200+ Clock Riddles

Time is ticking, and so are these brain-teasing clock riddles! If you love puzzles that twist your mind and make you think, you’re in the right place. Clocks are more than just timekeepers—they hold secrets, tricks, and clever riddles that can stump even the sharpest minds. From tricky time-based math problems to classic wordplay, these riddles will test your logic, reasoning, and creativity. Clock Riddles.

Whether you’re looking to challenge your friends, entertain kids, or simply give your brain a workout, these riddles will keep you on your toes. Get ready to dive into the world of tick-tocking puzzles and see if you can solve them all!

Classic Clock Riddles to Get You Started

• What has hands but can’t clap?
  • A clock.
• I tick, but I don’t talk. I have numbers, but I’m not a phone. What am I?
  • A clock.
• The more you take from me, the more I leave behind. What am I?
  • Time.
• I always run but never walk, I often tick but never talk. What am I?
  • A clock.
• I have a face but no eyes, a dial but no mouth. What am I?
  • A clock.
• What time is it when an elephant sits on your clock?
  • Time to get a new one.
• What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
  • The letter “M.”
• What do you call a clock that is slow and lazy?
  • A tick-tock turtle.
• If you drop me, I’ll crack. If you wind me up, I keep going. What am I?
  • A clock.
• The shorter I am, the more I work. The longer I am, the less I’m needed. What am I?
  • A clock’s hand.
• If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and five?
  • 9 o’clock.
• How can you make time stand still?
  • Break the clock!
• A clock and a ruler are both standing at the same height. Which one will fall first?
  • The clock, because it has hands!
• What did the big hand say to the little hand?
  • “You go ahead, I’ll catch up in an hour.”
• Why did the clock go to the principal’s office?
  • It was caught skipping seconds.
• What time is it when a clock strikes 13?
  • Time to get a new clock.
• Why did the clock break up with the watch?
  • It needed space.
• What happens when a clock gets angry?
  • It loses its temper.
• What kind of clock does a vampire have?
  • A bat-tery operated one!

Read More: Clever Ant Riddles

Math-Based Time Riddles

• If a clock strikes once at 1:00, twice at 2:00, and so on, how many times does it strike in a day?
  • 156 times.
• A clock takes 5 seconds to strike 5 times. How long will it take to strike 10 times?
  • 9 seconds.
• If it’s 3:15, what’s the angle between the hour and minute hand?
  • 7.5 degrees.
• A clock runs 2 minutes slow every hour. How much time does it lose in a day?
  • 48 minutes.
• If two clocks start together but one loses 3 minutes every hour, how long before they are an hour apart?
  • 20 hours.
• A watch was correct at midnight, but by noon it was 30 minutes fast. How fast does it run per hour?
  • 2.5 minutes per hour.
• The hands of a clock are together at 12:00. When will they be together again?
  • At 1:05.
• If a train leaves at 10:30 and arrives at 12:15, how long was the journey?
  • 1 hour and 45 minutes.
• A clock gains 1 minute every 6 hours. How much time will it gain in a week?
  • 28 minutes.
• How many times in a day do the hands of a clock form a right angle?
  • 44 times.

Time Travel and Fantasy Clock Riddles

• If you could move one clock hand without affecting the time, which would you move?
  • The second hand.
• What happens if you wind a clock backward?
  • Nothing—time still moves forward.
• If a wizard’s clock never moves, what spell was cast on it?
  • A time freeze.
• Why did the time traveler bring an extra watch?
  • In case of time loss.
• If you see 11:11 on the clock, what should you do?
  • Make a wish!
• How many clocks do you need to travel through time?
  • Just one—if it’s magical.
• If you sleep at 9:00 PM and wake up at 7:00 AM, how many hours did you time travel?
  • 10 hours forward.
• What kind of clock is used in fairy tales?
  • A magic sundial.
• If you stop all the clocks in the world, does time stop too?
  • No, time doesn’t need a clock to move.
• Why was the time traveler always late?
  • He kept resetting his watch!

Tricky Clock Logic Riddles

• A clock shows the time as 3:15. The minute hand is pointing at 3, and the hour hand is also near 3. Is this correct?
  • No, the hour hand should be between 3 and 4.
• If a broken clock shows the correct time twice a day, how long does it take to be right again?
  • 12 hours.
• What has 12 numbers but never adds up?
  • A clock.
• If a grandfather clock takes 7 seconds to chime 7 times, how long will it take to chime 10 times?
  • 10 seconds.
• You see a clock that has no numbers. How do you tell the time?
  • By looking at the hands’ positions.
• What is always moving but never leaves its place?
  • The hands of a clock.
• If you have a watch that is 10 minutes slow, but another that is 5 minutes fast, what time is it really?
  • Somewhere in between!
• What do you call a clock that tells jokes?
  • A tickle-tock.
• How does a clock show its excitement?
  • It springs forward!
• If you have a digital clock and a sundial, which one is more accurate?
  • The one that is set correctly.
• What is the difference between a clock and a mirror?
  • A clock moves forward, but a mirror reflects back.
• Why do clocks never get lost?
  • They always follow their hands.
• If a clock is 20 minutes behind and another is 30 minutes ahead, when will they show the same time?
  • When one stops moving!
• What is the slowest clock in the world?
  • A sundial on a cloudy day.
• If a clock moves one minute every 10 minutes, how long will it take to reach the right time?
  • 10 times longer than normal.
• What happens when a clock forgets to tick?
  • It tocks off!
• How does a clock feel at midnight?
  • Tired, because it worked all day!
• If a clock’s battery dies at noon, when will it work again?
  • When you change the battery.
• What do you call a clock that doesn’t move?
  • A time stopper.

Funny and Witty Time Riddles

• Why did the clock get kicked out of class?
  • It kept ticking off the teacher.
• What does a clock do when it’s hungry?
  • It goes back four seconds.
• Why did the alarm clock go to therapy?
  • It couldn’t handle the pressure.
• What did the digital clock say to the analog clock?
  • “You’re so old-fashioned!”
• Why don’t clocks gossip?
  • They know how to keep time.
• What do you call a slow watch?
  • A waste of time.
• Why was the clock cold?
  • It left its hands uncovered.
• What kind of watch does a cat wear?
  • A paw-cket watch!
• Why did the clock go to the dance?
  • To have a tick-tock time.
• What is a clock’s favorite type of music?
  • Rock and tick.
• How do clocks say goodbye?
  • “Time to go!”
• Why did the clock fail math?
  • It couldn’t count on itself.
• What did the broken clock say?
  • “I’m out of time.”
• Why are clocks so good at organizing?
  • They always stay on schedule.
• What’s the best way to fix a broken clock?
  • Give it some time.
• Why don’t clocks take vacations?
  • They have to keep working around the clock.
• What’s a lazy clock’s favorite time?
  • Nap o’clock.
• Why did the clock blush?
  • It saw its hands meet.
• What kind of clock loves the sun?
  • A sundial.

Riddles About Clock Hands

• What has two hands but can’t hold anything?
  • A clock.
• Why did the clock refuse to fight?
  • It didn’t want to lose its hands.
• What happens when the clock’s hands break?
  • Time stops for it.
• How many times do the clock hands overlap in a day?
  • 22 times.
• Why do the hour and minute hands never race?
  • The hour hand knows it will never win.
• What do the clock hands say when they meet?
  • “Long time no see!”
• Why is the second hand always in a hurry?
  • Because it’s always running.
• If the big hand moves twice as fast as the little hand, how long does it take to catch up?
  • Every 65 minutes.
• Why do clock hands never get tired?
  • They keep going in circles.
• What’s the shortest part of a clock?
  • The second hand.
• Why don’t clock hands ever argue?
  • Because they always go their own way.
• What happens if you pull off a clock’s hands?
  • It becomes timeless.
• Why do the hands always stay inside the clock?
  • So they don’t lose track of time.
• What is the slowest-moving part of a clock?
  • The hour hand.
• Why do clocks never fight over time?
  • Because they all work together.
• If the minute hand jumps one space, how many degrees did it move?
  • 6 degrees.
• How many times does the second hand pass the hour hand in a day?
  • 1,440 times.
• Why do the hands keep moving but never leave?
  • Because they are attached to time.
• What do the clock hands do at midnight?
  • They shake hands.

