puzzle

puzzle
    n 1: a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a
         correct solution; "he loved to solve chessmate puzzles";
         "that's a real puzzler" [syn: {puzzle}, {puzzler},
         {mystifier}, {teaser}]
    2: a game that tests your ingenuity
    v 1: be a mystery or bewildering to; "This beats me!"; "Got me--
         I don't know the answer!"; "a vexing problem"; "This
         question really stuck me" [syn: {perplex}, {vex}, {stick},
         {get}, {puzzle}, {mystify}, {baffle}, {beat}, {pose},
         {bewilder}, {flummox}, {stupefy}, {nonplus}, {gravel},
         {amaze}, {dumbfound}]
    2: be uncertain about; think about without fully understanding
       or being able to decide; "We puzzled over her sudden
       departure"
    

puzzle \puz"zle\ (p[u^]z"z'l), n. [For opposal, in the sense of
   problem. See {Oppose}, {Pose}, v.]
   1. Something which perplexes or embarrasses; especially, a
      toy or a problem contrived for testing ingenuity; also,
      something exhibiting marvelous skill in making.
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   2. The state of being puzzled; perplexity; as, to be in a
      puzzle.
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puzzle \puz"zle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {puzzled} (p[u^]z"z'ld);
   p. pr. & vb. n. {puzzling} (p[u^]z"zl[i^]ng).]
   1. To perplex; to confuse; to embarrass; to put to a stand;
      to nonplus.
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            A very shrewd disputant in those points is dexterous
            in puzzling others.                   --Dr. H. More.
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            He is perpetually puzzled and perplexed amidst his
            own blunders.                         --Addison.
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   2. To make intricate; to entangle.
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            They disentangle from the puzzled skein. --Cowper.
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            The ways of Heaven are dark and intricate,
            Puzzled in mazes, and perplexed with error.
                                                  --Addison.
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   3. To solve by ingenuity, as a puzzle; -- followed by out;
      as, to puzzle out a mystery.
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   Syn: To embarrass; perplex; confuse; bewilder; confound. See
        {Embarrass}.
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Puzzle \Puz"zle\, v. i.
   1. To be bewildered, or perplexed.
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            A puzzling fool, that heeds nothing.  --L'Estrange.
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   2. To work, as at a puzzle; as, to puzzle over a problem.
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159 Moby Thesaurus words for "puzzle":
      Chinese puzzle, Gordian knot, addle, ail, amaze, apply the mind,
      baffle, bafflement, baffling problem, bamboozle, be the matter,
      beat, befog, befuddle, beset, bewilder, bewilderment, boggle,
      bother, brain twister, brain-teaser, buffalo, cap,
      complicate matters, concern, confound, confoundment, confuse,
      confusion, consider, contemplate, conundrum, crossword puzzle,
      crux, dark horse, daze, decipher, dilemma, discommode,
      discomposure, disconcert, disconcertedness, disconcertion,
      disconcertment, distract, distress, disturb, disturbance,
      dumbfound, embarrassment, enigma, enigmatic question, figure out,
      fix, flabbergast, floor, floorer, flummox, foil, frontier,
      frontiers of knowledge, frustrate, fuddle, get, hammer at,
      hammer away at, harass, inconvenience, irk, jam, jigsaw puzzle,
      keep in suspense, knot, knotty point, lick, matter of ignorance,
      maze, mind-boggler, muddle, mull over, muse on, muse over, mystery,
      mystification, mystify, n, node, nodus, nonplus, nut to crack,
      oxymoron, paradox, perplex, perplexed question, perplexity,
      perturb, perturbation, pickle, plague, plight, ponder over,
      pons asinorum, pose, poser, pother, predicament, problem, put out,
      put to it, puzzle out, puzzle over, puzzlement, puzzler, quandary,
      question, question mark, reflect over, riddle, scrape, sealed book,
      sixty-four dollar question, solve, sort out, stew, stew over,
      stick, sticker, study, stumble, stump, stumper, stymie, teaser,
      terra incognita, the incalculable, the strange, the unfamiliar,
      the unknowable, the unknown, think hard, think through, throw,
      torment, tough proposition, trouble, unassuredness,
      unexplored ground, unexplored territory, unknown quantity, unlock,
      unravel, upset, vex, vexed question, why, work out, worry, x, z