The one hundred and ten riddles on this webpage were published in A Book Of Conundrum Riddles - though the word book should not be taken too literally.
In the original, the riddles were numbered sequentially 1 to 110, and the answers were published at the back (upside down). A number of
very minor corrections have been made to this HTML version, for example, an unwarranted apostrophe has been dropped from (CR32); a
comma has been inserted in (CR35); the word Pharoah has been capitalised in (CR38)...Below is page 1, verbatim, the introduction as it appeared in the original
way back in 1989. Below that is the inside back cover, also verbatim.
TO THE READER
Text by A Baron
Front cover designed by Theresia Weller
Layout and artwork by T D Man
The back cover bears the ISBN, 1 871473 30 6 and is copyright 1989 by ITMA.
The riddles were pages 2-18; pages 19 & 20 contained the answers (upside down). Except number 50, for which the answer did not appear! It took me a minute or two to work it out, but you will find it below.
(CR70) became obsolete soon after it was written, as will be seen from the answer.
In the original pamphlet, many of the answers were spelled out, eg bad-MIN-ton; here this is rendered simply as Badminton. One answer was given as Constable or constable. Here it is rendered Constable.
The answers appear on a separate page.
(CR1) This fruit might it be said
Is not quite lead?
Four letters.
(CR2) The Sun-god came, but not that way:
It’s in the picture, you might say.
Six letters.
(CR3) A Russian butterfly is all at sea.
Indeed, but what on Earth can this thing be?
Three and seven.
(CR4) Gee meets the girl and it’s apparent
In five, he’ll soon be transparent.
(CR5) A city with a zero
Together will uncover
An English playwright’s hero
And someone’s Latin lover.
(CR6) Hole in the ground. In four it’s clear
A half bad animal lives here.
(CR7) A mythical beast?
Sicilian at least!
(CR8) Though it may be obtuse
It makes a point, or three,
It’s not a semi circle,
But it’s of the same degree.
(CR9) Four letters, three,
Is he a pig?
No, but he doesn’t give a fig
For others people, and I say,
You’ll find him on the motorway.
What is he?
(CR10) The people who walk down this path
Are not always life’s winners,
But at least they don’t feel the wrath
Of God, for they’re not sinners.
Eight letters, three and six.
(CR11) A grim era, but one
That always has a happy start,
Though as the years pass
One or both may have a change of heart.
(CR12) A black man with an Irish sounding name:
In five, six, comic actor of some fame.
(CR13) Such music may age Reg, but it’s forgiven
Because it’s got a real pulsating rhythm.
(CR14) No big deal,
The fast baker serves a meal.
(CR15) Run far and bonk
I have a hunch
Will make, not plonk,
But first class punch.
(CR16) The loper joins Rex
And the two seem to be
The type who engages
In discovery.
(CR17) Methinks
A lynx,
A duck and hope
Can strike
The right
Orchestral note.
(CR18) Made to drink
Alcohol, I think.
(CR19) In nine, the dirty room is rearranged,
And sleeps a dozen when the linen’s changed.
(CR20) Intelligent dame:
Hence radium came.
(CR21) Moon starer? yes, or one might say,
But I’d not phrase it quite that way.
(CR22) A stew sir! and thus he was fed,
Of so ’twas heard, but not so read.
(CR23) Today, as in the past,
They’re a rich Tory caste.
Three and eleven.
(CR24) I finish with a lot,
And that is what I’ve got.
(Of enthusiasm).
(CR25) The last comes to the first, and ’twould appear
Another word for area is here.
(CR26) American communist?
Don’t be absurd!
In five, six and three:
An innocuous bird.
(CR27) It sounds like a fake,
And also a stone,
But in letters eight
It’s Irish and grown.
(CR28) My second’s in shuffle,
But never in stepped,
My third is in notice,
But not in adept,
My fourth and my fifth
Are in brash, but not bribe;
You’ll find me - a language,
And also a tribe.
(CR29) The actor’s in confusion,
Perhaps he’s losing heart,
For it is no illusion
His is the lesser part.
(CR30) I play all the ABC
In fourtee letters, (A to Z).
(CR31) The mob is confused
And surrounded by three;
The Haitian’s bemused,
Poor old chap, what is he?
(CR32) A slippery sounding place to live,
It’s first and last are that of give.
(CR33) A military weapon,
Whatever can it be?
For in the middle, (clearly seen),
Is a menagerie.
(CR34) Israel’s bane and
A European land.
(CR35) A novel sort of fellow,
If you know what I mean,
For wherever you seek him
He is nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps Mr Wells knows him.
Three, nine and three.
(CR36) Turn the Greek
(CR37) A canine’s one
(CR38) A crooked line leads where-o?
(CR39) Half time to iron: not leisure,
(CR40) More dates? Er yes,
(CR41) My first is in razor,
(CR42) The pilots cheer, my word
(CR43) Lois has it,
(CR44) A duck I’d call
(CR45) The quack is in a state:
(CR46) A third of commuters
(CR47) My first is in castle,
(CR48) He’s just lost his metal,
(CR49) Two of the dealer’s change, I say,
(CR50) Out of this world and sweet? my life!
(CR51) It’s in your stomach first, but look,
(CR52) A flaring end, but some would say
(CR53) Sow it lad, or rather, sow them man,
(CR54) A thousand go to war
(CR55) This woman isn’t large,
(CR56) A fellow French precedes the day,
(CR57) A village on the way
(CR58) It’s made of steel, although a lot of nylon can be found
[The above riddle was first published in the Voice, September 15, 1987, page 47].
(CR59) About face and you’ll see
(CR60) It’s cold and white,
(CR61) Ray can spell a word:
(CR62) This one’s easy as falling off a log:
(CR63) These countries may be small or large,
(CR64) This game starts in a good way? No!
(CR65) This one won’t take a week
(CR66) An artist uniformly dressed:
(CR67) Does a teacher have many?
(CR68) He owns a tin and wears a cap,
(CR69) What’s that you say:
(CR70) A famous wizard changes one, provided
[Re the above, see also (70)].
(CR71) Respectful term for maybe
(CR72) About a rag to start a root,
(CR73) When a German affirmative comes to the East
(CR74) My first is in chorus,
(CR75) The frog’s voice fades a bit, and thus you’ll see
(CR76) Solve this one, but first take a pew:
(CR77) Pour sulphur on a dwelling
(CR78) A Yugoslav is out of joint:
(CR79) A cereal that warms you when you eat,
(CR80) An American card game,
(CR81) Liz takes her bra
(CR82) A transcendental on the rates
(CR83) Spelt with two aitches and and ’o’,
(CR84) It may be regular, although I fear
(CR85) A pig surrounds a wall,
(CR86) So two hundred begin, I say,
(CR87) In the vernacular
(CR88) Eleven and me company in order
(CR89) You’ll solve this one at once or very soon:
(CR90) A half negative thing you’ll know well
(CR91) Dishevelled heaps become the norm
(CR92) A game for two, but are you sure
(CR93) A thing with strings that’s often seen
(CR94) Wrap up warmly when you’re afloat
(CR95) My first is in carrot,
(CR96) A beast of burden’s in front of the car,
(CR97) Is Bon a carnivore? No, but you oughta
(CR98) Atill joins Gary, and I’m fairly certain
(CR99) Lay it, nearly
(CR100) An ugly creature and a girl
(CR101) A magazine with a foodstuff is spied:
(CR102) You should know better:
(CR103) It’s only a dot,
(CR104) A bird for which I’m willing
(CR105) I’m in the academy,
(CR106) The kind of garment I declare
(CR107) A Caribbean fellow who is said
(CR108) Five yen is seen
(CR109) Something that’s all around
(CR110) The twenty-fifth receives a rub,
(CR111) Young Edward may riot,
(CR112) Two vowels prefix a sibling,
(CR113) Red rum as a drink can be filling,
(CR114) A game of ups and downs by chance,
(CR115) In three letters, four, a strange one, I’ll confess;
To Answers (CR1-CR115)
About to suit:
Not a leek
But still a root.
Is better than none.
Four and six.
You’d better ask the Pharoah.
But something of a measure.
But never to excess.
Return them then
To reasonable men.
