crux

noun

1. The basic, central, or essential point or feature.

   “The crux of her argument was that the roadways needed repair before anything else could be accomplished.”

2. The critical or transitional moment or issue, a turning point.

   “The mad certitude of the ogre, Abel Tiffauges, that he stands at the crux of history and that he will be able to raise Prussia "to a higher power" (p. 180), contrasts sharply with the anxiety and doubt attendant upon most modern literary dreams.”

   “The movie hits its dramatic crux an hour in, when Reality [Winner], at work at the contractor’s facility in Georgia, discovers what she deems a tragic scandal.”

3. A puzzle or difficulty.

   “What I have advanced upon this species of verse will contribute to solve a poetical problem, thrown out by Dryden as a crux to his brethren”

   “The perpetual crux of New Testament chronologists.”

4. The hardest point of a climb.

   “the real crux of the climb was encountered”

   “The final half-mile was the crux of the climb.”

   “Most pitches have a distinct crux, or tough spot; some have multiple cruxes. […] ¶ Climb efficiently on the "cruiser" sections to stay fresh for the cruxes.”

   “Continue climbing the groove; the crux is passing some vegetation on the second pitch.”

5. A cross on a coat of arms.

name

1. A distinctive winter constellation of the southern sky, shaped like a cross. It appears in the flags of several countries in Oceania.