conundrum
- a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words, as What is black and white and read all over? A newspaper.
- anything that puzzles.
Origin of conundrum
Related Words for conundrum
riddle, mystery, enigma, puzzlement, poser, mystification, problem, why, brain-teaserExamples from the Web for conundrum
Contemporary Examples of conundrum
This Fourth of July conundrum was addressed all the way back in 1907, in the esteemed medical journal JAMA.
The Burger Chef conundrum leads to another poignant exchange between the two lost souls.
Mad Men’s ‘The Strategy,’ With Peggy and Don’s Late-Night Powwow, is S7’s Best Episode (So Far)Marlow Stern
May 19, 2014
Compounding the conundrum further is the fact that many cellphones allow direct access to information in remote cloud storage.
The result is a conundrum for the Republican Party where there is no clear middle ground.
Even a Path to Citizenship for Military Volunteers Is Too Much for House RepublicansBen Jacobs
April 7, 2014
This conundrum is referred to with the awful acronym of DURC, for “dual use research of concern.”
Historical Examples of conundrum
"This is obviously a conundrum," said Yates, ticking off the items on his four fingers.
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
This may be a good solution, viewing the problem as a conundrum: but it is not scientific.
A Tangled TaleLewis Carroll
Brainerd lay sleeping near me, and I thought of his comment, 'A conundrum?'
Against OddsLawrence L. Lynch
"Give you my honor I thought it was a conundrum," says Henry Darley.
Molly BawnMargaret Wolfe Hamilton
And my conundrum was, Had I lectured my curate, or had my curate lectured me?
My New CurateP.A. Sheehan
conundrum
- a riddle, esp one whose answer makes a play on words
- a puzzling question or problem
Word Origin for conundrum
Word Origin and History for conundrum
1590s, Oxford University slang for "pedant," also "whim," etc., later (1790) "riddle, puzzle." Also spelled quonundrum. The sort of ponderous pseudo-Latin word that was once the height of humor in learned circles.