quicksand

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“
And winds of systemic change grip all nooks of the globe: the overstretch of America, geopolitical quicksand which is the Middle East, the benign growth of Brazil and Japan, rise of China and India, resurgence of Russia, expansion of EU and NATO, petrodiplomacy of Venezuela, nonviolent nuclear ...

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A bed of loose sand mixed with water forming a soft shifting mass that yields easily to pressure and tends to engulf any object resting on its surface.
  2. noun A place or situation into which entry can be swift and sudden but from which extrication can be difficult or impossible. Often used in the plural: "This theory of the future entrapped [them] in the quicksands of Vietnam” (Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.)

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Examples (50)

  • The ponies picked their way across it like it was quicksand, and Ev just about fell off, trying to lean down to look at it. —  Futures Imperfect
  • She felt as if she were fighting on quicksand, and Mama Freda had the longer sword. —  Witch War
  • Still, there's no unsolved mysteries of missing people for which the quicksand is believed to have have been responsible. —  Minot Daily News
  • Except of course for the part about not being able to get out. on 03 / 01 / 2009, -1 / +14well im movies the person in quicksand is always screaming for help to the person they are with and die just before they can reach them. now you don't have to worry about your friend being 10 seconds too late, he has half a week to reach you. —  Original Signal - Transmitting Digg
  • But quicksand, as it turns out, isn't some Lovecraftian entity come to devour human souls. —  Boing Boing
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English quyksond, living sand : quick, quyk, living; see quick + sand, sond, sand; see sand.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English quyksande (= Dutch kwikzand = German quicksand = Icelandic kvik-sandr = Swedish qvicksand = Danish kviksand); from quick + sand.
 

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/ˈkwɪksænd/
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