conundrum

A word of unknown origin with several variants, gaining popularity for its burlesque imitation of scholastic Latin, as hocus-pocus or panjandrum. If there is more to its origin than a nonce coinage, Anatoly Liberman suggests the best theory is that connecting it with the Conimbricenses, 16th c. scholastic commentaries on Aristotle by the Jesuits of Coimbra which indulge heavily in arguments relying on multiple significations of words.[1]

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /kəˈnʌn.dɹəm/

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conundrum (plural conundrums or conundra)

1. A difficult question or riddle, especially one using a play on words in the answer.

   Synonyms: brain-teaser, enigma, puzzle, riddle

   • 1816, Jane Austen, Emma, Vol. 1, Ch. 2

     “Why should I understand that, or anything else?” asked the girl. “Don’t bother my head by asking conundrums, I beg of you. Just let me discover myself in my own way.”

2. A difficult choice or decision that must be made.

   Synonyms: dilemma; see also Thesaurus:dilemma

   • 2004, Martha Stewart, statement read before being sentenced to five months in prison

     And while I am more concerned about the well-being of others than for myself, more hurt for them and for their losses than for my own, more worried for their futures than for the future of Martha Stewart the person, you are faced with a conundrum, a problem of monumental, to me, proportions.

• For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:conundrum.

• conundrum on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Conundrum in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)