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File:Oedipus_and_the_Sphinx_of_Thebes,_Red_Figure_Kylix,_c._470_BC,_from_Vulci,_attributed_to_the_Oedipus_Painter,_Vatican_Museums_(9665213064).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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riddle

Also known as riddles

thumb|upright=1.3|Attic red-figure kylix c. 470 BCE: Oedipus ponders the riddle of the Sphinx, with the fate of Thebes at stake

AI overview

A riddle is a puzzle or question posed as a test of wit, often involving wordplay or hidden meanings that require clever thinking to solve. Riddles matter because they have been used throughout history—as shown in ancient Greek mythology—as intellectual challenges that can have serious consequences, and they remain a way to exercise reasoning and creativity.

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Wikidata facts

Image: Exeter Book f 127r Oyster riddle.jpg

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Commons category: Riddles
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wikidata.org

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~30 min read

Article

35 sections

Contents

Definitions and research
Etymology
Definitions
Research
International riddles
Writing-riddle
Year-riddle
Person-riddle
Two-legs, three-legs, and four-legs
Four Hang; Two Point the Way
Featherless bird-riddle
Riddle-traditions by region
Babylon
South Asia
Hebrew, Arabic and Persian
Europe
Greek
Latin and Romance
The Germanic-speaking world
The Celtic-speaking world
The Finnic-speaking world
East Asia
China
The Philippines
Africa
The Americas
Native American traditions
Colonial traditions
<span id="contest">Riddle-contests</span>
In real life
In ancient, medieval, and folk literature
In modern literature
See also
References
External links

thumb|upright=1.3|Attic red-figure kylix c. 470 BCE: Oedipus ponders the riddle of the Sphinx, with the fate of Thebes at stake

A riddle is a statement, question, or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: enigmas, which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that require ingenuity and careful thinking for their solution, and conundra, which are questions relying for their effects on punning in either the question or the answer.