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CONUNDRUM

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–noun

a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words, as What is black and white and read all over? A newspaper.

anything that puzzles.

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Origin:
1590–1600; pseudo-L word of obscure orig.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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World English Dictionary

conundrum (kəˈnʌndrəm)

—n
1.	a riddle, esp one whose answer makes a play on words
2.	a puzzling question or problem

[C16: of unknown origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Word Origin & History

conundrum

1596, Oxford University slang for "pedant," also "whim," etc., later (1790) "riddle, puzzle," also spelled quonundrum; the sort of ponderous pseudo-Latin word that was once the height of humor in learned circles.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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