conundrum
noun
co·nun·drum
kə-ˈnən-drəm
1
a
: an intricate and difficult problem
He is faced with the conundrum of trying to find a job without having experience.
b
: a question or problem having only a conjectural answer
… the political conundrums involved, particularly the problem of how the richer areas … can be made to subsidize the poorer.—
Douglass Cater
2
: a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun (as in "Why didn't the lost hikers starve in the desert? Because of the sand which is there.")
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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