thorny

Etymology

From Middle English thorny, þorny, þorni, from Old English þorniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *þornag. Equivalent to thorn + -y.

adj

1. Having thorns or spines
2. (figurative) Troublesome or vexatious
   Museums have recently begun to confront the same thorny question, with several issuing public apologies for collecting the remains of people believed or known to have been enslaved. 2021-10-10, Caroline Anders, “A TikTok bone salesman’s wall of spines reignites ethical debate over selling human remains”, in The Washington Post
3. Aloof and irritable
   Come, Jo, don't be thorny. After studying himself to a skeleton all the week, a fellow deserves petting, and ought to get it. 1868, Louisa May Alcott, Good Wives