In a secret society, members wear either a gold cloak or a silver cloak. Every gold-cloak wearer always tells the truth, and every silver-cloak wearer always lies. You meet two members, X and Y. X says, 'We both wear silver cloaks.' What cloak does Y wear?
Gold cloak
If X were a silver-cloak wearer (a liar), his statement 'We both wear silver cloaks' would have to be false, meaning at least one wears gold, which is consistent. But wait! If X is a liar, he lies about both being silver, so Y must be gold. Let's check if X could be gold: If X is gold, he tells the truth, so they both wear silver—contradiction, because a gold wearer cannot wear silver. Therefore, X must wear a silver cloak. Since X is lying, the statement 'We both wear silver' is false, which means they are not both silver. Since X is silver, Y must be the gold-cloak wearer.
About this riddle
Logic riddles give you a few facts and ask what must be true. List what you know, cross out what cannot be, and see what is left.
Difficulty: Medium. More like this: Logic riddles with answers or try Einstein's Logic Grid for a different kind of puzzle.
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