Homefun on Riddles:

According to Brunvand, "Folk riddles are traditional questions with unexpected (albeit traditional) answers--verbal puzzles (although some involve writing) that demonstrate the cleverness of the questioner and challenge the wit of the audience." Luckily, though there are countless riddles, the actual number of forms that riddles fall under are quite limited, and you should be able to briefly define and provide an example of the following basic forms:

• True Riddle
• Pretended Obscene Riddle
• The Riddling Question
• The Conundrum
• Catch Questions
• Riddle-joke
• The droodle
• The Palindrome
• Tongue-twisters

After you are able to differentiate between the above basic forms, consider the following general questions about riddles:

• Why do children seem to relish riddles so much?
• Of what significance, if any, is the fact that many riddles are "told" rather than "asked" (the correct answer is really not expected to ever be guessed)?
• What exactly is it that makes the riddle entertaining?

• What makes something funny?
• What can jokes tell about the teller, listeners, the folk group?
• Why are there certain genre jokes, i.e., blonde, ethnic, and disaster jokes?

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Collect a lawyer joke/riddle: ___________________________________________________

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Collect an ethnic joke/riddle:____________________________________________________

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Collect a fad joke/riddle (about OJ, the Bobbits, George Bush, etc.). ____________________________________

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