stymie

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: sty=mie

CIDE DICTIONARY

stymie, n. [Orig. uncertain.].

 The position of two balls on the putting green such that, being more than six inches apart, one ball lies directly between the other and the hole at which the latter must be played; also, the act of bringing the balls into this position.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

stymie, v. t. 

 To bring into the position of, or impede by, a stymie.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

stymie, n. & v. (also stimy)
--n. (pl. -ies)
1 Golf a situation where an opponent's ball lies between the player and the hole, forming a possible obstruction to play (lay a stymie).
2 a difficult situation.
--v.tr. (stymies, stymied, stymying or stymieing)
1 obstruct; thwart.
2 Golf block (an opponent, his ball, or oneself) with a stymie.

Etymology

19th c.: orig. unkn.

THESAURUS

stymie

block, brake, confound, deadlock, defeat, flummox, foil, frustrate, halt, hinder, impede, nonplus, obstruct, ruin, slow down, snooker, spike, stall, stay, stop, stump, thwart