thorny

It’s a thorny thicket that can keep us stagnant at the pivotal moments requiring the most courage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

In the hierarchy of group chats, ranked from most benign to active minefield, the mom chat is in its own atmosphere, the Victor Wembanyama of thorny text chains.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

The professor spends "a lot of time" in her class exploring Parton's politics - or "Dollitics", a phrase coined by the singer's nephew to describe her way of handling thorny subjects.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Burnham later told broadcasters Britain will "work hard" to find a resolution on the thorny issue and that he is "confident we can find it working with our US partners".

From Barron's

Holding the wooden sword by her side, Ivy strode through the forest until she came to its dark heart, to the grove of thorny trees.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

Those who trust these writers’ capabilities with using comic book properties as springboards to examine thornier issues can probably deduce that “Lanterns” is employing it for a specific reason.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Then it was back to even thornier negotiations in Russia–Ukraine, and Iran.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

If an agreement as superficial as the memorandum of understanding — which deferred thornier issues for late negotiations — was derailed, then there’s little option other than repeated cycles of violence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

The U.S. and Iran struck a preliminary deal earlier this week that broadly calls for a 60-day cease-fire and pushes some of the conflict’s thornier issues, such as Iran’s uranium stockpiles, to further discussions.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026

The entrance, from the ground to the height of twelve feet, was walled up with a mass of thorny branches, interwoven with yet thornier creepers.

From Into the Primitive by Robert Ames Bennett

Whether those talks — which were meant to deal with the thorniest issues between the two countries, including the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program — will go ahead remains unclear.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

But negotiations on some of the thorniest issues - including Iran's nuclear programme - will be deferred for 60 days, raising questions about how long this agreement will last.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

One of the thorniest retirement decisions is choosing where to live.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 10, 2026

The chapter on fisheries, expected to be the thorniest as Iceland is intent on retaining control over its resources, had not been opened.

From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026

The Reagan had run afoul of nuclear power’s thorniest problem: radioactive isotopes.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland