monkey puzzle

English

monkey puzzle
branches and cones

Alternative forms

monkey-puzzle

Etymology

From monkey + puzzle, apparently because the branches are so crowded and twisted that even a monkey would find it difficult to climb.

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmʌŋkiˌpʌz(ə)l/

Noun

monkey puzzle (plural monkey puzzles)

A large coniferous tree, Araucaria araucana, native to Chile. [from 19th c.]
- 2003, Alasdair Gray, ‘Miss Kincaid's Autumn’, Canongate 2012 (Every Short Story), p. 747:
  Two days later I took it to the former manse, a solid grey stately Victorian building with a tall monkey puzzle tree on the lawn.

Synonyms

Chile pine

Translations

Distribution of monkey puzzle in Chile

Araucaria araucana

French: araucaria du Chili (fr) m, désespoir des singes (fr) m
Irish: arócar m

Mapudungun: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: araucaria (es) f, pehuén (es), piñonero (es) m, pino chileno (es) m

See also

Araucaria araucana on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Araucaria araucana on Wikispecies.Wikispecies

Anagrams

puzzle-monkey

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