Riddles

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 2

Speaking activities

Can you solve these riddles?

Riddles game

Form groups of 2-3. With your partner(s), take 1 minute to discuss the answer to the riddle shown on-screen, then type your answer into Lessonup (1 person per group)!

Which word is always spelled incorrectly?

Which word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?

What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, but not once in a thousand years?

David's mother has three children. The first is called May, the second June. What is the third child called?

What do you call a bear with a missing ear?

What belongs to you, but is used by others far more than you use it yourself?

Rich people need this, but poor people already have it - and if you eat it you'll die. What is it?

What begins with T, ends with T and has T inside it?

How can I put my left hand in the right pocket of my jeans and my right hand in the left without crossing my arms?

Cowboy Bill rode into town on Friday and rode out two days later on Friday. How can that possibly be true?

What has a bottom at the top?

What is more useful when it is broken?

Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

How can you take 2 from 5 and end up with 4?

Fake news!

In the same groups, take a look at the following statements. Were these things really said by Donald Trump, or are  they fake news? Discuss briefly then select your answer!

"I've said if Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her."

1. Fake news
2. True

"I think I would use social media, as President, better than possibly any of all the 44 previous presidents."

1. Fake news
2. True

"I'm just thinking to myself right now, we should just cancel the election and give it to Trump, right?"

1. Fake news
2. True

"I've no reason to visit Dubai, we have plenty of sandy beaches and oil in the USA."

1. Fake news
2. True

"Theresa May is a useless prime minister, she should ask me for advice on Brexit."

1. Fake news
2. True

"I look very much forward to showing my financials, because they are huge."

1. Fake news
2. True

"I think I am actually humble (=bescheiden)."

1. Fake news
2. True

"I'm happy to take advice from China, as long as it's on how to build a wall."

1. Fake news
2. True

"I will build a great wall - and nobody builds walls better than me."

1. Fake news
2. True

"The beauty of me is that I'm very rich."

1. Fake news
2. True

Black Stories

Black stories are tricky, mysterious stories about bad things. There's always some kind of riddle to solve.

1 person reads the riddle. The rest of the class takes turn to ask this person questions, but they can only be yes or no questions. If you think you've solved the mystery, share your theory!

Thank you

A woman goes into a pub and orders a glass of water. The man behind the bar grabs a rifle and aims it right at the woman. She thanks him and leaves.

(Answer on the next slide)

Thank you (answer)

The woman had hiccups and wanted to get rid of them with the water. The man behind the bar understood straightaway and wanted to help her by giving her a real scare. It worked!

Murder with impunity

A woman shoots dead her husband. The police lead her away but let her go free later.

Murder with impunity (answer)

The woman had already served a long prison term for murdering her husband. It was a miscarriage of justice (= a mistake), for her husband had actually run off.

Because she had already been punished for his murder, the police saw no reason to keep her locked up any longer.

The funeral guest

At her mother's funeral, a woman sees a man she doesn't know. A few days later, she murders her sister.

The funeral guest (answer)

During the funeral, the woman fell hopelessly in love with the man. He, however, disappeared immediately after the funeral before she could ask him his name. She hoped to see him again at her sister's funeral.

The terminal taxi

Tim gets into a taxi. When the driver opens the door for him at the train station, Tim falls out of the vehicle, dead.

The terminal taxi (answer)

A spider collector had forgotten his extremely venomous spider in the taxi. Tim, who happened to be the next passenger, panicked when he caught sight of the creature, and was immediately bitten.

The sauna

A dead man is lying in a sauna; next to him, a thermos flask.

The sauna (answer)

The man had been stabbed to death with an icicle. His murderer had brought the icicle into the sauna in the thermos flask. It melted a short while later, and so the murder weapon was never found.

The light switch

A man living in an isolated building turns on the light every evening on his way to bed. One morning, while listening to the radio, he suddenly runs out and throws himself into the sea.

The light switch (answer)

The man in the isolated building was the keeper of one of the most important lighthouses on the coast. That morning, the radio reported the largest shipping disaster of all time.

The night before, the lighthouse keeper had, indeed, forgotten to turn the light on - an unforgivable blunder.

Backwards

Jonathan takes a step backwards, and dies.

Backwards (answer)

Jonathan was window cleaning near the top of a high-rise. Before finishing his work, he used the mirror-like windows of the building to tidy his hair because his new girlfriend was waiting for him down below.

Finally, Jonathan decided to check his appearance 'in full' and took one (last) step backwards.

Deadly meal

A woman gives a man something to eat. Some time later, both of them die.

Deadly meal (answer)

The man and woman in question are our Biblical ancestors: Adam and Eve. After Adam ate a piece of the apple, both of them lost their immortality.