# A man shaves several times a day, yet he still has a beard. How?

Source: https://silverapuzzles.com/riddles/a-man-shaves-several-times-a-day-yet-he-still-has-a-beard-how

A situation riddle with a hidden assumption. You assume the man is shaving himself, and the riddle never actually says that.

**Answer:** He is a barber.

A barber shaves other people all day, not himself.

Hint: Think of his job.

## How to think about it

1. State the assumption: shaving several times a day should leave him clean-shaven.
2. Question it. The riddle says he shaves, not that he shaves himself.
3. Who shaves other people as a job, many times a day?
4. A barber shaves his customers and can keep his own beard as long as he likes.

## Why “he is a barber” is the answer

A barber shaves other men all day, so the sentence “he shaves several times a day” is true even though his own beard is untouched. The riddle relies on the reader filling in “himself” where the words leave a gap. Spotting unstated assumptions is the core skill in this whole category of lateral-thinking riddles.

## Common wrong answers

- **He has a fast-growing beard.** Nobody grows a full beard back between shaves in a single day; the riddle is about who is being shaved.
- **He uses a broken razor.** This makes the shaving pointless rather than explaining it; the barber answer explains every word.