The riddle
What Smells Better Than It Tastes?
Good at one job only
A nose is the organ of smell. It is excellent at that job and cannot taste anything. So it "smells better" than it tastes, using the phrase to mean "is better at smelling than at tasting". The riddle makes a listener picture food or flowers, then hands back a body part.
The reverse riddle
The better-known version runs the other way: what tastes better than it smells? The usual answer is a tongue (Barry Popik, collector of riddle histories). The tongue is where most taste cells are found, and it does little smelling. Between them, the two riddles describe a simple division of labor between the senses.
Smell and flavor work together
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders says taste cells respond to at least five qualities: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. It adds that those tastes combine with a food's aroma to produce flavor. Many people who think they have lost taste have actually lost smell, according to the same source. So the two organs do share the work, even though a nose cannot taste.
Playing with the pair
Ask both versions in a row and see which a group answers faster. Point to the nose on "smells" and to the tongue on "tastes" if a younger listener needs a clue, and let them find the matching part. Many players guess a flower, a bakery or a perfume first, since those smell wonderful.