knifflig

== German == === Etymology === From regional kniffeln (“to puzzle, put together intricately”) +‎ -ig in the 19th century, though commonly perceived as derived from Kniff (“trick”) instead. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈknɪflɪç/ (standard) IPA(key): /ˈknɪflɪk/ (common form in southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) Hyphenation: kniff‧lig === Adjective === knifflig (strong nominative masculine singular kniffliger, comparative kniffliger, superlative am kniffligsten) (informal) tricky, challenging (requiring careful planning, thought or calculation to overcome or handle properly) Diese Frage war besonders knifflig. ― This question was particularly tricky. ==== Usage notes ==== While not limited to that context, the word is especially associated with puzzles and mind games. ==== Declension ==== === References === Kluge, Friedrich (1989), “knifflig”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN Wolfgang Pfeifer, editor (1993), “knifflig”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen (in German), 2nd edition, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN Küpper, Heinz (1987), “knifflig”, in Wörterbuch der deutschen Umgangssprache (in German), Stuttgart: Ernst Klett Verlag, page 435 === Further reading === “knifflig”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[3] (in German) “knifflig” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon