The riddle
What Has a Neck but No Head?
AnswerA bottle
The answer and the trick
A bottle has a neck, which is the narrow part between the body and the opening. It has no head, so the riddle asks you to match the neck of an animal or a person with a thing that borrows the word.
The trick is the habit of hearing "neck" as a body part. A bottle is a good answer because its neck is the part everyone points to when they describe its shape.
Other answers that fit
More than one object has a neck and no head. A shirt has a neck opening and no head, and so does a jug or a vase. The usual answer is a bottle because it is the first thing people picture, and because the neck is its most obvious feature.
If a guess fits the clue, it is worth accepting before revealing the usual answer. A guess that fits shows the listener understood the pattern.
Three ways to ask it
- What has a neck but no head?
- What has a neck but no head, and wears a cap?
- I have a neck and a body but no face. What am I?