Long Riddles

Sometimes I fly as fast as the speed of light. Sometime I crawl as slow as a snail. Unknown until I am measured but you will certainly miss me when I'm gone.
What am I?

Upon me you can tread, though softly under cover.
And I will take you places, that you have yet to discover.
I'm high, and I'm low, though flat in the middle.
And though a joy to the children, adults think of me little.

My first is in fish but no in snail.
My second is in rabbit but no in tail.
My third is in up but not in down.
My fourth is in tiara but not in crown.
My fifth is in tree you plainly see.
My whole a food for you and me.

The wave, over the wave, a weird thing I saw, Through-wrought, and wonderfully ornate: A wonder on the wave-water became bone.

It can be repeated but rarely in the same way. It can't be changed but can be rewritten. It can be passed down, but should not be forgotten.

Used left or right, I get to travel over cobblestone or gravel.
Used up, I vie for sweet success, used down, I cause men great duress.

When the day after tomorrow is yesterday, today will be as far from Wednesday as today was from Wednesday when the day before yesterday was tomorrow. What is the day after this day?

This food is a staple grain in many pantries worldwide. You often steam or boil it and serve it in a variety of different ways. One brand touts the fact that it can be cooked in 1 minute.

Four wings I have, which swiftly mount on high,
on sturdy pinions, yet I never fly;
And though my body often moves around,
upon the self-same spot I'm always found,
and, like a mother, who breaks her infant's bread.
I chew for man before he can be fed.

I can be moved. I can be rolled. But nothing will I hold. I'm red and I'm blue, and I can be other colors too. Having no head, though similar in shape. I have no eyes - yet move all over the place.

I'm in a box, full of that which is most rare.
But I'm not a flute, and I'm not some hair.
Though soft be my bed, I'm as hard as a rock.
While dull in the dark, I glisten once unlocked.

What does man love more than life, fear more than death or mortal strife.
What the poor have, the rich require, and what contented men desire.
What the miser spends, and the spendthrift saves.
And all men carry to their graves.

I do not breathe, but I run and jump. I do not eat, but I swim and stretch. I do not drink, but I sleep and stand. I do not think, but I grow and play. I do not see, but you see me everyday.

Sometimes it glitters, but often not;
May be cold, or may be hot!
Ever changing though the eye can't measure,
concealed within are many treasures.
Some find safety beneath its gate,
while some may die beneath its weight!
Old and broken, it brings forth life.

It's in the church, but not in the steeple;
It's in the parson, but not in the people;
It's in the oyster, but not in the shell;
It's in the clapper, but not in the bell.

Ancient and majestic, great big piles of stones,
Used to encase both riches and bones.
Seen from certain angles,
They look like big triangles.

What is this Mexican dish consisting of a fried folded tortilla, filled with various mixtures, such as seasoned meat, beans, lettuce, and tomato?

Some women don't like to be called that, yet every woman wants one. It cries and makes a lot of noise, but smiles and gurgles when you give it toys.

Known as a great deceiver,
It is evil's incarnation,
Once used for veneration,
The root of all procreation.
All you can do is shiver,
When it begins to slither.

Never was, I am always to be.
No one ever saw me, nor ever will.
And yet I am the confidence of all,
to live and breath on this terrestrial ball.
What am I?

Those wooden birds are now in sight whose voices roar, whose wings are white, whose maws are fill'd with hose and shoes, with wine, cloth, sugar, salt and news, when they have eas'd their stomachs here they cry farewell, until next year.

This is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice sushi-meshi combined with other ingredients, usually raw fish or other seafood.

My voice is tender, my waist is slender and I'm often invited to play.
Yet wherever I go, I must take my bow or else I have nothing to say.
What am I?

This food is a staple for households worldwide. Its definition is: An edible seed, typically kidney-shaped, growing in long pods on certain leguminous plants.

A beggar's brother went out to sea and drowned. But the man who drowned had no brother. Who was the beggar to the man who drowned?

I am the heart that does not beat. If cut, I bleed without blood. I can fly, but have no wings. I can float, but have no fins. I can sing, but have no mouth.

Creatures of power, creatures of grade,
creatures of beauty, creatures of strength.
As for their lives, they set everything's pace.
For all things must come to live.
Under their emerald embrace.
Either in their life or in their death.

With thieves I consort,
With the Vilest, in short,
I'm quite at ease in depravity,
Yet all divines use me,
And savants can't lose me,
For I am the century of gravity.

I can trap many different things and colors, ever changing, not boring. Look closely and you may find yourself also caught in my trap.

In wealth I abound; in water I stand;
As a fencer I'm valued all over the land;
At Venice I'm famous; by farmers I'm prized;
Respected by law, yet huntsmen despised;
Consternation and ruin ensue when I break;
And the beasts of the forest advantage won't take.

My first master has four legs, my second master has two. My first I serve in life, my second I serve in death. Tough I am, yet soft beside. Against ladies cheeks I often reside.

Though I do not speak, I oft impart
The secret wishes of the heart;
I may deceive, may make amends,
May create foes, and yet make friends.
The harshest anger I can disarm,
Such is the power of my charm.

I saw a strange creature. Long, hard, and straight, thrusting into a round, dark opening. Preparing to discharge its load of lives. Puffing and squealing noises accompanied it, then a final screech as it slowed and stopped.

I have an end but no beginning, a home but no family, a space without room. I never speak but there is no word I cannot make. What am I?

In marble halls as white as milk,
lined with a skin as soft as silk.
Within a fountain crystal-clear.
A golden apple doth appear.
No doors there are to this stronghold,
yet thieves break in and steal the gold.

I'm a slippery fish in a cloudy sea;
Neither hook nor spear will capture me;
With your hand you must hunt down this fish,
to see that it ends up in the dish.

A useful thing, hard, firm, and white, outside in shaggy robe bedight;
Hallowed within right cleverly, it goes to work both white and dry.
When after labor it comes back, you'll find it moist and very black;
for service it is ready ever, and fails the hand that guides it never.

People walk in and out of me. They push and I follow. When they walk out on me, I close up and I stay waiting for the next person to walk into my life when I have a more open mind. What am I?

I am one small little piece of paper, yet sometimes hold lots of value. I am all you need to get in to big events, but will cost you. I am an important part of travel. And if lost, you're not coming. What am I?

My first brace Nelson yielded, midst the jar of angry battle, and the din of war; my second, when from labor we retreat, far from polite, yet offers us a seat; my whole is but my second more complete.

I roam through the lands hoping to rescue my love. I search high and low, and will stomp on you if you get in my way. What am I?

We are little brethren twain, arbiters of loss and gain; man to our counters run, some are made, and some undone; but men find it, to their cost, few are made, but numbers lost; though we play them tricks for ever, yet they always hope our favor.

A single syllable do I claim,
black was my most famous name;
Fetal to mortals here below,
thousands have I slain in a single blow.

My love, when I gaze on thy beautiful face.
Careering along, yet always in place,
the thought has often come into my mind.
If I ever shall see thy glorious behind.

As a whole, I am both safe and secure. Behead me, I become a place of meeting. Behead me again, I am the partner of ready. Restore me, I become the domain of beasts.

I am in the sky but also in the ground. When you study me, no matter how long, I will always end with an f. I may be in your yard but not in your house. What am I?

My first, if you do, you'll increase; my second will keep you from heaven; my whole, such a human caprice, is more frequently given than taken.

My first is to be seen every day in the firmament; My second conquers kings and queens; And my whole is what I would offer to a friend in distress.

Gold in a leather bag, swinging on a tree,
money after honey in its time.
Ills of a scurvy crew cured by the sea,
reason in its season but no rhyme.

