Gordian Knot

(n.) An extremely difficult and challenging problem or deadlock.

Thesaurus Entries

Chinese puzzle, Rube Goldberg contraption, can of worms, complex, crux, dilemma, enigma, jungle, knot, knotty point, labyrinth, maze, meander, mesh, mess, node, nodus, nonplus, oxymoron, paradox, perplex, perplexity, pons asinorum, poser, puzzle, quandary, ravel, snafu, snake pit, snarl, tangle, tangled skein, teaser, vexed question, webwork, wheels within wheels, wilderness