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puzzler

/ˈpʌz(ə)lər/
IPA guide

Other forms: puzzlers

A puzzler is a confusing or tricky problem. The mystery of why you always lose your car keys can be described as a puzzler.

You might be sure you'll ace your math test until you get to the final question, a complete puzzler that you can't figure out how to solve. Other kinds of puzzlers could be the complicated plot of a novel you're reading or what the secret ingredient is in your dad's brownie recipe. The noun puzzler has been around since the mid-1600s, from puzzle, "bewilder or confound."

Definitions of puzzler
  1. noun
    a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution
    “that's a real puzzler
    synonyms: mystifier, puzzle, teaser
    see moresee less
    types:
    sudoku
    a number puzzle in which the numbers 1 through 9 must be placed into a grid of cells so that each row or column contains only one of each number
    acrostic, word square
    a puzzle where you fill a square grid with words reading the same down as across
    type of:
    problem
    a question raised for consideration or solution
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