Lithuanian Riddles with Answers · Page 2

walking stick

A walking stick helps someone support themselves as they walk. It is called a helpful companion that needs neither food nor drink.

window

The window opening resembles an animal stuck in a fence. It gives a view outside, although the window itself never goes anywhere.

auger

An auger has a spiral thread. It is pictured as a pair of strangely twisted trousers that helps identify the tool.

bath whisk

A bath whisk consists of leafy twigs tied together at the handle. The green leaves become clothing, and the binding holding the bundle together becomes a sash.

boots

The life of the animal whose hide became the boots is carried over into the footwear: the living animal worked, and the shoes made from its hide carry a person dancing.

ship

A ship moves through water. Its wake disappears, leaving no lasting sleigh tracks or hoofprints.

ladle

A wooden ladle begins as a tree growing in the forest. At home it scoops up and serves food, so it is said to “run the household”.

plough

The iron part of the plough turns the soil and prepares it for sowing. The tool itself does not eat, but its work helps grow food.

cart

The body of a cart resembles a small shelter or barn. Wheels make this wooden structure mobile.

hole in the ground

Digging earth out of a hole makes it larger; filling it with earth leaves less empty space. Adding and taking away reverse their usual effects.

cauldron

Golden flames surround the cauldron standing over a fire. The pieces of a broken or worn-out vessel are not edible animal bones.

steelyard balance

A steelyard is a lever balance. This lifeless measuring tool shows an object’s weight, so it is pictured as telling the truth.

weaving shuttle

The shuttle moves among the warp threads like a pike. The weft thread it leaves behind becomes part of the cloth.

cheese

The cheese is held in a cloth bag while it is shaped. Later the cloth is removed, so the cheese is “born” clothed and goes out naked.

writing

Written text preserves a story without a human body. A reader understands the message by reading it.

writing

The white paper is the field, the black letters are the seed, and the goose points to writing with a goose quill. The harvest is the meaning gained by reading.

galosh

The galosh is described by its black outer surface and red interior. This item of footwear protects the foot.

accordion

The folds of the accordion’s bellows resemble cloth that has been cut and patched. Moving the bellows makes the instrument sound.

lamp

The lamp’s glass and metal parts are named as parts of a body. Its light lets people see things in the dark.

door handle

The door handle is touched both when entering and when leaving. The convenient place to grip is compared to the middle of a body.

crack

A crack appears as a material dries or splits. It is a gap, rather than a separate object made by a craftsperson.

name

A person’s name may still be spoken after their death. The riddle contrasts the decay of the body with a lasting memory.

beehive

A beehive contains many honeycomb cells. They are likened to little rooms inside a larger building; the Lithuanian word stonė means a stable.

fire

Fire rises, making it resemble an animal running uphill. Its red colour and upward movement point to the answer.

pitchfork

The prongs of a pitchfork are called teeth in the riddle. Lifting hay with them makes the tool seem to be eating it.

drum

Lacing holds the drum’s body and skin together. The Lithuanian word bombėdamas evokes the booming sound of a drum being struck.

ball of yarn

Wound yarn makes many turns that resemble paths. The whole length of yarn still has only two ends.

grain sieve

A wooden grain sieve comes from a tree and is held and shaken by hand when sifting. The sounds tripu trapu convey the rhythm of the shaking.

chopping block

An axe leaves many notches on a chopping block. These are likened to wounds, and their great number to the stars.

church

People gather in church on Sunday. Their movement towards one place is compared to bees flying into a hive.

laundry

The first pair of sounds suggests laundry being beaten with a wooden paddle on a board. The second describes cloth swaying as it dries on a fence.

weaving

Warp threads rise and fall during weaving. There are many of them, yet even a single missing thread can leave a visible gap in the cloth.

saw

The toothed blade of a two-handled saw is its belly. The handles at either end allow two people to saw together.

spoon

The bowl of food is the pool, the spoon is the filly, the five fingers are wolves, and the eyes are waiting hawks. The opening phrase balino balaitė is retained alongside “little pool” because the first word is unclear.

comb

A comb’s teeth stand in a row, all attached to the same spine. This shared part is pictured as one hat worn by many men.

belt

A fastened belt curves around a person’s waist like a bow. Taken off and laid out, it is long and flexible like a grass snake.

hide shoes

Hide shoes, called naginės in Lithuanian, hold a person’s feet during the day. Once taken off, they stand empty, their openings like gaping mouths.

coin

A round coin can roll on its edge. The riddle links its usefulness to everyday payments.

match

A match’s head catches fire when struck. The flame is pictured as anger, and burning up as the little man’s disappearance.

kettle

The answer here describes a vessel with a central heating tube, similar to a samovar. The water surrounds the source of heat inside.