Long Riddles

Bobby likes Jimmy but not Joe, apples but not pears, jeeps but not vans, shinny but not hockey, tennis but not squash. Who will he like, Sara or Sally?

I shift around, though always slowly. I never move more than a few inches at a time. A large movement by me can kill many people. I am huge, yet unseen by humans. What am I?

I start in little but I end in full, you'll find me in half and complete.

The ones in the sea are prickly, but the ones on the street might pickpocket you.

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

I am the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place. 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.

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 widen my jaws when you poke two fingers in me. I especially like to devour papers. What am I?

I am everywhere but cannot be seen, captured or held, only heard. What am I?

If a man carried my burden, he would break his back.
I am not rich, but I leave silver in my track.
What am I?

This mother comes from a family of eight,
Supports her children in spite of their weight,
Turns around without being called,
Has held you since the time you crawled.

A pet shop owner had a parrot with a sign on its cage that said "Parrot repeats everything it hears." A young man bought the parrot and for two weeks he spoke to it and it didn't say a word. He returned the parrot but the shopkeeper said he never lied about the parrot. How can this be?

My teeth are sharp, my back is straight, to cut things up it is my fate.

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 not the sort that's eaten, I'm not the sort you bake,
Don't put me in an oven; I don't taste that great,
But when applied correctly, around me you will find,
Problems are so simple when my digits come to mind.

Turns us on our backs, and open up our stomachs. You will be the wisest of men though at start a lummox.

Man of old, it is told would search until he tired,
not for gold, ne'er be sold, but what sought he was fire.
Man today, thou mayst say, has quite another aim,
in places deep, he did seek, to find me for his gain!

Power enough to smash ships and crush roofs. Yet it still must fear the sun.

Spies and detectives do this to phones and musical shoes make this sound.

I catch fire easily
But I protect cars in the cold
You can use me as a fuel
And yet I am every distiller’s goal
What am I?

You use a knife to slice my head and weep beside me when I am dead. What am I?

I am the man who went one day on top of a Joppa house to pray.
And while I waited for my meat, I dreamed I saw a great big sheet.
Let down from heaven and inside, fowls and creeping things did ride.
The one who prayed was told to eat, for God had cleansed this “common” meat.
Who am I?

I look flat, but I am deep,
Hidden realms I shelter.
Lives I take, but food I offer.
At times I am beautiful.
I can be calm, angry and turbulent.
I have no heart, but offer pleasure as well as death.
No man can own me, yet I encompass what all men must have.

No matter how little or how much you use me, you change me every month. What am I?

What moves across the land but never has to steer?
It has delivered our goods year after year.
What is it?

A three-letter word I'm sure you know,
I can be on a boat or a sleigh in the snow,
I'm pals with the rain and honor a king,
But my favorite use is attached to a string.
What am I?

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?

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?

A young man wants to have it, but when he has it he no longer wants it. Blade in hand he attacks it And does his best to remove it. Yet he knows that it is all in vain.

What has roots that nobody sees,
Is taller than trees,
Up, up it goes,
Yet it never grows?

Grown in the ground, it's taller than you. Strip off the outside, the yellow pieces you chew. What is it?

Not my sister nor my brother but still the child of my mother and father. Who am I?

What covers its face with its hands, speaks no language, yet most known what it's saying?

Weight in my belly, trees on my back. Nails in my ribs, feet I do lack. What am I?

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?

There she goes over the road, a young mare that is whinnying. A fiery spot on her forehead, with her hindquarters ablaze.

As beautiful as the setting sun,
As delicate as the morning dew;
An angel's dusting from the stars,
That can turn the Earth into a frosted moon.
What am I?

It's in your hand though you cannot feel it.
Only you and time can reveal it.

They're up near the sky, on something very tall. Sometimes they die, only then do they fall.

It was a tradition long ago,
When the world was dark and full of woe.
When men turned darkness into light,
By mixing, melting and decanting in the night,
To seek for youth and gold and riches,
Just to be burned as witches.

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.

Some are clean and some are dirty, but all are meant to get a chuckle. Most like it, some takes offense from it.

I can bring tears to your eyes; resurrect the dead, make you smile, and reverse time. I form in an instant but I last a lifetime. What am I?

With my pair I should be,
But I am usually alone you see,
For a monster always eats me.
Do you know what I must be?

I am a food made from the pressed curds of milk. I come in American, Swiss, sharp and many other flavors. What am I?

The cost of making only the maker knows, valueless if bought, but sometimes traded. A poor man may give one as easily as king. When one is broken pain and deceit are assured.

I can whistle
I can howl
I can scream
And I can whisper
But I do not speak.
What am I?

A thing with a thundering breech. It weighing a thousand welly. I have heard it roar louder than Guy's wild boar. They say it hath death in its belly.

I fall with the waves, rise with the tide, and drift with the current alongside. What am I?

It describes an era in history during which lights was hard to come by.

