This clever riddle asks:
“What can you serve but never eat?”
At first, the word “serve” probably makes you think about food. You can serve dinner, dessert, coffee, or almost anything else at the table, and all of those can be eaten or drunk.
But the trick is that “serve” has another meaning.
Think about sports. In tennis, a player begins a point by serving the ball across the net to the opponent. The ball can be served again and again throughout a match, but it certainly isn’t something anyone would want to eat.
That makes the answer:
A tennis ball.
The riddle works because it uses the word “serve” in a way that has nothing to do with serving food.
Answer: A tennis ball.
Did you figure it out immediately, or did the word “serve” make you think about something from the kitchen first?


