tarpit
Sticky fossil trap
A tarpit is a natural deposit where tar or asphalt seeps to the surface, trapping animals that become preserved as fossils: the La Brea Tar Pits.
Figuratively, a tarpit is anything that ensnares and immobilizes: The project became a tarpit that consumed resources for years.
In computing, a tarpit is a server deliberately slowed to trap spammers or attackers, wasting their time and resources.
Catch by trickery
- stuckUnable to move
- miredStuck in difficulty
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
- inescapableImpossible to avoid
sinking · quicksand · bog · captured · imprisoned · helpless · floundering · entrapment
Spanish for "the tar"
- excavationAct of unearthing
- fossilsPreserved ancient organism traces
- bonesRigid internal support structure
- specimensRepresentative items for examination
megafauna · mastodon · saber-toothed · mammoth · dire wolf · ground sloth · dig · preservation
Inherited outdated programming
- technical debtAccumulated coding shortcuts
- maintenancePreserving working condition
- deprecatedFormally advised against using
- outdatedNo longer in use
codebase · migration · refactoring · spaghetti code · unmaintainable · complexity · bloat · dependencies
Perilously unsafe place
- sinkholeUnderground collapse crater
- dangerExposure to harm
- perilSerious threat of harm
- treacherousDisloyal and dangerous
lethal · inescapable · deadly · engulf · submerge · drowning · suffocation · no escape
Petroleum-based paving material
- pitchFrequency of sound
- natural asphaltNaturally occurring tar substance
- seepageSlow fluid escape
- oilSlippery viscous fluid
petroleum · crude · black · viscous · hydrocarbon · organic · pool · lake
Thick and slow-flowing
gluey · adhesive · clinging · tacky · sludge · mucky · engulfing · sucking
Maintaining something's condition
- amberHardened ancient tree secretion
- petrificationBecoming rock-like
- mummificationPreserving bodies after death
- entombedSealed in burial chamber
encased · organic matter · bones · ancient · geological · sedimentation · death trap · accumulation
ensnare
Catch by trickery
- stuckUnable to move
- miredStuck in difficulty
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
inescapable · sinking · quicksand · bog · captured · imprisoned · helpless · floundering · entrapment · lure
La Brea
Spanish for "the tar"
- excavationAct of unearthing
- fossilsPreserved ancient organism traces
- bonesRigid internal support structure
specimens · megafauna · mastodon · saber-toothed · mammoth · dire wolf · ground sloth · dig · preservation · carbon-dating
legacy code
Inherited outdated programming
- technical debtAccumulated coding shortcuts
- maintenancePreserving working condition
- deprecatedFormally advised against using
outdated · codebase · migration · refactoring · spaghetti code · unmaintainable · complexity · bloat · dependencies · obsolete
death trap
Perilously unsafe place
treacherous · lethal · inescapable · deadly · engulf · submerge · drowning · suffocation · no escape · doom
asphalt
Petroleum-based paving material
- pitchFrequency of sound
- natural asphaltNaturally occurring tar substance
- seepageSlow fluid escape
oil · petroleum · crude · black · viscous · hydrocarbon · organic · pool · lake · bubbling
viscous
Thick and slow-flowing
mire · gluey · adhesive · clinging · tacky · sludge · mucky · engulfing · sucking · pulling
preservation
Maintaining something's condition
- amberHardened ancient tree secretion
- petrificationBecoming rock-like
- mummificationPreserving bodies after death
entombed · encased · organic matter · bones · ancient · geological · sedimentation · death trap · accumulation · layer
tarpitopen road
Unobstructed route ahead
clear path · smooth ice · slippery surface · highway · runway
tarpitquick win
easy fix · slam dunk · low-hanging fruit · fast track · escape hatch
tar, pit, tars, tarred, tarring, tarry, pits, pitted, pitting