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briar-patch

noun

Definitions

  1. A dense thicket of thorny plants

    A dense thicket of thorny plants; ground made impassable by the impenetrable overgrowth of prickly vegetation.

    • Hobbes: I'm sick of going over and through every obstacle on the hill. Calvin: Every obstacle?!? We missed the briar patch, didn't we?! Hobbes: By going down the gully and into the stream, yes.

  2. An intellectual or philosophical issue abounding with seemingly unresolvable problems

    An intellectual or philosophical issue abounding with seemingly unresolvable problems; a theoretical quandary or impasse.

    • Our favorite writers can lead us into ideological brier patches and ethical thickets.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for briar-patch. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA