stymie
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
stymie /ˈstʌɪmi/
▶verb (stymies, stymying or stymieing, stymied) informal prevent or hinder the progress of.
– origin C19 (orig. a golfing term, denoting a situation on the green where a ball obstructs the shot of another player): of unknown origin.
'stymie' also found in these Oxford entries:
