: A map
Riddle: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
💡 Answer: Footsteps
Riddle: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but come alive with wind. What am I?
💡 Answer: An echo
Riddle: I have branches but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?
💡 Answer: A bank
Riddle: I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
💡 Answer: A joke
Riddle: I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but can’t go outside. What am I?
💡 Answer: A keyboard
Riddle: I’m full of holes but can still hold water. What am I?
💡 Answer: A sponge
Riddle: I run but never walk, have a mouth but never talk, have a head but never weep, have a bed but never sleep. What am I?
💡 Answer: A river
Riddle: I go up and down but never move. What am I?
💡 Answer: Stairs
Riddle: I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air; I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
💡 Answer: Fire
Riddle: I can fly without wings, cry without eyes. Wherever I go, darkness follows me. What am I?
💡 Answer: A cloud
Riddle: The person who makes it, sells it. The person who buys it never uses it. The person who uses it never sees it. What is it?
💡 Answer: A coffin
Riddle: I have a head and a tail but no body. What am I?
💡 Answer: A coin
Riddle: What has one eye but cannot see?
💡 Answer: A needle
Riddle: I am a word of six letters; my first three letters refer to a male, my last three letters refer to a female, my first four letters refer to a hero, my last three letters refer to a coward. What word am I?
💡 Answer: Heroic
Riddle: I am always hungry, I must always be fed. The finger I touch will soon turn red. What am I?
💡 Answer: Fire
Riddle: What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
💡 Answer: A piano
Riddle: I have a face and two hands, but no arms or legs. What am I?
💡 Answer: A clock
Riddle: I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for much longer than a minute. What am I?
💡 Answer: Breath
Riddle: I’m found in socks, scarves, and mittens; and often in the paws of playful kittens. What am I?
💡 Answer: Yarn
Riddle: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
💡 Answer: Footsteps
Riddle: I have a ring but no finger. I can make a sound but have no voice. What am I?
💡 Answer: A telephone
Riddle: I run around the city, but never move. What am I?
💡 Answer: A wall
Riddle: I have no eyes, yet I see the world. I have no ears, yet I hear its secrets. I have no mouth, yet I speak truths. What am I?
💡 Answer: Your mind
Sphinx Riddles for DnD
Perfect for Dungeon Masters seeking to challenge their players with mysterious puzzles that embody the spirit of ancient guardian creatures.
Riddle: I devour all things: birds, beasts, trees, and flowers. I gnaw iron, bite steel, and grind hard stones to meal. I slay kings and ruins towns. What am I?
💡 Answer: Time
Riddle: I’m rarely touched but often held. If you have wit, you’ll use me well. What am I?
💡 Answer: Your tongue
Riddle: I am greater than gods, more evil than demons. The poor have me, the rich need me. If you eat me, you’ll die. What am I?
💡 Answer: Nothing
Riddle: I’m born in darkness, raised in day, and die at the first light of dawn. What am I?
💡 Answer: A star
Riddle: My life can be measured in hours; I serve by being devoured. Thin, I am quick; fat, I am slow. Wind is my foe. What am I?
💡 Answer: A candle
Riddle: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but come alive with wind. What am I?
💡 Answer: An echo
Riddle: I have cities without houses, forests without trees, and oceans without water. What am I?
💡 Answer: A map
Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old. What am I?
💡 Answer: A candle
Riddle: I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air; I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
💡 Answer: Fire
Riddle: I am always hungry, I must always be fed. The finger I touch will soon turn red. What am I?
💡 Answer: Fire
Riddle: I am a box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid. What am I?
💡 Answer: An egg
Riddle: I have a head and a tail but no body. What am I?
💡 Answer: A coin
Riddle: I am taken from a mine and shut up in a wooden case, from which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost every person. What am I?
💡 Answer: Pencil lead
Riddle: What has a head, a tail, is brown, and has no legs?
💡 Answer: A penny
Riddle: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
💡 Answer: Footsteps
Riddle: I’m found in socks, scarves, and mittens; and often in the paws of playful kittens. What am I?
💡 Answer: Yarn
Riddle: I have a face and two hands, but no arms or legs. What am I?
💡 Answer: A clock
Riddle: I am a word of six letters; my first three letters refer to a male, my last three letters refer to a female, my first four letters refer to a hero, my last three letters refer to a coward. What word am I?
