conundrum
/kəˈnʌndrəm
/noun (plural conundrums)
1A confusing and difficult problem or question: one of the most difficult conundrums for the experts...
- Children with recurrent abdominal pain present a difficult conundrum for doctors.
- For the environmentalists, there was no getting around this difficult conundrum.
- Other than that, it can be something of a difficult ethical conundrum for somebody.
Synonyms
problem, difficult question, vexed question, difficulty, quandary, dilemma;
puzzle, enigma, mystery
informal poser, facer, stumper, cruncher
1.1A question asked for amusement, typically one with a pun in its answer; a riddle.Fortunately the answer to the conundrum came into reach as we shuffled along....
- Later on he successfully puzzled over the riddles of some bawdy conundrums.
- I can't seem to see a clear answer for this conundrum and therefore it sidetracks me and taunts me.
Synonyms
riddle, puzzle, word game, anagram
informal brain-teaser, brain-twister
Origin
Late 16th century: of unknown origin, but first recorded in a work by Thomas Nashe, as a term of abuse for a crank or pedant, later coming to denote a whim or fancy, also a pun. Current senses date from the late 17th century.
The origin of conundrum is itself a conundrum. In 1596 the English political writer Thomas Nashe used it as a term of abuse for a crank or pedant: ‘So will I…drive him to confess himself a Conundrum, who now thinks he hath learning enough to prove the salvation of Lucifer.’ The word later came to refer both to a whim and a pun. The current sense of ‘a riddle or puzzle’ dates from the late 17th century.