minefield

[ mahyn-feeld ]

/ ˈmaɪnˌfild /

an area of land or water throughout which explosive mines have been laid.

Origin of minefield

First recorded in 1885–90; mine² + field

I looked around and I saw everyone looking at me; I was in the minefield next to a mine.

My Non-First World Problems: Letters from Iraq |Andrew Slater |August 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It also takes place near a minefield of rocks, is a hangout spot for sharks, and breaks on a reef.

Now That Everest Is Closed, Check Out These Other Extreme Adventures |Nina Strochlic |May 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He was warned against caricature because “in the Middle East, it is like walking into a minefield.”

Hani Abbas Extends the Vital Tradition of Political Cartooning in the Mideast |Patrick Hilsman |October 20, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
With that sentence, he put me right back inside the bubble, tip-toeing through the minefield of the NFL-battered psyche.

Murder Doesn’t Shake NFL’s Dream World of Consequence-Free Violence |Nate Jackson |December 4, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

But having decided to walk through this minefield, Costas tiptoed by offering not his own assessment but that of someone else.

Bob Costas Steps Onto Gun-Control Minefield |Howard Kurtz |December 3, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
In the case of a convoy encountering a minefield, as in the case of a fleet, several ships may be sunk practically simultaneously.

The Crisis of the Naval War |John Rushworth Jellicoe
Mudros is a land-locked harbour, the entrance easily controlled by a boom and a minefield.

New Zealanders at Gallipoli |Major Fred Waite
If ships are sailing singly a minefield will in all probability sink only one vessel—the first ship entering it.

The Crisis of the Naval War |John Rushworth Jellicoe
It was the business of the submarines to lay mines on the eastern part of this minefield, that is, near to the coast.

The Harwich Naval Forces |E. F. Knight
As there was no traffic of any sort in the western half of the channel we surmised—correctly—that a minefield was laid there.

Gun running for Casement in the Easter rebellion, 1916 |Karl Spindler

minefield

/ (ˈmaɪnˌfiːld) /

an area of ground or water containing explosive mines

a subject, situation, etc, beset with hidden problems