💡 Answer: Heroic
Riddle: I can fly without wings, cry without eyes. Wherever I go, darkness follows me. What am I?
💡 Answer: A cloud
Riddle: I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for much longer than a minute. What am I?
💡 Answer: Breath
Riddle: I run but never walk, have a mouth but never talk, have a head but never weep, have a bed but never sleep. What am I?
💡 Answer: A river
Riddle: I go up and down but never move. What am I?
💡 Answer: Stairs
Riddle: I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but can’t go outside. What am I?
💡 Answer: A keyboard
Riddle: I’m full of holes but can still hold water. What am I?
💡 Answer: A sponge
Riddle: The person who makes it, sells it. The person who buys it never uses it. The person who uses it never sees it. What is it?
💡 Answer: A coffin
Funny Sphinx Riddles
These whimsical riddles bring a touch of humor to the ancient sphinx tradition, perfect for lightening the mood while still challenging minds.
Riddle: What has four wheels and flies?
💡 Answer: A garbage truck
Riddle: What has a bottom at the top?
💡 Answer: Your legs
Riddle: What has many teeth but can’t bite?
💡 Answer: A comb
Riddle: What gets wetter as it dries?
💡 Answer: A towel
Riddle: What has an eye but cannot see?
💡 Answer: A needle
Riddle: What kind of coat can only be put on when wet?
💡 Answer: A coat of paint
Riddle: What has one head, one foot, and four legs?
💡 Answer: A bed
Riddle: What has a neck but no head?
💡 Answer: A bottle
Riddle: What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
💡 Answer: A piano
Riddle: What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?
💡 Answer: A clock
Riddle: What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?
💡 Answer: A glove
Riddle: What has a head and a tail but no body?
💡 Answer: A coin
Riddle: What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
💡 Answer: Your name
Riddle: What has words but never speaks?
💡 Answer: A book
Riddle: What has a horn but doesn’t honk?
💡 Answer: A rhinoceros
Riddle: What has legs but doesn’t walk?
💡 Answer: A table
Riddle: What has keys but no locks, space but no room, and you can enter but not go in?
💡 Answer: A keyboard
Riddle: What’s full of holes but still holds water?
💡 Answer: A sponge
Riddle: What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
💡 Answer: A stamp
Riddle: What has 13 hearts but no other organs?
💡 Answer: A deck of cards
Riddle: What has a ring but no finger?
💡 Answer: A telephone
Riddle: What has cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and water but no fish?
💡 Answer: A map
Riddle: What starts with an E, ends with an E, but only has one letter?
💡 Answer: An envelope
Riddle: What has a bottom at the top?
💡 Answer: Your legs
Riddle: What breaks when you say its name?
💡 Answer: Silence
Hard Sphinx Riddles
For those seeking a genuine mental challenge, these difficult riddles will test even the sharpest minds.
Riddle: I am the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place. What am I?
💡 Answer: The letter ‘E’
Riddle: The one who makes it, sells it. The one who buys it, never uses it. The one who uses it, never knows they’re using it. What is it?
💡 Answer: A coffin
Riddle: I am a protector. I sit on a bridge. One person can see right through me, while others wonder what I hide. What am I?
💡 Answer: Sunglasses
Riddle: I turn polar bears white and I will make you cry. I make guys have to pee and girls comb their hair. I make celebrities look stupid and normal people look like celebrities. I turn pancakes brown and make your champagne bubble. If you squeeze me, I’ll pop. If you look at me, you’ll pop. What am I?
💡 Answer: Pressure
Riddle: Forward I am heavy, backward I am not. What am I?
💡 Answer: The word “ton”
Riddle: I have leaves, but I am not a tree. I have pages, but I am not a bride or a queen. I have a spine, but I am not a human. I have hinges, but I am not a door. I have told you all about myself, and still you don’t know what I am. What am I?
💡 Answer: A book
Riddle: I am rarely touched but often held. If you have wit, you’ll use me well. What am I?
💡 Answer: Your tongue
Riddle: I’m where yesterday follows today, and tomorrow’s in the middle. What am I?
💡 Answer: A dictionary
Riddle: I have a hundred legs but cannot stand, a long neck but no head, and I eat the maid’s life. What am I?
