盤根錯節

twisted roots and intertwined joints (idiom); complicated and very tricky / knotty and deeply-rooted difficulties

root / basis / classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings / CL:條|条[tiao2] / radical (chemistry)

plate / dish / tray / board / hard drive (computing) / to build / to coil / to check / to examine / to transfer (property) / to make over / classifier for food: dish, helping / to coil / classifier for coils of wire / classifier for games of chess

mistake / wrong / bad / interlocking / complex / to grind / to polish / to alternate / to stagger / to miss / to let slip / to evade / to inlay with gold or silver

see 節骨眼|节骨眼[jie1 gu5 yan3]

festival / holiday / node / joint / section / segment / part / to economize / to save / to abridge / moral integrity / classifier for segments, e.g. lessons, train wagons, biblical verses / CL:個|个[ge4]

joint; node / (bound form) section; segment / solar term (one of the 24 divisions of the year in the traditional Chinese calendar) / seasonal festival / (bound form) to economize; to save / (bound form) moral integrity; chastity / classifier for segments: lessons, train wagons, biblical verses etc / knot (nautical miles per hour)