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Discuss Email this Feedback RSS/XML Permalink A.Word.A.Day--crown of thorns crown of thorns (kroun ov thornz) noun 1. An onerous burden or an affliction that causes intense suffering. 2. A thorny bush (Euphorbia milii) native to Madagascar, grown as a houseplant. (picture) 3. A starfish (Acanthaster planci) found in the Pacific that feeds on live corals. (picture) [After the biblical account of a mock crown made of thorny branches that Roman soldiers placed on Jesus's head before his crucifixion.] Today's word in Visual Thesaurus. "Manipur chief minister O.I. Singh wears a crown of thorns. With battlelines clearly drawn on several fronts, it will take a major effort to close ranks." Patricia Mukhim; A Recipe For Disaster?; The Telegraph (Calcutta, India); Jul 5, 2005. This week's theme: Biblical allusions. X-Bonus You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)

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