Clever Time-Based Riddles

• What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
  • The letter “M.”
• If you drop me from the tallest building, I will survive. But if you drop me in water, I die. What am I?
  • A clock (it stops working in water).
• A grandfather clock takes six seconds to chime six times. How long will it take to chime twelve times?
  • 11 seconds.
• If it takes 5 minutes to boil one egg, how long will it take to boil 3 eggs?
  • 5 minutes (they all boil together).
• What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it, yet time depends on it?
  • Silence.
• The more you take from me, the faster I disappear. What am I?
  • Time.
• What can be measured but never seen?
  • Time.
• The more you have of me, the less you worry. But once I’m gone, you can never get me back. What am I?
  • Time.
• I go up, but I never come down. What am I?
  • Your age.
• What do people waste but always want more of?
  • Time.
• What runs but never gets tired?
  • A clock.
• I move without legs, I tick without a mouth. What am I?
  • A clock.
• What has numbers but never adds up?
  • A clock.
• If two watches start at the same time, but one is faster by 5 minutes every hour, when will they show the same time again?
  • Never, unless you reset them.
• What disappears when you’re not paying attention but controls everything?
  • Time.
• If a sundial loses its shadow, what time is it?
  • Nighttime.
• The more you watch me, the slower I go. What am I?
  • A clock (time feels slow when you watch it).
• What happens once every morning but never at night?
  • The clock striking 7 AM.
• I can be wasted, saved, spent, and even killed, but I never stop. What am I?
  • Time.

Clock Math Riddles

• If a clock gains 2 minutes every hour, how much time will it gain in a day?
  • 48 minutes.
• A clock is set at 12:00 noon. If it loses 5 minutes every hour, what time will it show at midnight?
  • 10:00 PM.
• The time on a clock is 9:45. What is the angle between the hour and minute hands?
  • 90 degrees.
• A watch is 3 minutes slow every hour. After 10 hours, how far behind is it?
  • 30 minutes.
• What is the sum of all the numbers on a clock?
  • 78.
• If the clock strikes once at 1 o’clock, twice at 2 o’clock, and so on, how many times will it strike in 12 hours?
  • 78 times.
• What is the smallest angle between the hour and minute hands at 3:20?
  • 40 degrees.
• If the minute hand moves 6 degrees every minute, how far does it move in 20 minutes?
  • 120 degrees.
• What is the time when the hour and minute hands form a straight line?
  • 6:00.
• If a clock is running backward, what time will it show 30 minutes after 10:10?
  • 9:40.
• How many times do the hands of a clock align in 24 hours?
  • 22 times.
• If a clock takes 8 seconds to strike 8 times, how long does it take to strike 12 times?
  • 12 seconds.
• If an hourglass takes 60 minutes to empty, how long will two hourglasses take?
  • 60 minutes.
• A watch is running 10 minutes fast at noon. If it loses 2 minutes per hour, when will it show the correct time?
  • At 5 PM.
• How many times does a clock’s second hand pass the hour hand in 12 hours?
  • 720 times.
• A clock’s minute hand moves 360 degrees in an hour. How many degrees does it move in half an hour?
  • 180 degrees.
• If a broken clock is correct twice a day, how often is a watch that loses 1 minute per hour correct?
  • Every 60 hours.
• What is the time when the hour and minute hands overlap exactly?
  • Every 65 minutes.
• If the hour hand moves 30 degrees per hour, how many degrees does it move in 4 hours?
  • 120 degrees.

