thistles and thorns，brambles，thorny undergrowth，bramble，brier ；
[例句] 理查德·张伯伦已经同意接拍《荆棘鸟》的续集。 Richard Chamberlain has agreed to make a sequel to "The Thorn Birds".
[例句] 当我们下定决心面对世界上所有事物，包括荆棘难题，就已经打赢了半场战役。 We win half the battle when we make up our minds to take the world as we find it, including the thorns.