tar pit
Sticky fossil preserver
A tar pit is a natural pool where asphalt seeps to the surface, trapping animals that wander in.
The La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles have preserved prehistoric creatures for thousands of years.
Figuratively, a tar pit is any situation that's easy to enter but nearly impossible to escape: The project became a tar pit that consumed three years of development.
Spanish for "the tar"
- fossilsPreserved ancient organism traces
- excavationAct of unearthing
- megafaunaSpecies over 44 kilograms
- mastodonExtinct elephantine Pleistocene mammal
saber-toothed · woolly mammoth · dire wolf · giant sloth · Pleistocene · Ice Age · preservation · bones
Thick and slow-flowing
- gooeySoft and sticky
- tackyVulgar or slightly sticky
- adhesiveMaterial that bonds objects
- thickHaving great depth
glutinous · oozing · black · bubbling · resinous · gummy · slimy · mucky
Petroleum-based paving material
- seepageSlow fluid escape
- hydrocarbonsCarbon-hydrogen organic compounds
- petroleumNatural underground hydrocarbon liquid
- flammableProne to ignition
toxicity · contamination · pollution · sinkhole · subsidence · mire · bog · quicksand
Unable to move
- trappedUnable to escape
- sinkingFalling through water
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
- miredStuck in difficulty
engulfed · inescapable · snared · immobilized · quicksand · suction · grip · death trap
Soft, wet ground
- morassSwampy, confusing situation
- trappedUnable to escape
- stagnationAbsence of flow or progress
- legacy systemOutdated tech still operating
technical debt · bogged down · sunk cost · inescapable · hopeless · futile · bureaucracy · entangled
La Brea
Spanish for "the tar"
- fossilsPreserved ancient organism traces
- excavationAct of unearthing
- megafaunaSpecies over 44 kilograms
mastodon · saber-toothed · woolly mammoth · dire wolf · giant sloth · Pleistocene · Ice Age · preservation · bones · skeletons
viscous
Thick and slow-flowing
thick · glutinous · oozing · black · bubbling · resinous · gummy · slimy · mucky · clingy
asphalt
Petroleum-based paving material
- seepageSlow fluid escape
- hydrocarbonsCarbon-hydrogen organic compounds
- petroleumNatural underground hydrocarbon liquid
flammable · toxicity · contamination · pollution · sinkhole · subsidence · mire · bog · quicksand · hazardous
stuck
Unable to move
- trappedUnable to escape
- sinkingFalling through water
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
mired · engulfed · inescapable · snared · immobilized · quicksand · suction · grip · death trap · lure
quagmire
Soft, wet ground
- morassSwampy, confusing situation
- trappedUnable to escape
- stagnationAbsence of flow or progress
legacy system · technical debt · bogged down · sunk cost · inescapable · hopeless · futile · bureaucracy · entangled · mired
- natural wondersnorthern lights, aurora borealis, auroras, rainbows, Great Barrier Reef
- pits
- primeval settingsancient forest, old growth, prehistoric era, dawn of time, early earth
- organic depositspeat, guano, humus, coal seam, oil shale
- fossil sitesdig site, excavation, quarry, dig, dig sites
- ancient habitatsancient forest, shallow sea
tar pitspringboard
Flexible platform for jumping
launching pad · catapult · ejector · escape hatch · exit ramp
tar pitclear path
Unobstructed way forward
smooth sailing · open road · freeway · escape route · way out
tar pitice rink
Frozen surface for skating
skating rink · slick surface · Teflon · ice sheet · oil slick