quagmire

[kwag-mahyuhr, kwog-] Origin

quag·mire

[kwag-mahyuhr, kwog-]
noun
1.
an area of miry or boggy ground whose surface yields under the tread; a bog.
2.
a situation from which extrication is very difficult: a quagmire of financial indebtedness.
3.
anything soft or flabby.

Origin:
1570–80; quag + mire

quag·mir·y, adjective


2. predicament, dilemma, quandary, scrape, jam.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Quagmire is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Collins
World English Dictionary
quagmire (ˈkwæɡˌmaɪə, ˈkwɒɡ-)
 
n
1.  a soft wet area of land that gives way under the feet; bog
2.  an awkward, complex, or embarrassing situation
 
[C16: from quag + mire]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

quagmire
1579, from obsolete quag "bog, marsh" + mire. Quag is a variant of M.E. quabbe "a marsh, bog," from O.E. *cwabba "shake, tremble" (like something soft and flabby). Extended sense of "difficult situation, inextricable position" is first recorded 1775.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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