I am the first you ever saw, what greets you every morning and what goes out in the end. What am I.

Reaching stiffly for the sky, I bare my fingers when its cold.
In warmth I wear an emerald glove and in between I dress in gold.

Though I wander the earth, I am no longer here.
I am pale and I chill everyone near.
Who am I?

Physicists have built devices to move me very fast. My last seven letters can be commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and journals. What am I?

I cannot be bought, cannot be sold, even if I'm sometimes made of gold. What am I?

I cannot be other than what I am,
Until the man who made me dies,
Power and glory will fall to me finally,
Only when he last closes his eyes.

Gets rid of bad ones, short and tall. Tightens when used, one size fits all.

What is something that can go up quite easily, but is not as easy to bring back down?

I can wake you up in the morning but I require no electricity or winding. What am I?

A time when they're green. A time when they're brown.
But both of these times, cause me to frown.
But just in between, for a very short while.
They're perfect and yellow. And cause me to smile.

I remain unseen but hold many things, and when you are making a decision you consult me. What am I?

Faster than a twitch!
Fly with me to the Pitch!
With a seeker, a keeper,
Or a chaser, a beater,
Wizard or witch;
I play a mean game of Quidditch.
What am I?

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?

When I point up it's bright, but when I point down it's dark. What am I?

What can be seen in the middle of March and April that cannot be seen at the beginning or end of either month?

I am born in fear, raised in truth,
And I come to my own in deed.
When comes a time that I'm called forth,
I come to serve the cause of need.

What creature starts yellow inside and white outside, then becomes its first five before becoming the whole?

My mother is water and my brother the sky.
I am grey when wet but white when dry.
What am I?

My first is in some but not in all.
My second is into but not in tall.
My third in little but no in big.
My fourth in port but not in pig.
My whole is made in nature's way.
For clothing, rugs used every day.

I don't exist unless you cut me, but if you stab me I won't bleed. I hate no one yet am abhorred by all. What am I?

Green arrows grow out of my sides. I go from yellow to white. My babies fly in the wind. What am I?

I have joy in bringing two together, but darning my existence!
My life hangs by a thread, filled with ups, downs and resistance!

Patch upon patch, without any stitches, if you tell me this riddle, I'll give you my breeches.

You may always chase me but you are always about 3 miles away. What am I?

It's shorter than the rest, but when you're happy, you raise it up like it's the best. What is it?

I run around the streets all day. Under the bed or by the door I sit at night, never alone. My tongue hangs out, waiting to be fed during the day. What am I?

I have a ring but no fingers. I used to stay still all the time, but nowadays I follow you around. What am I?

Kids really love me because I make things float. You can even use me to expand small things. What am I?

I am a term used to confirm. But take away my front, my face, I become known as human avarice.

I walk on 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs at noon, and 3 legs at night. What am I?

Lots of them make up a word, And lots of words are in them. It's easy when you think about it. A while ago we stamped and mailed them.

I am killer of trees but people need me.
I can be blown away by a breeze
and I have been here since ancient Greece.
What am I?

My first part compliments people. My second part makes things known. My third part hurts feelings. My fourth part holds a previous treasure. My fifth part is used when sharing fancy beverages. What am I?

To give me to someone I don't belong to is cowardly, but to take me is noble. I can be a game, but there are no winners. What am I?

I stare at you, you stare at me.
I have three eyes, yet can't see.
Every time I blink, I give you commands.
You do as you are told, with your feet and hands.
What am I?

With shiny fangs , my bloodless bite will bring together what's mostly white. What am I?

I am yellow on the outside, white inside, and very appealing. What am I?

A first job for many kids, this could be described as "Media Distribution Management."

My first, though water, cures no thirst,
My next alone has soul,
And when he lives upon my first,
He then is called my whole.

Guided, I am scraping along, leaving behind my snow-white dust against that which I am scraping, for when I am scraping, I must. What am i?

Squeeze it and it cries tears. As red as its flesh, but its heart is made of stone.

Controlled by your hands and feet. It would be nothing without a street. What is it?

What goes up, but at the same time goes down?
Up toward the sky, and down toward the ground.
Its present tense and past tense too,
come for a ride, just you and me!

What makes a loud noise when changing its jacket, becomes larger but weighs less?

I heard of a wonder, of words moth-eaten. That is a strange thing, I thought, weird. That a man's song be swallowed by a worm. His blinded sentences, his bedside stand-by rustled in the night - and the robber-guest. Not one wit the wiser. For the words he had mumbled.

I am a number with a couple of friends, quarter a dozen, and you'll find me again. What am I?

Halfway up the hill, I see you at last, lying beneath me with your sounds and sights. A city in the twilight, dim and vast, with smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights.

I am a time for gathering crops. Remove the first three letters I become an object you can wear. What am I?

It is a place of play on a sunny day. Winter will come and take all the fun, but we'll be back in May. What is it?