💡 Answer: A broom
Riddle: I am a word of six letters; my first three letters refer to a male, my last three letters refer to a female, my first four letters refer to a hero, my last three letters refer to a coward. What word am I?
💡 Answer: Heroic
Riddle: I am always hungry, I must always be fed. The finger I touch will soon turn red. What am I?
💡 Answer: Fire
Riddle: I have cities without houses, forests without trees, and oceans without water. What am I?
💡 Answer: A map
Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young, and short when I’m old. What am I?
💡 Answer: A candle
Riddle: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but come alive with wind. What am I?
💡 Answer: An echo
Riddle: I have branches but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?
💡 Answer: A bank
Riddle: I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
💡 Answer: A joke
Riddle: I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but can’t go outside. What am I?
💡 Answer: A keyboard
Riddle: I’m full of holes but can still hold water. What am I?
💡 Answer: A sponge
Riddle: I run but never walk, have a mouth but never talk, have a head but never weep, have a bed but never sleep. What am I?
💡 Answer: A river
Riddle: I go up and down but never move. What am I?
💡 Answer: Stairs
Riddle: I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air; I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
💡 Answer: Fire
Riddle: I can fly without wings, cry without eyes. Wherever I go, darkness follows me. What am I?
💡 Answer: A cloud
Riddle: The person who makes it, sells it. The person who buys it never uses it. The person who uses it never sees it. What is it?
💡 Answer: A coffin
Riddle: I have a head and a tail but no body. What am I?
💡 Answer: A coin
Riddle: What has one eye but cannot see?
💡 Answer: A needle
Sphinx Riddles for Kids
These gentler riddles introduce younger minds to the joy of puzzle-solving while still maintaining the classic sphinx format.
Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young, and short when I’m old. What am I?
💡 Answer: A candle
Riddle: I have cities without houses, forests without trees, and oceans without water. What am I?
💡 Answer: A map
Riddle: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
💡 Answer: Footsteps
Riddle: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but come alive with wind. What am I?
💡 Answer: An echo
Riddle: I have branches but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?
💡 Answer: A bank
Riddle: I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
💡 Answer: A joke
Riddle: I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but can’t go outside. What am I?
💡 Answer: A keyboard
Riddle: I’m full of holes but can still hold water. What am I?
💡 Answer: A sponge
Riddle: I run but never walk, have a mouth but never talk, have a head but never weep, have a bed but never sleep. What am I?
💡 Answer: A river
Riddle: I go up and down but never move. What am I?
💡 Answer: Stairs
Riddle: I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air; I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
💡 Answer: Fire
Riddle: I can fly without wings, cry without eyes. Wherever I go, darkness follows me. What am I?
💡 Answer: A cloud
Riddle: The person who makes it, sells it. The person who buys it never uses it. The person who uses it never sees it. What is it?
💡 Answer: A coffin
Riddle: I have a head and a tail but no body. What am I?
💡 Answer: A coin
Riddle: What has one eye but cannot see?
💡 Answer: A needle
Riddle: I am a word of six letters; my first three letters refer to a male, my last three letters refer to a female, my first four letters refer to a hero, my last three letters refer to a coward. What word am I?
💡 Answer: Heroic
Riddle: I am always hungry, I must always be fed. The finger I touch will soon turn red. What am I?
💡 Answer: Fire
Riddle: What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
💡 Answer: A piano
Riddle: I have a face and two hands, but no arms or legs. What am I?
💡 Answer: A clock
Riddle: I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for much longer than a minute. What am I?
💡 Answer: Breath
Riddle: I’m found in socks, scarves, and mittens; and often in the paws of playful kittens. What am I?
💡 Answer: Yarn
Riddle: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
💡 Answer: Footsteps
Riddle: I have a ring but no finger. I can make a sound but have no voice. What am I?
💡 Answer: A telephone
Riddle: I run around the city, but never move. What am I?
💡 Answer: A wall
Riddle: I have no eyes, yet I see the world. I have no ears, yet I hear its secrets. I have no mouth, yet I speak truths. What am I?
💡 Answer: Your mind
Sphinx Riddles for Adults
These sophisticated riddles blend wordplay, metaphor, and complex thinking to challenge the adult mind.
Riddle: I am the black child of a white father, a wingless bird, flying even to the clouds of heaven. I give birth to tears of mourning in pupils that meet me, even though there is no cause for grief, and at once on my birth I am dissolved into air. What am I?
💡 Answer: Smoke
Riddle: I am the unseen presence that drives men mad and causes wars. I can be given freely, yet have no physical form. Men have died for me, yet I have no intrinsic value. What am I?
💡 Answer: Power
Riddle: I am a vessel without hinges, lock, or key, yet golden treasure lies within me. What am I?
💡 Answer: An egg
Riddle: I am a path situated between high natural masses. Remove my first letter, and you have a mass of bodies. What am I?
💡 Answer: Valley (remove ‘v’ to get ‘alley’)
Riddle: I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
💡 Answer: Seven (remove ‘s’ to get ‘even’)
Riddle: I am a box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid. What am I?
💡 Answer: An egg
Riddle: I am a word of five letters. My first three letters refer to an animal, my last four letters refer to another animal. My whole refers to neither. What am I? 💡 Answer: Cowboy
Riddle: I am a word that begins with ‘a’ and ends with ‘z’, with quite a few letters in between. What am I?
💡 Answer: Alphabetiz (alphabetize)
Riddle: I am greater than God, more evil than the devil. The poor have me, the rich need me. If you eat me, you’ll die. What am I?
💡 Answer: Nothing
Riddle: Born in the ocean, raised in the sky, but when I touch the earth, I die. What am I?
💡 Answer: Rain
Riddle: I am the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end, and the end of every place. What am I?
💡 Answer: The letter ‘E’
Riddle: I am always hungry, I must always be fed. The finger I touch will soon turn red. What am I?
💡 Answer: Fire
Riddle: I have cities without houses, forests without trees, and oceans without water. What am I?
💡 Answer: A map
Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young, and short when I’m old. What am I?
💡 Answer: A candle
Riddle: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but come alive with wind. What am I?
💡 Answer: An echo
Riddle: I have branches but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?
💡 Answer: A bank
Riddle: I can be cracked, made, told, and played. What am I?
💡 Answer: A joke
Riddle: I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter, but can’t go outside. What am I?
💡 Answer: A keyboard
Riddle: I’m full of holes but can still hold water. What am I?
💡 Answer: A sponge
Riddle: I run but never walk, have a mouth but never talk, have a head but never weep, have a bed but never sleep. What am I?
💡 Answer: A river
Riddle: I go up and down but never move. What am I?
💡 Answer: Stairs
Riddle: I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air; I don’t have a mouth, but water kills me. What am I?
💡 Answer: Fire
Riddle: I can fly without wings, cry without eyes. Wherever I go, darkness follows me. What am I?
💡 Answer: A cloud
Riddle: The person who makes it, sells it. The person who buys it never uses it. The person who uses it never sees it. What is it?
💡 Answer: A coffin
Riddle: I have a head and a tail but no body. What am I?
💡 Answer: A coin
Riddle: What has one eye but cannot see?
💡 Answer: A needle
Riddle: I am a word of six letters; my first three letters refer to a male, my last three letters refer to a female, my first four letters refer to a hero, my last three letters refer to a coward. What word am I?
💡 Answer: Heroic
Riddle: I am always hungry, I must always be fed. The finger I touch will soon turn red. What am I?
💡 Answer: Fire
Riddle: What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
💡 Answer: A piano
Riddle: I have a face and two hands, but no arms or legs. What am I?
💡 Answer: A clock
Riddle: I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for much longer than a minute. What am I?
💡 Answer: Breath
Riddle: I’m found in socks, scarves, and mittens; and often in the paws of playful kittens. What am I?
💡 Answer: Yarn
Final Thoughts
Sphinx riddles represent one of humanity’s oldest forms of mental challenges. From ancient travelers facing the mythical guardian to modern puzzle enthusiasts, these riddles continue to test our ability to think sideways and see beyond the obvious.
Whether you’re hosting a party, running a D&D campaign, entertaining children, or simply challenging yourself, sphinx riddles offer a timeless way to engage the mind.
The best riddles don’t just test knowledge—they invite us to view the world differently, finding connections between seemingly unrelated concepts.
So next time you encounter a sphinx riddle, remember that the answer often lies not in what you know, but in how creatively you can think.
