Dilemma
A dilemma is when you must must make a choice between two options, and both have nasty consequences.
For instance, in Roald Dahl‘s James and the Giant Peach, James and the insects are inside a giant peach that is floating in the ocean. Their dilemma is:
Do they eat the peach, and face death by drowning?
OR
Do they not eat the peach (keep it as a floating vessel), and face death by starvation?
Conundrum
A conundrum is a puzzling or difficult problem; almost everybody knows the most famous conundrum of all:
Which came first? The chicken or the egg?
*Note: ”dilemma” is often misspelt as “dilemna”
So conundrum and dilemma are basically interchangeable as far as normal usage? I’ve always been something of a wordsmith and this forum? is very handy.
Thanks
No, Bill, no. That is exactly the point of this very helpful post. I was wondering the same thing before landing here. Thanks, Blogwell!
wow, I just noticed that my comment comes almost exactly a year after Bill’s. weird.