noun

1. a problem or puzzle in the form of a question, statement, etc. so formulated that some ingenuity is required to solve or answer it; conundrum
2. any puzzling, perplexing, or apparently inexplicable person or thing, as a difficult problem or enigmatic saying; enigma

Etymology: ME ridil < OE rædels, akin to rædan, to guess, read

transitive verb riddled -·dled, riddling -·dling

intransitive verb

noun

Etymology: ME ridil < OE hriddel, earlier hridder < base of hridrian, to sift, winnow, akin to Ger reiter < IE base *(s)ker-, to cut, separate > harvest

transitive verb riddled -·dled, riddling -·dling

1. to sift through such a sieve
2. 1. to make many holes in, as by a burst of buckshot; puncture throughout
   2. to find and show flaws in; criticize and disprove
   3. to affect every part of; spread throughout riddled with errors