Associations to the word «Hairball»

Wiktionary

HAIRBALL, noun. A small wad of fur or mass of hair formed in the digestive system of a cat or other animal, from hair ingested while grooming.
HAIRBALL, noun. (slang) (figuratively) A messy, tangled, intractable, stay-away-from-it issue.

Dictionary definition

HAIRBALL, noun. A compact mass of hair that forms in the alimentary canal (especially in the stomach of animals as a result of licking fur).

Wise words

Words are always getting conventionalized to some secondary meaning. It is one of the works of poetry to take the truants in custody and bring them back to their right senses.
William Butler Yeats