But never in blade,
My second in gazer,
But not in afraid,
My third is in powder,
But never in keg,
My fourth is in howdah,
But not Winnipeg,
My fifth is in yoghurt,
And so is my last,
I’m so slight you’ll hardly
Perceive me go past.
There’s not a single bird.
But her fella
And her best friend
Wouldn’t tell her.
Almost dam all.
Confused and late.
Join some fly-by-night,
And in letters six
They’re involved in a fight.
But never in keep,
My second is found
In awake and asleep,
My third is in porridge,
But never in wheat,
My fourth is in vicious,
But never in cheat,
An insect will finish me,
I’m something which
You’ll have in your household,
(Provided you’re rich).
This man from Down Under,
Now he’s European
In eight, (and no wonder).
And now he’s showing us the way.
(But don’t forget to take your wife).
In letter eight, it’s back to book.
The same thing in another way.
You’re only young once, get them while you can.
With half of them, I’m told.
Another clue? Why sure:
In six, it isn’t cold.
But you had best take heed,
Because she’ll surely charge
For what she claims to read.
And yellow fruit is here. I say.
Is Mr Shakespeare’s play.
In this thing which supports a heavy charge above the ground.
A place where one takes tea.
And known to bite.
Five letters.
Does it mean Island bird?
In five, you’ll name a pugilistic dog.
But always they end in a charge.
Seven letters.
The opposite, I’ll state.
It lasts for sixty seconds, though
It ends in quite a weight.
If I tell you, my friend,
Ray’s name is simply Greek,
And mother’s at the end.
To paint, or to make an arrest!
That’s usually true,
Yet a pair are sufficient
For me and for you.
Six letters.
That is my firm belief;
He’s usually a clever chap,
That’s why he is the chief.
A magic bird of prey?
Six letters.
In six, a modern city is divided.
A pallindromic lady?
Five letters.
Then fifty-one will follow suit,
It finishes in letters six,
A century completes the mix.
You’ll expect us to visit the country at least.
With a deity perhaps?
But never in line,
My second in torus,
But never in sine,
My third is in wonder,
And also in seen,
My fourth’s not a blunder,
But is found in green,
Two more finish me,
It’s a thing you might feel,
But not if you’ve eaten a nourishing meal.
What once was little has become a tree.
A book that’s half old and half new.
And you can dig a hole
With the resultant spelling,
Or move a pile of coal.
His cash is at its lowest point.
For even when it’s cold, it’s full of heat.
And one that I think
Is all right for imbibers:
It’s nearly all drink.
Three and five.
And travels far;
In six she’ll be
In nut country.
Becomes the scourge of shipping states.
In letters five it’s known to flow.
It sounds as though the parrot isn’t here.
Shape this from seven letters.
And gulps, or so I’ve heard;
This story isn’t tall,
It just describes a bird.
But only twenty-two can play,
Six letters and five.
This ocean’s dweller’s seen
When (seven letters),
Someone throws a saint.
But at the Queen?
Will designate a place south of the border.
The place hydroxyl meets Jovian moon.
On account of its functional smell.
When they take geometric form.
It often comes under the door?
Preventing little Josephine.
Inside this pallindromic boat.
But never in bean,
My second in burrow,
But never in green,
My third is my fourth,
And I end in a “y”,
I’m spicy and edible,
So what am I?
And thus at university we are.
See him out grazing, or down by the water.
You’ll find them together behind the Iron Curtain.
Is Latin, clearly,
Whose name begins with zed:
Goes very nicely with a glass
Of wine, or slice of bread.
In six the thief is feathery and pied.
A bird in a letter?
But the power it’s got
When it moves just a step to the right!
If it moves twice again,
Then a hundred times ten
Is the end result, such is its might.
But can you name it in seven and five?
To pay one pound, one shilling.
Know what I mean?
And I’m rumoured to be
The first man on the scene.
That any kangaroo would wear.
(In letters five) to have a copper head.
To make one green.
Yet it’s iron in the middle,
Ten men and five are found
Within, so solve this riddle
In eleven letters.
And I’d sure like to own
This precious stone.
But not here, beyond,
In a world famous city
Across the big Pond.
Familiar form, of course;
You’ll need this in the desert,
And so too will your horse.
In another form it can be killing.
Retreat (by serpent) or advance.
An event where the rodents are winning, no less.
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