snag

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an unexpected obstacle, or a sharp projection that catches or tears

   The plan hit a snag when funding fell through.

From a Scandinavian source, akin to Old Norse snagi ('clothes peg') and Norwegian dialect snag ('a projecting point, snag'); the sense 'unexpected obstacle' arose in 19th-century America from submerged tree stumps that snagged riverboats.

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