riddlelike

Riddlelike is an adjective used to describe something that resembles a riddle in form or effect. A riddlelike item presents information in the form of clues rather than straightforward statements, inviting interpretation and inference to arrive at a solution or answer. The clues may be metaphorical, allusive, or punning, and the solution is typically not stated explicitly.

Origins and usage: The term is formed from the noun riddle plus the suffix -like and is used in literary criticism, puzzle design, and everyday language to characterize language, objects, or situations that function as enigmas rather than direct communication.

Applications: In literature, riddlelike passages may appear in riddling poetry or in dialogues that conceal motives or meanings; in games and puzzles, designers describe clues as riddlelike when they require lateral thinking; in rhetoric, it can characterize saying something indirectly to provoke thought. The term is also used in discussions of interactive fiction and escape rooms, where clues resemble riddles.

Example: A riddlelike clue might describe a familiar object through oblique descriptors, such as “I speak without a mouth and hear without ears” (an echo) or “What has keys but cannot open locks?” (a piano). These examples illustrate how riddlelike clues rely on metaphor, ambiguity, and misdirection.

See also: riddle, puzzle, enigma, cryptic clue, riddle-poetry.