quicksand
Engulfing wet earth
Quicksand is loose, waterlogged sand that yields to pressure and can trap people or animals who step into it.
The danger comes from sinking—struggling makes it worse.
Figuratively, quicksand describes any situation that's easy to enter but difficult to escape: The project became a quicksand of budget overruns and delays.
Unable to escape
- stuckUnable to move
- sinkingFalling through water
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
- hopelessBeyond possibility of success
inescapable · downward spiral · futility · entanglement · predicament · morass · caught · helplessness
Acidic peat wetland
- marshGrassy waterlogged lowland
- swampWaterlogged land with vegetation
- fenLow marshy ground
- mireBoggy, waterlogged terrain
morass · slough · bayou · quagmire · wetland · muskeg · peatland · moor
Complete surrounding and absorption
- submersionBeing entirely underwater
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- drowningDeath by water inhalation
- entrapmentDefense against induced criminality
struggling · flailing · pulling down · suction · immersion · suffocation · bogging down · mired
Exposure to harm
- perilSerious threat of harm
- pitfallHidden danger or drawback
- trapDevice for catching animals
- snareDevice for catching prey
deathtrap · warning sign · hidden danger · treacherous · deadly · lethal · fatal · precarious
Disloyal and dangerous
- deceptiveCreating false impressions
- misleadingCausing false beliefs
- insidiousSubtly destructive over time
- hiddenKept out of sight
unstable · unpredictable · disguised · camouflaged · betraying · unreliable · shifting · yielding
trapped
Unable to escape
- stuckUnable to move
- sinkingFalling through water
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
hopeless · inescapable · downward spiral · futility · entanglement · predicament · morass · caught · helplessness · overwhelming
bog
Acidic peat wetland
mire · morass · slough · bayou · quagmire · wetland · muskeg · peatland · moor · mangrove
engulfment
Complete surrounding and absorption
- submersionBeing entirely underwater
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- drowningDeath by water inhalation
entrapment · struggling · flailing · pulling down · suction · immersion · suffocation · bogging down · mired · stuck
danger
Exposure to harm
snare · deathtrap · warning sign · hidden danger · treacherous · deadly · lethal · fatal · precarious · unsafe
treacherous
Disloyal and dangerous
- deceptiveCreating false impressions
- misleadingCausing false beliefs
- insidiousSubtly destructive over time
hidden · unstable · unpredictable · disguised · camouflaged · betraying · unreliable · shifting · yielding · giving way
- Wetland Phenomenaswamp gas, will-o-wisp, bog bodies, seasonal flooding, stagnant water
- swamp themescypress groves, murkiness, ancient waters
- dangersdanger, peril, hazard, risk, menace
- ground conditionsmud, ice, snow, gravel, dirt
- hardshipshardship, adversity, struggle, misfortune, difficulties
- instabilityinstability, unsteadiness, shakiness, wobbliness, precariousness
quicksandsolid ground
Stable surface beneath
firm ground · bedrock · solid rock · hard ground · terra firma
quicksandsure footing
quicksandsafe harbor
Protected place for vessels
launching pad · springboard · solid foundation · firm footing · stable platform