Why are riddles so cool?

I don’t think there is a right answer. So its a shit riddle in that sense. In fact, it’s not a riddle at all. The definition of a riddle is: A question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning. 

This is a riddle appreciation post if you haven’t already guessed. You also must be wondering (though I very much doubt you do) where the interest in riddles comes from. The answer is The Hobbit. The Hobbit is the reason I think riddles are cool. Fans of the book will know of the chapter “Riddles in the Dark” where the titular hero Bilbo and Gollum engage in a battle of wits by asking each other riddles. Its a great moment in the story, but my appreciation for Tolkien will be in another post. I just love the riddles in the chapter. Here’s one:

Voiceless it cries,
Wingless flutters,
Toothless bites,
Mouthless mutters.

The answer is Wind <—– Highlight the answer.

I like riddle-poems the best because they rhyme. I don’t think non-rhyming riddles are bad or anything, but having them rhyme means they are fun to listen to. Ultimately to create a well-worded, difficult, and rhyming riddle requires wit, and in no short supply. In fact, you need to be quick and creative to solve a riddle as well. If you ask someone a riddle, and they don’t get the answer immediately then it can be interesting to see a persons thought processes in trying to find an answer.

Not all riddles are to my liking (especially the ones I can’t answer). Not because they are poorly written, but because they have stupid answers. What I mean by stupid is that the answers themselves are probably something nobody knows about, or at the very least something people won’t think about on a daily basis – What’s the point on writing an 8 line riddle where the answer is “pantyhose”? I actually felt cheated finding out the answer to that one. These riddles aren’t fun in a group, they’re only good for one thing – A book of riddles.

Anyway, riddles require wit as we’ve already established and I’m someone who likes to think they have it in spades. So I inevitably went ahead and tried to write my own riddles. The only guideline, of course, is that the answer is something that most people will understand. So I start with the answer and then think of everything to do with that object or concept. Then I try and personify the answer and try and describe myself as if I was the answer.  After that just try to think of obscure words and more abstract phrases in your description, and if it rhymes voila – you have a riddle.

Here’s one I wrote last week:

What is the worst that comes from the best?

That never leaves your mind at rest.

Born in a place now far away,

yet in your chest, it finds its stay.

Answer: Heartbreak <—– Highlight this space.

It helps if you try and deduce the answer line by line instead of tackling it the riddle as a whole.

At the end of the day, riddles are great, but there are more important answers to find. I just think that its a unique bit of fun to ask some riddles every once in a while.

Goodbye. See you next time.