nettlesome

comparative more nettlesome · superlative most nettlesome

1. usuallything; situation; thing; situationCausing irritation, annoyance, or discomfort; bothersome, irksome.

   My old car is very nettlesome.

   2 more examples

   Mackenzie made himself a nettlesome burr under Crook's saddle, irritating the commanding general.

   1995, Terry C. Johnston, A Cold Day in Hell, →ISBN

   Though the pink dolphins are protected by law, the fishermen see them as nettlesome competitors for the catches that feed their families.

   2011 April 16, Alexei Barrionuevo, “Fishermen in Amazon See a Rival in Dolphins”, in New York Times, retrieved 20 Jan 2011

2. usuallyproblemThorny; difficult to deal with, especially due to being complex or tricky.

   Be careful what you say to him; he's a nettlesome fellow.

   5 more examples

   The task of proving Fermat’s “last” theorem remains nettlesome.

   [A]ll the strange oaths and imprecations found in a seaman's vocabulary were called into service by our nettlesome captain and his crew, and hurled without mercy on the winds and weather.

   1832, Mary Russell Mitford, editor, Lights and Shadows of American Life, volume 2, page 241

   It so chanced that on the second day after my arrival a pack-train came along, guided by a nettlesome old man and a strong, black-haired lass of sixteen or thereabouts. The old man . . . had no sooner slipped the packs from the horses than he began to rail at Hans, who stood looking on. "You damned Dutchmen all be Tories, and worse," he cried.

   1904, Winston Churchill, The Crossing (2003 Kessinger reprint), p. 61

   Almost daily, U.S. newspapers are confronted by a nettlesome problem for which they have found no final answer. The problem: Should Negroes be identified as such in news stories?

   1950 October 9, “The Press: John Smith, Negro”, in Time

   For nearly 40 years, Mr. Solarin, an unpretentious and intensely pugnacious man, has been an intellectual guru for Nigeria's disenchanted and disfranchised.

   1989 December 29, Kenneth B. Noble, “Nigeria Enlists the Nettlesome Man in Short Pants”, in New York Times, retrieved 20 Jan 2011