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“knotty”
knotty, naughty
knotty (NAHT ee) (adjective)
1. Complicated, possibly without solution: The two scientists pondered the knotty problem for days before deciding there was nothing that could be done to fix it.
2. Referring to a solid mass in a tree which is the result of the growth of a branch, creating a circular grain in the wood, as opposed to a straight grain when cut: The office was decorated with a panel of knotty pine wood.
2. Referring to a solid mass in a tree which is the result of the growth of a branch, creating a circular grain in the wood, as opposed to a straight grain when cut: The office was decorated with a panel of knotty pine wood.
naughty (NAW tee) (adjective)
Characterized by disobedience or misbehavior: The teacher had no choice but to make the two naughty children stay after school.
A supervisor's secretary told her fellow worker, "Mr. Smith doesn't want to be disturbed. He says he's working on a naughty problem."
Her colleague replied with, "Hmmm, that sounds just like Mr. Smith."
Overhearing the conversation, the supervisor opened his door and responded with: "I said I was working on a knotty problem, not a naughty problem!"
The principal was faced with a knotty problem; that is, what to do about the two naughty youths who used spray paint on the knotty pine-board partition.
This entry is located in the following unit:
Confusing Words Clarified: Group K; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. +
(page 1)
(Latin: knotty stick, club)