Why did the chicken cross the road?

This is the first in a series of posts exploring the "meta" riddle: Why did the chicken cross the road?

Let's get started with just a few of the many answers to this traditional form of the riddle. Which ones do you like best, and why? Looking at these answers is a way for you to think about the forms of riddling that you like best... because this is definitely a riddle with many different answers! (July 1: I just added two more!)

• To get to the other side.
• The grass was greener on the other side.
• Because she was a free range chicken
• Because the light was green.
• Because the road was too long to walk around it.
• Beak-cause she could.
• To BOCK traffic. Bock! Bock!
• Because she thought it was an EGG-cellent idea.
• Because she saw what you did with her eggs.
• Because she wanted to understand what all the jokes were about.
• To knock-knock on the door, walk into the bar, and change the light bulb.
• Because this is AMERICA! The chicken can go where it wants.
• To boldly go where no chicken has gone before.

ccc

I don't know but...

Some more animal-cross riddles, and this time the answer each time is "I don't know what it's called, but..."

What do you get when you cross a shark with a crocodile?

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I don't know what it's called, but don't get in the water with it!

What do you get when you cross a tiger with a parrot?

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I don't know what it's called, but if it wants a cracker, you'd better give it a cracker.

What do you get when you cross a gambler with an octopus?

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I don't know what it's called, but it sure can play a lot of hands of poker.

What do you get when you cross a gorilla with a porcupine?

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I don't know what it's called, but it won't have trouble getting a seat on the bus.

What do you get when you cross a canary with a lion?

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I don't know what it's called, but when it sings you had better listen.

Numbers in the Dictionary

The "in-the-dictionary" riddle type is one of my favorites, and it is easy to make up examples with numbers. Plus it's good practice for both math AND spelling to make up your own riddles like this! Here are a few to get you started... and you don't really need to reveal the answer, because it's the same answer every time: IN THE DICTIONARY!

When does three come AFTER eight?

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In the dictionary.

When does seven come BEFORE six?

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In the dictionary.

When does eleven come BEFORE ten?

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In the dictionary.

When does eight come BEFORE four?

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In the dictionary.

Two is greater than one; three is greater than two; four is greater than three. But where does four come BEFORE one and two and three?

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In the dictionary.

Day Riddles

To answer these riddles, think about the days of the week, and other ways that we talk about time!

What have you seen and everyone you know has seen but nobody will not see again?

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Yesterday.

When can Friday come before Thursday?

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In the dictionary.

What four days of the week start with T?

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Tuesday, Thursday, today, tomorrow.

A cowboy rode into town on Friday, stayed two nights, and left on Friday. How could that be?

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The cowboy's horse was named Friday.

Name three consecutive days without mentioning Monday, Wednesday, or Friday.

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Yesterday, today, tomorrow.

What do you get when you cross...

Here are some more animal-cross riddles!

What do you get when you cross a cow with an octopus?

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An animal that can milk itself.

What do you get when you cross a sheep with a porcupine?

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An animal that knits its own sweaters.

What do you get when you cross a hyena with a parrot?

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An animal that laughs at its own jokes.

What do you get when you cross an owl with an oyster?

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An animal that produces pearls of wisdom.

What do you get when you cross a rooster with a giraffe?

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An animal that wakes people on the top floor.

Latin Nursery Rhyme: Ille citharistae filius

This is another one of the Latin nursery rhymes that I found in Arundines Cami, published in 1851. It's a Latin rendition of the classic English nursery rhyme:

Toм, Tom, the piper's son,

Stole a pig, and away he run:

The pig was eat, and Tom was beat,

And Tom ran crying down the street.

While the rhymes are not as good in the Latin, there is a brilliant pun which more than makes up for it: fur it! furit!

This is not quantitative meter; instead it follows the 4-beat rhythms of the English, which occasionally violates the normal Latin word accent, but that happens in some English rhymes too. I've underlined the beats:

Ille citharistae filius,

Thomas, Thomas nominatus,

Porculo surrepto, currit:

Porcus cito manducatus,

Thomas, cito verberatus,

Ululans per vicum fur it,

Ululans per vicum furit.

Here's an English translation :-)

The cithara-player's son

Thomas, Thomas named,

The pig having been stolen, he runs.

The pig quickly eaten,

Thomas, quickly beaten,

Yelling, the thief goes through the street

Yelling, he rages through the street.

illustrations by Walter Crane

Elephants!

Here are some elephant jokes for you to try:

What animal can jump higher than an elephant?

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Any animal that can jump... because elephants don't jump.

What’s the difference between a donut and an elephant?

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You can't dip an elephant in your coffee.

What do you get when you cross a herd of elephants with a school of fish?

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Swimming trunks.

How do you know when there's an elephant under your bed?

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Your nose touches the ceiling.

If you saw nine elephants walking down your street wearing red socks, and one wearing blue socks, what would this prove?

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That 9 out of 10 elephants wear red socks.