All gordian knot synonyms

noun gordian knot

• mystery — anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown: the mysteries of nature.
• conundrum — A conundrum is a problem or puzzle which is difficult or impossible to solve.
• puzzle — a toy, problem, or other contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficulties to be solved by ingenuity or patient effort.
• riddle — a coarse sieve, as one for sifting sand in a foundry.
• mystification — to perplex (a person) by playing upon the person's credulity; bewilder purposely.
• perplexity — the state of being perplexed; confusion; uncertainty.
• stickler — a person who insists on something unyieldingly (usually followed by for): a stickler for ceremony.
• question — a sentence in an interrogative form, addressed to someone in order to get information in reply.
• secret — done, made, or conducted without the knowledge of others: secret negotiations.
• cliffhanger — A cliffhanger is a situation or part of a play or film that is very exciting or frightening because you are left for a long time not knowing what will happen next.
• twister — a person or thing that twists.
• puzzlement — the state of being puzzled; perplexity.
• cryptogram — a secret symbol
• parable — a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
• crux — The crux of a problem or argument is the most important or difficult part of it which affects everything else.
• puzzler — a person who puzzles.
• knot — either of two large sandpipers, Calidris canutus or C. tenuirostris, that breed in the Arctic and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
• why — for what? for what reason, cause, or purpose?: Why did you behave so badly?
• bewilderment — Bewilderment is the feeling of being bewildered.
• stumper — a person or thing that stumps.
• sticker — a person or thing that sticks.
• grabber — a person or thing that grabs.
• teaser — a person or thing that teases.
• sphinx — a figure of an imaginary creature having the head of a man or an animal and the body of a lion. (usually initial capital letter) the colossal recumbent stone figure of this kind near the pyramids of Giza.
• complexity — Complexity is the state of having many different parts connected or related to each other in a complicated way.
• complication — A complication is a problem or difficulty that makes a situation harder to deal with.
• difficulty — the fact or condition of being difficult.
• headache — a pain located in the head, as over the eyes, at the temples, or at the base of the skull.
• hot water — trouble; a predicament: His skipping classes will get him into real hot water when exam time comes.
• mess — a dirty, untidy, or disordered condition: The room was in a mess.
• predicament — an unpleasantly difficult, perplexing, or dangerous situation.
• problem — any question or matter involving doubt, uncertainty, or difficulty.
• quagmire — an area of miry or boggy ground whose surface yields under the tread; a bog.
• quandary — a state of perplexity or uncertainty, especially as to what to do; dilemma.
• snafu — a badly confused or ridiculously muddled situation: A ballot snafu in the election led to a recount. Synonyms: snarl, bedlam, tumult, disarray, disorder, confusion, mess; foul-up. Antonyms: order, efficiency, calm.
• snake pit — a mental hospital marked by squalor and inhumane or indifferent care for the patients.
• snarl — to become tangled; get into a tangle.
• trouble — to disturb the mental calm and contentment of; worry; distress; agitate.
• hard nut to crack — a dry fruit consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a woody or leathery shell.
• pandora's box — a source of extensive but unforeseen troubles or problems: The senate investigation turned out to be a Pandora's box for the administration.
• dog's breakfast — a disorderly mixture; hodgepodge.
• hornet's nest — a large amount of activity, trouble, hostility, or animosity: His investigation stirred up a hornet's nest, resulting in major shifts in personnel.
• question mark — Also called interrogation point, interrogation mark. a mark indicating a question: usually, as in English, the mark (?) placed after a question.