Q1.
I go to the market,
I lovingly bring you home,
I sit in front of you,
And I cry, cry, cry.
What is it?
Answer
The answer is an onion.
Line by line:
- “I go to the market” — onions are bought at the market or the vegetable cart. Almost every Indian kitchen has them.
- “I lovingly bring you home” — we carry the onions home in our bag, carefully, because we need them for cooking.
- “I sit in front of you” — the onion sits on the chopping board, right in front of us.
- “And I cry, cry, cry” — the moment we cut it, our eyes fill with tears.
The wordplay: The riddle says “I cry” — but the onion does not cry at all. We are the ones who cry. The riddle swaps the two on purpose, so that we hunt for something sad instead of something in the kitchen. That swap is the trick, and it is what makes the answer feel funny once you hear it.
Did you know? An onion has a gas locked inside it. When the knife cuts the onion open, that gas escapes into the air, reaches your eyes and stings them — so your eyes make tears to wash it away. If you chill the onion in the fridge first, less gas escapes and you cry less.
Say it in your own language: This riddle is told in many Indian languages. In Hindi the answer is pyaz, in Tamil vengayam, in Bengali peyaj. Ask at home whether anyone knows another riddle like it.