Two Riddles: A Puzzle and a Coarse Sieve
A riddle is a puzzling question. A second riddle is a large sieve, which is why bullets riddle a target.
A riddle is a question posed as a puzzle. A separate word with the same spelling is a coarse sieve, and it explains a phrase that otherwise makes no sense: to be *riddled with* bullets is to be perforated like a sieve. The puzzle comes from Old English *rædels*, related to *read* in its old sense of interpret.
- A puzzling question. *Solve the riddle.*
- A coarse sieve. *A garden riddle.*
- To perforate. *Riddled with holes.*
- Riddled with — full of. *Riddled with errors.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | riddle | An ancient riddle. |
| Plural | riddles | Old riddles. |
| Verb | riddle | Riddle the soil. |
| Adjective | riddled | Riddled with rot. |
| Related | read | Read the signs. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Riddled with holes.From the sieve, not the puzzle.
- The riddle of the Sphinx.Answered by Oedipus.
- Read once meant to interpret.Which is where the puzzle sense comes from.
Famous riddles
- The Sphinx — what walks on four legs, then two, then three
- Exeter Book riddles — around ninety Old English verse riddles
- Samson's riddle — out of the strong came forth sweetness
- Gollum and Bilbo — a riddle contest in The Hobbit
- Answer to the Sphinx — a human being, crawling, walking, then using a stick
The puzzle is from Old English *rædels*, from *rædan*, to interpret. The sieve is from Old English *hriddel*, unrelated.
Why does *riddled with* mean full of holes?
From the sieve, not the puzzle. To riddle is to pass through a coarse sieve, and the image is of many perforations.
Are riddle and read related?
The puzzle sense is. Old English *rædan* meant to interpret or advise, and a riddle is something to be interpreted.