First think of the person who lives in disguise, Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies. Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend, The middle of middle and end of the end? And finally give me the sound often heard During the search for a hard-to-find word. Now string them together, and answer me this, Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss? The Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling

Why this works

This riddle is a clever play on words and requires a bit of lateral thinking. The first part refers to a "spy," someone who lives in disguise and deals with secrets. The second part asks for the "letter 'd'," which is the last letter in "mend," the middle letter in "middle," and the last letter in "end." The third part points to the sound "er," often made when someone is searching for a word, as in "um" or "er." When you string these together—spy, d, er—you get "spider," which is a creature many people would be unwilling to kiss! The fun in this riddle lies in connecting seemingly unrelated clues to arrive at a surprising and common fear.