tarpit

American  

[tahr-pit] / ˈtɑrˌpɪt /

Or tar pit

noun

1. seepage of natural tar or asphalt, especially an accumulation that has acted as a natural trap into which animals have fallen and sunk and had their bones preserved.

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Etymology

Origin of tarpit

First recorded in 1830–40; tar ¹ + pit ¹

Example Sentences

When it doesn’t, it turns into a tarpit in which a person could find themselves trapped.

From Salon

When it doesn’t, it turns into a tarpit in which a person could find themselves trapped.

From Salon

Cities and environmental justice groups trying to put an end to oil operations run right into, well, a tarpit of grandfathered permits, aggressive oil companies, and arcane petro-chemical regulations.

From Los Angeles Times

As soon as he took over from Hillary Clinton as secretary of state in 2013, he plunged into the tarpit of Middle East peace negotiations with an enthusiasm neither his predecessor nor President Obama shared.

From New York Times

We can get caught int the policy vortex, see the tempting fractal nature of rule-making and fall into a tarpit we’ll never climb out of, or we can trust in our bodies, ourselves and our colleagues and remember what work is really for.

From Forbes