Ancient and Unusual Time Riddles

• How did ancient people tell time without clocks?
  • By using sundials and stars.
• What time of day is shortest in a polar winter?
  • Noon.
• What is the only time that looks the same upside-down on a digital clock?
  • 12:21.
• Why don’t digital clocks have moving hands?
  • Because they use numbers instead.
• What is the first clock that humans ever used?
  • The sun.
• What do people use to tell time at sea?
  • A marine chronometer.
• How did Egyptians track time at night?
  • By looking at the stars.
• What is the oldest known type of clock?
  • A water clock.
• What did people use before clocks were invented?
  • Shadows and hourglasses.
• What happens when you stop every clock in the world?
  • Time still moves forward.
• How did people tell time before watches?
  • With the sun’s position.
• What’s the most accurate clock in the world?
  • An atomic clock.
• What’s the main difference between a clock and a calendar?
  • A clock measures time in hours, a calendar in days.
• What does a clock in space need to work?
  • Gravity.
• If you take a clock to the moon, will it tell the same time as on Earth?
  • No, time moves differently in space.
• What’s the strangest way people have measured time?
  • By burning candles with marks on them.
• If you destroy all clocks, does time stop?
  • No, time keeps moving.
• What kind of clock works without gears or electricity?
  • A sundial.
• Why are clocks round?
  • Because time moves in cycles.

Tricky Time Riddles to Stump Your Brain

• The hands of a clock overlap 22 times a day. When is the first time after noon that this happens?
  • At 1:05.
• If a clock shows the wrong time but is right twice a day, how long does it take to be right again?
  • 12 hours.
• A clock has stopped working. It shows 10:10. How long will it take for it to show the correct time again without being fixed?
  • 12 hours.
• If two clocks start together, but one gains a minute per hour, how far apart will they be in a day?
  • 24 minutes.
• What time is it when the hour and minute hands are exactly opposite each other?
  • 6:00.
• A digital clock shows 11:11. How many times will it display the same four digits in one day?
  • Twice (11:11 AM and 11:11 PM).
• What has a face but never smiles, two hands but never waves?
  • A clock.
• A train leaves at 4:45 PM and takes 3 hours and 15 minutes to reach its destination. What time will it arrive?
  • 8:00 PM.
• What comes before 12 but after 10, and helps people stay on schedule?
  • The number 11 on a clock.
• A watch is running fast by 2 minutes every hour. If it starts at the correct time, how long before it’s an hour ahead?
  • 30 hours.
• A town has a clock that chimes once at 1 o’clock, twice at 2 o’clock, and so on. How many times will it chime in a full day?
  • 156 times.
• If you turn a clock upside down, what time still looks the same?
  • 12:21.
• What clock has no hands, no numbers, and doesn’t make a sound?
  • A digital clock when turned off.
• If a minute hand moves 360 degrees in an hour, how far does it move in a second?
  • 6 degrees.
• When is a clock the loudest?
  • When it strikes midnight.
• A man set his watch 10 minutes ahead. He then adjusted it back by 3 minutes. How far ahead is it now?
  • 7 minutes.
• A girl sets her alarm for 6 AM, but it doesn’t go off. Why?
  • She set it for 6 PM by mistake.
• A watch stops working exactly 48 hours after it was last set. If it was set at 2:15 PM, when did it stop?
  • 2:15 PM, two days later.
• What happens to time when you cross into a new time zone?
  • It changes forward or backward depending on the direction.

Final Thoughts

Time is a mystery that never stops ticking. Clocks help us track it, but riddles about time make us think in new ways. Whether you enjoy math, logic, or funny puzzles, these clock riddles challenge your mind while keeping things fun. Keep testing yourself, share these with friends, and remember—time waits for no one, so make every second count!