You searched for:
“conundrum”
1. Something which is puzzling or confusing: A conundrum was caused by a notice on a flight information screen that said: "All passengers must now proceed to boarding. All other passengers must wait until called."
2. A confusing or difficult problem: Trying to decide between chocolate cake or chocolate ice cream is a conundrum for Jeremy.
3. A riddle, especially one with an answer in the form of a pun or a play on words: The challenge of the contest was to think of a conundrum for which a pun was the correct answer.
4. Etymology: believed to have first appeared in 1596, an Oxford University slang term for "pedant"; also "whim", etc.; later in 1790, "a riddle, a puzzle"; also spelled quonundrum; the kind of unmanageable pseudo-Latin words which were once considered the ultimate of humor among the educated in classical languages.
2. A confusing or difficult problem: Trying to decide between chocolate cake or chocolate ice cream is a conundrum for Jeremy.
3. A riddle, especially one with an answer in the form of a pun or a play on words: The challenge of the contest was to think of a conundrum for which a pun was the correct answer.
4. Etymology: believed to have first appeared in 1596, an Oxford University slang term for "pedant"; also "whim", etc.; later in 1790, "a riddle, a puzzle"; also spelled quonundrum; the kind of unmanageable pseudo-Latin words which were once considered the ultimate of humor among the educated in classical languages.
Most linguistic and dictionary sources say the word is "of unknown origin" or "of uncertain origin"; however, it is often used in modern writing and spoken by speakers on the radio, TV, etc.
This entry is located in the following unit:
English Words in Action, Group C
(page 6)