thorny

1. (literally) Having thorns or spines.Examples: "Tara flour is one of two products made from the seed pods of a thorny shrub native to Peru. One of those, tara gum, has been used safely for years as a thickening agent or stabilizer in human foods."Synonyms: prickly, spinyliterally

2. (figuratively)Examples: "thorny issues"; "the steep and thorny way to heaven"; "Westcott doesn’t even consider the thornier question of fan fiction based on real and often living people, for instance, the “bandslash” or “bandfic” phenomenon built around rock-star characters and often homoerotic subplots."figuratively

3. (figuratively)Examples: "Come, Jo, don't be thorny. After studying himself to a skeleton all the week, a fellow deserves petting, and ought to get it."figuratively