puzzling

puzzling

1. present participle of puzzle

puzzling (comparative more puzzling, superlative most puzzling)

1. Difficult to understand or explain; enigmatic or confusing; perplexing.
   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:

     Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. […] A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes. […] But withal there was a perceptible acumen about the man which was puzzling in the extreme.

puzzling (plural puzzlings)

1. Time spent pondering something confusing.