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: /ˈmʌŋkiˌpʌz(ə)l/

Noun

monkey puzzle (plural monkey puzzles)

1. 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.

Translations

Distribution of monkey puzzle in Chile

Araucaria araucana

• Mapudungun: please add this translation if you can

• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

Synonyms

• Chile pine

See also

• Araucaria araucana on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Araucaria araucana
• Araucaria araucana, on Wikispecies. Wikispecies: Araucaria araucana,