Serbonian

American  

[ser-boh-nee-uhn] / sərˈboʊ ni ən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating the large marshy tract of land in the northern part of ancient Egypt in which entire armies are said to have been swallowed up.

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Etymology

Origin of Serbonian

1660–70; < Greek Serbōní ( s ) ( límnē ) Serbonian (marsh) + -an

Example Sentences

That avenue was nicknamed “the great Serbonian bog.”

From The New Yorker • Jan. 19, 2017

Young students often get swamped and lose their way in Serbonian bogs of learning, when they need to explore only a simple and plain pathway to a specific destination.

From The Library and Society Reprints of Papers and Addresses by Bostwick, Arthur Elmore

"The Serbonian Bog," says Miss Fox, repeating the last lines of the dictation.

From The Diwan of Abu'l-Ala by Baerlein, Henry

From all this we turn, for a few moments only, and not too cheerfully, to the Serbonian bog of dramatic rules and the metaphysics of the theatre.

From Diderot and the Encyclopædists (Vol 1 of 2) by Morley, John

He could be misled by any ignis fatuus that displayed a bright light, and was led into many a Serbonian bog from which he was not extricated without serious difficulty.

From The Story of the Upper Canada Rebellion by Dent, John Charles