the.com/minefield
A topic full of hidden dangers, where any word might cause unexpected harm or offense.
means A situation so full of hidden dangers and sensitivities that almost any action or word risks setting off disaster.
from Literal before figurative: a minefield was ground seeded with explosive mines, a military term from warfare where the ground itself was the enemy. By the 20th century, the word had marched into peacetime speech — any topic or terrain requiring careful, step-by-step caution (office politics, family holidays, divorce settlements) became a 'minefield,' the explosions now social or emotional rather than literal.
- origin
- Literally explosives buried to maim advancing armies
- modern use
- Office gossip, family dinners, reply-all emails
- strategy
- Best crossed slowly, backward, in someone else's footsteps
- irony
- Avoiding it is itself a minefield