What Has 4 Fingers and a Thumb but Is Not Living? is a cosy winter riddle. Look at your own hands for a clue, then tap Show Answer.
Riddle: What has 4 fingers and a thumb, but is not living?
Answer: glove
Need a hint?
You wear it to keep your hands warm in winter.
Answer and explanation (spoiler!)
The answer is a glove.
A glove is shaped exactly like a hand, with four fingers and a thumb, but it isn’t alive. It only moves when a real hand is inside it.
The riddle describes a hand so clearly that people often answer “a hand”, but the words “not living” point to something that copies a hand’s shape.
Difficulty: Easy · Best for: ages 5 and up
Similar riddles
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- What Has a Neck and No Head, Two Arms but No Hands?
- What Has 88 Keys but Can’t Open a Single Door?
- What Has a Head and a Tail but No Body?
FAQ
Can a mitten be the answer?
Not quite. A mitten has a thumb but keeps the four fingers together in one pocket, so a glove fits the clues better.
Are there other answers?
A statue’s hand or a mannequin’s hand would also work, but “a glove” is the classic answer.