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# riddle

«riddle» in Mova's school dictionary: **a puzzle question that needs clever thinking to answer…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (riddle, riddles); verb (riddle, riddles, riddled, riddling)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A riddle is a puzzle question that needs clever thinking to answer, often a play on words. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#m1)

2) A riddle is something hard to understand, a mystery. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#m2)

3) Riddled with means full of: «a wall riddled with holes». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

a puzzle about a number: clues tell what number is meant; in reading and stories: riddles test cleverness (a sphinx asks a riddle); in everyday life: telling riddles and jokes with friends; phrases: «solve a riddle», «tell a riddle», «talk in riddles» (speak in a way hard to understand)

### examples

- Solve the riddle: I am a number, and 5 more than me is 12. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#x1)
- Each riddle in the book gives 3 clues. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#x2)
- She solved 7 riddles in 10 minutes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#x3)
- Number riddle: I am between 20 and 30 and I am 4 × 6. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#x4)
- Riddle: What has hands but cannot clap? A clock! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#x5)
- The troll asked a riddle before he let them cross. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#x6)
- Why the old car stopped is a riddle to me. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#x7)
- The old tree was riddled with holes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#x8)
- "Here's a riddle for you, Prince Ivan! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/#x9)

### note

A riddle about a number is an equation in words; work backwards from the clues. Trap: «5 more than me is 12» – take 5 from 12, do not add. Check every clue with your answer.

### In the corpora

- [So play, laugh and enjoy beating the bot at your own riddles, and check anything that matters.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/4-stories-jokes-and-riddles/4/)
- [Knowing the answer to a famous riddle is not the same as solving a new one.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/4-stories-jokes-and-riddles/8/)
- [When Alice asks the answer to the riddle, the Hatter says he has not the slightest idea.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/13-alice-a-mad-tea-party-1/7/)
- ["dēnglong" means lantern; "cāi dēngmí", guessing riddles written on lanterns, is a Lantern Festival game.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chinese-street/27-lanterns-dragon-boats-mooncakes-birthdays/7/)
- ["What has keys but can't open locks?" A piano: the riddle plays on two meanings of "keys".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/57-olympiad-riddles-lipograms-and-hidden-words/5/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «riddle» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/riddle/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.