I am the beginning of sorrow, and the end of sickness. You cannot express happiness without me, yet I am in the midst of crosses. I am always in risk, yet never in danger. You may find me in the sun, but I am never seen out of darkness.

This Mexican dish is a type of flatbread made of crushed flour or cornmeal and is cooked and then enjoyed hot or cold. It is used especially in making quesadillas.

My first is twice in apple but not once in tart.
My second is in liver but not in heart.
My third is in giant and also in ghost.
Whole I'm best when I am toast.

I am partially baked. I am not completely lit. I am a portion of the moon. I am lesser than full wit. I am a divider of the hour. I am not a total lie. I am a sibling through one parent.

My first is a heir;
My second's a snare;
My whole is the offspring of fancy;
Which I sent, out of play,
Upon Valentine's day,
As a token of love, to my Nancy.

I am easy to see, but no one likes looking at me. Without me, there would be no you. I can make you complain, or make you happy. But you almost always take me for granted. What am I?

If you look you cannot see me. If you see me you cannot see anything else. I can make anything you want happen, but later everything goes back to normal.

They took me from my mother's side where I was bravely bred
and when to age I did become they did cut off my head.
They gave to me some diet drink that often made me mad
but it made peace between two kings and made two lovers glad.

Before my birth I have a name, but soon as born I lose the same; and when I'm laid within the tomb, I do my father's name assume; I change my name three days together, yet live but on in any weather.

I cost no money to use, or conscious effort to take part of. And as far as you can see, there is nothing to me. But without me, you are dead.

I'm sometimes white and always wrong.
I can break a heart and hurt the strong.
I can build love or tear it down.
I can make a smile or bring a frown.

I come off a beautiful creature, which soars in the sky. I come off a peckish creature, which has a tail as mighty as the sun! I am sometimes dirty, and parents beg you not to pick me up. What am I?

In we go, out we go.
All around and in a row.
Always, always steady flow.
When we'll stop, you'll never known.
In we go, out we go.

I come in different colors and shapes. Some parts of me are curvy, some are straight. You can put me anywhere you like, but there is only one right place for me. What am I?

They come to witness the night without being called, a sailor's guide and a poet's tears. They are lost to the sight each day without the hand of a thief.

I am as simple as a circle, worthless as a leader; but when I follow a group, their strength increases tenfold. By myself I'm practically nothing. What am I?

I am essential to life on earth! I am split into thirds. Two thirds are the same. One of the thirds is 8. The other two are 1 each. What am I?

There's not a kingdom on the earth, but I have traveled over and over, and though I know not whence my birth, yet when I come, you know my roar. I through the town do take my flight, and through the fields and meadows green, and whether it be day or night, I neither am nor can be seen.

It moves around in circles.
We see it as we turn.
It keeps us always warm.
Always alive and always dying,
Across the sky we see it flying,
But touch it and we burn.

Within passion's fruit they will be found,
and more of them in the pomegranate's crown.
Rowed they are within an apple's core,
yet other fruits have them more.
And though the nectarine has but one,
still, this is all just in fun.
Playing hide and seek- a children's game.
Finding out each player is just the same.

Words come out of it, aligned in perfect silence. A messenger of black on white, a slinky fellow drawing lines, of thin and soft graphite.

Double my number, I'm less than a score.
Half of my number is less than four.
Add one to my double when bakers are near.
Days of the week are still greater, I fear.

Snake coiled round and round.
Snake deep below the ground.
Snake that's never had a head.
Snake that binds but not with dread.

Is said to make the world go around, but only if we let it. It puts a value on a thing, and makes you do some crazy things, just so you can get it.

I am merry creature in pleasant time of year, As in but certain seasons, I sing that you can hear; And yet I'm made a by-word, A very perfect mock; Compared to foolish persons, And silliest of all folk.

A metal neither black nor red,
as heavy as man's golden greed.
What you do to stay ahead,
with friend or foe or arrow and steed.

Only one color, but not one size.
Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies.
Present in sun, but not in rain.
Doing no harm, and feeling no pain.

Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it. Five in the middle is seen. First of all figures, the first of all letters. Take up their stations between. Join all together, and then you will bring before you the name of an eminent king.

Sometimes dark and sometimes bright,
I make my way among twinkling lights.
Seas and oceans obey my call,
yet mountains I cannot move at all.
My face is marred and gray,
but I'm majestic anyway.
What am I?

He's big, old and fluffy,
And looking rather scruffy.
He always needs a shave.
It's best to just avoid him,
And leave him in his cave.

I'm very tempting, so it's said,
I have a shiny coat of red,
and my flesh is white beneath.
I smell so sweet, taste good to eat,
and help to guard your teeth.

It is a part of us, and then replaced.
It escapes our bodies, to a better place.
The world becomes its sizeable home.
Its passions unrestrained, the planet it roams.

I am in the past, never in the future. I don't exist, but have existed. I saw what you saw, and this is what I will ever see. What am I?

Mouthless but I will tell you a name that is not mine, I will show you the years I have seen but I have no eyes, memory I have but I have no mind.

It is a cat but not a kitty,
You'll never catch on in a city.
Its fangs are huge and so its claws,
A death machine with paws and jaws.
In its own way a royal fellow,
Striped with black and clothed in yellow.

Six letters do my name compound;
Among the aged oft I'm found;
The shepherd also, by the brook,
Hears me when leaning on his crook;
But in the middle me divide,
And take the half on either side,
Each backward read, a liquor tell,
Ev'ry gay toper knows it well.

I wear a green jacket on the outside, white jacket as a second layer, and a red jacket inside. I am pregnant with a lot of babies. What am I?

Oh lord! I am not worthy!
I bend my limbs to the ground.
I cry, yet without a sound.
Let me drink of waters deep.
And in silence I will weep.

Although a human shape I wear,
Mother I never had;
And though no sense nor life I share,
in finest silks I'm clad.
By every miss I'm valued much,
beloved and highly prized;
still my cruel fate is such
by boys I am often despised.

Some live in me, some live on.
And some shave me to stride upon.
I rarely leave my native land.
Until my death I always stand.
High and low I may be found.
Both above and below ground.

Kings and queens may cling to power, and the jesters may have their call. I am the most common but I can rule them all. What am I?

I am never quite what I appear to be. Straight-forward I seem, but it's only skin deep. For mystery most often lies beneath my simple speech. Sharpen your wits, open your eyes, look beyond my exteriors, read me backwards, forwards, upside down. Think and answer the question...What am I?

I have no voice but I can teach you all there is to know.
I have spines and hinges but I am not a door.
Once I've told you all, I cannot tell you more.
What am I?

First I may be your servant's name; then your desires I may proclaim; And, when your mortal life is over, hold all your wealth within my power.

A third from the sun, and not much else since the world's begun.
Some may weigh a metric ton. Is a synonym for fun.
Made a zeppelin take flight.
A big thing at Isle of Wight.

It sat upon a willow tree, and sang softly unto me.
Easing my pain and sorrow with its song. I wished to fly, but tarried long.
And in my suffering, the willow was like a cool clear spring.
What was it that helped me so? To spend my time in my woe.

You get many of me, but never enough. After the last one, your life soon will snuff. You may have one of me but one day a year, When the last one is gone, your life disappears.

It is more feared than fear itself, And no one can escape it. It takes no sides and does not judge, it does not know to hold a grudge. It is the most clearest result, Of how life beats you by default.

I am the outstretched fingers that seize and hold the wind. Wisdom flows from me in other hands. Upon me are sweet dreams dreamt, my merest touch brings laughter.

This greek dish is similar to a taco or pita sandwich in appearance. It is made with a fatty meat in a taco shell shaped flatbread with tomatoes, lettuce and other veggies.

I come out of the earth, I am sold in the market. He who buys me cuts my tail, takes off my suit of silk, and weeps beside me when I am dead.