thorny

It is a thorny decision given Van Nistelrooy’s beloved status among United’s fans – but this is surely about a fresh start, the new broom arriving from Lisbon and sweeping clean.

Diplomatic spats aside, marrying the new constitutional rules with the legal requirements of the free trade agreement could prove far thornier than first anticipated.

Helping fellow citizens in their hour of need was not a thorny partisan issue, and nobody expected to score political points by refusing to help tragedy-stricken individuals.

Belmont, like the artist he is purchasing the house from, has a thorny history.

Those are clear directions of travel on some thorny policy areas.