hydra

noun

1. A dragon-like creature with many heads and the ability to regrow them when maimed.
2. Any of several small freshwater polyps of the genus Hydra and related genera, having a naked cylindrical body and an oral opening surrounded by tentacles.
3. (figuratively)A complex, multifarious problem or situation that cannot be easily and rapidly solved.

   “Because the statute is so vaguely worded, award decisions are habitually based on case law, the growing mountain of which is a hydra of rulings that point in so many directions that almost any decision can be defended or overturned on appeal, depending on how smart your lawyer is and which precedent he selects to argue your case.”

name

1. (Greek)A mythological serpent with many heads, slain by Hercules as one of his twelve labours.
2. A spring constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a serpent. It lies just south of the zodiac and contains the star Alphard.

   “At night I lie dry-eyed on my little bed and turn my head to and fro to catch sight of one little star by one little star along the tail of Hydra, and think you are alive, you survive. Is this not what you wanted?”

3. One of Pluto's moons.
4. One of the Saronic Islands in the Aegean Sea.
5. A commune in Algiers Province, Algeria.