RIDDLES THAT USE PARADOX

More often than not, well written riddles make good use of four linguistic devices: paradox, pun, poetic description and red herring. Sometimes more than one may be used in concert, for it often takes a pun to create a paradox, but, speaking generally, it is these four devices that make riddles become the brain teasers that we all enjoy.
    For those who don't feel clear as to the meaning of "paradox," please feel free to see the "PARADOX" page of this site.
    On this page you'll find a series of riddles that make use of paradox. I think you'll find that knowing that there's a paradox won't give you much of a hint to help you solve each riddle, but give it a try anyway. The answers are in smaller print at the bottom of the page:
    I've not yet seen anyone make this type of study of riddles, so just remember folks: you saw it here first.
copyright © 2013 by A. J. Mittendorf All rights reserved

1.
What gets wetter the more it dries?

2.
What can go around the world while remaining in a corner?

3.
What is full of holes but still holds water?

4.
You wield the knife that chops my head,
then weep beside me when I'm dead.

5.
Pronounced as one letter but written as three;
Two letters there are, and only two in me.
I'm double, I'm single, I'm black, blue and gray;
I'm read from both ends and the same either way.

6.
The more you take, the more you leave behind.

7.
What starts with "e," ends with "e,"
and has only a single letter?
(There are 4, yes, four, possible answers to this riddle.)

8.
At the sound of me, men may dream or stamp their     
     feet;
At the sound of me, women laugh or sometimes weep.

9.
I know a word of letters three;
Add two and fewer there will be.

10.
I know a word of letters three;
Add one and none there will be.

11.
Forward I am heavy, backward I am not.

12.
What's harder to catch the faster you run?

13.
What is more loved than precious life?
And what's feard more than mortal strife?
What have the poor that the rich require,
and what do all contented men desire?
What spends the miser that the spend-thrift saves,
that all men carry past their graves?

14.
There's one that has a head without an eye
and one that has an eye without a head.
Now, you can find the answer if you try,
for half of it is hanging by a thread.

14A. By Christina Rosetti (1830-1894)
There is one that has a head without an eye,
    And there's one that has an eye without a head:
You may find the answer if you try;
    And when all is said,
Half the answer hangs upon a thread!

15.
What comes once in a minute,
twice in a moment,
but never in a thousand years?

16.
Brothers and sisters, I have none,
but that man's father is my father's son.

17.
Bound it hops; loosed it stops.

18.
The more you take away the bigger it gets.

19.
What kind of coat can you put on only when it's wet?

20.
Two legs I have, and (this will confound)
only at rest do they touch the ground.

21.
I know a word, six letters contains;
subtract just one, and twelve remains.

22.
What seven-letter word becomes longer
when the third letter is removed?

23.
No bigger than a biscuit, no deeper than a cup,
but not even a river can fill this thing up.

24.
The more you have of this, the less you see.

25.
This is something you throw out when you want to use it and haul great lengths when you don't.

26.
What joins two people by touching just one?

27.
What thing was known to all the ancients but is only a month old?

28.
I'm never in danger, but always in risk;
ever in darkness and in the sun's disk.


ANSWERS

1. A TOWEL: You may consider the word "dries" to be a pun, and I can agree with that. Still, it is that pun that creates the paradox that something cannot get wetter as it gets drier.
2. A STAMP: There is no pun or strong metaphor here; this riddle is nearly pure paradox.
3. A SPONGE: Once again, this is a riddle that is pure paradox.
4. AN ONION: Some people argue that "weep" is a pun because there is a difference between weeping cause by onion fumes and weeping caused by a death; it's still a pardox initially that one would weep beside one whom he or she has killed.
5. EYE: While there are no fewer than three paradoxes in this riddle, they are admittedly, made from a strong use of metaphor.
6. FOOTSTEPS: A creative alternate response to this riddle is 'toilet paper.' (cough)
7. A. ENVELOPE
B. ELLE
C. EWE
D. EYE
8. MUSIC: This is a somewhat archaic riddle; please excuse the sexist nature of its composition.
9. FEW
10. ONE
11. TON (NOT)
12. YOUR BREATH
13. NOTHING
14. PIN AND NEEDLE: It can be argued that this riddle owes much to metaphor, as well.
15. THE LETTER "M."
16. THE SPEAKER.
17. YOUR SHOE
18. A HOLE
19. A coat of paint.
20. A wheelbarrow.
21. "Dozens"
22. "Lounger"
23. A strainer or colander
24. Darkness
25. An anchor
26. A wedding ring
27. The moon
28. The letter "s"