101 questions to ask on a first date

‘So, how do you feel about coronavirus?’ (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

First dates – particularly if you don’t already know each other – are scary.

Awkward silences that last just a few seconds can feel like hours when you’re sat across from someone and don’t know what to say.

Of course you don’t want to come off like you’re interviewing the person you’re dating, but it’s great to have an arsenal of conversation-starting questions so you can break that silence if need be.

We’ve compiled 101 easy leading questions that should get the chat flowing again and help you learn more about your date.

Although we wouldn’t recommend bombarding them with all of these (and some are more appropriate than others based on how you know each other) but they’re a good jumping-off point for lunches that turn into dinners that turn into drinks that turn into breakfast the next day.

Questions to ask on a first date

1. Where’s your favourite place in the world?
2. If you could time travel to one moment in history when would it be?
3. Do you have any siblings?
4. Where do you work?
5. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
6. Has that goal changed and if so why?
7. Do you have a ‘type’ when it comes to partners?
8. Describe your ideal date
9. What’s your favourite food/cuisine?
10. What’s your favourite weird food combination?
11. Do you drink? If so, what’s your favourite tipple?
12. Do I look how you thought I would in real life? (if you met online or via a blind date friend recommendation)
13. What do you normally do on your weekends?
14. Do you have any trips or plans coming up?
15. Do you have any hobbies?
16. What’s your favourite movie?
17. What’s your favourite band/artist?
18. If your life was a movie who would you want to play you?
19. Did you enjoy school and growing up?
20. What’s one surprising fact about you?
21. What’s the best present you ever got?
22. And the best present you ever gave someone?
23. Are you reading anything good right now?
24. Are you a picky eater?
25. What’s the best advice you were ever given?
26. Do you prefer spending your time off work relaxing or doing active things?
27. Are sports a part of your life at all?
28. Have you been single long?
29. How are you finding it?
30. What are your friends like?
31. What were you like as a child or teenager?
32. Are you watching anything good right now?
33. Did you grow up around here?
34. Did you you go to university or college? If so, did you enjoy it?
35. What was your worst ever job?
36. What’s your biggest pet hate?
37. How did you get to where you are now career-wise?
38. Do you have any pets?
39. Are you a cat person or dog person?
40. If you won the lottery what would you spend it on?
41. Do you have a bucket list?
42. What’s your most ‘unpopular opinion’ opinion?
43. Are you a morning or evening person?
44. If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be?
45. When’s your birthday?
46. Do you follow astrology? Is so, what’s your star sign?
47. How do you find living in this area?
48. Anything cool round here I should check out? (restaurants, bars, etc)
49. What never fails to make you laugh?
50. Are you the type of person who likes to plan things or go with the flow?
51. Do you have a ‘signature dish’ you love to cook?
52. What does your idea of relaxation look like?
53. In which fictional world would you like to live?
54. Burgers or pizza?
55. Do you have any strong values or beliefs?
56. If you have to save one thing from your home in a fire, what would it be?
57. What’s your favourite ice cream flavour?
58. Who’s the most interesting person you know?
59. Do you have any fears?
60. What was the best day of your life?
61. And the hardest?
62. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
63. Where would you say is your ‘happy place’?
64. What was your worst date ever?
65. Do you prefer sweet or savoury?
66. What’s the one thing you want to do but haven’t yet?
67. What do you think is one thing that stands out about you to others?
68. What’s your favourite Disney film?
69. Do you have any party tricks?
70. Have you ever used a cheesy chat-up line in real life?
71. If you could send a message to your younger self, what would it say?
72. What are you most excited about for the future?
73. How did you spend your lockdown?
74. Would you say you’re more introverted or extroverted?
75. Are you a glass half full or glass half empty type person?
76. If you were on I’m A Celeb, what would your luxury item be?
77. If the world was ending in an hour, what would you do?
78. If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be?
79. What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?
80. What’s the first law you’d pass if you became Prime Minister?
81. What’s your guilty pleasure music/TV show/movie?
82. Have you ever broken a bone?
83. Would you say you fit into any ‘subcultures’ when you were younger? (emo, mod, indie kid, etc)
84. What’s your favourite season?
85. Do you have any dating dealbreakers?
86. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts?
87. Were Ross and Rachel on a break? (controversial!)
88. What was your favourite ever gig?
89. What’s the most silly thing you ever bought?
90. Who do you think is the most overrated/underrated actor/band?
91. If you could have a superpower, what would you choose?
92. Where’s your dream holiday destination?
93. Do you like having a big family/being an only child/having an older sister/etc?
94. If you were an animal, what do you think you’d be?
95. What animal would you say I was?
96. Do you prefer Christmas, Halloween, New Year, or Easter?
97. If you got put in jail, who would your one phone call be to?
98. What’s your first ever memory?
99. Have you ever ghosted someone?
100. Would you like another drink?
101. Would you like to go out again?

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Get in touch at MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk.

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