pitfall

[ pit-fawl ]

/ ˈpɪtˌfɔl /

a lightly covered and unnoticeable pit prepared as a trap for people or animals.

any trap or danger for the unwary: the pitfall of excessive pride.

Origin of pitfall

1275–1325; Middle English pittefalle, equivalent to pitte pit¹ + falle (Old English fealle) trap

1, 2 See trap¹.

The second pitfall is that Tendulkar has given the reader little of what should be a gripping, meaningful story of his life.

The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player |William O’Connor |December 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It points up the major pitfall of academic boycotts, a pitfall so serious as to make them counterproductive.

Sydney’s ‘Blind To The Person’ BDS |Sigal Samuel |December 12, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
The Israel Project's novel defense of building civilian settlements in E1, however, has many a pitfall.

A Bogus Defense Of E1 Construction |Ali Gharib |December 4, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
One pitfall: text contributions are capped at $10 each per message and $200 a person under FEC regulations.

Will Text-Message Contributions Save Obama’s Reelection Effort? |Miranda Green |June 22, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

Be on guard, especially, against co-dependence—a Libra pitfall.

The Stars Predict Your Week |Starsky + Cox |September 24, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Woman was disparaged and suspected; all thinkers, down to Thomas and Anselm, looking upon her merely as a snare and a pitfall.

The Evolution of Love |Emil Lucka
Suddenly, my horse swerved on one side, and I saw that he had narrowly escaped a pitfall.

Adventures in Africa |W.H.G. Kingston
For the wary wolf dreads the pitfall, and the hawk the suspected snares, and the kite the concealed hook.

The Works of Horace |Horace
The text faltered; it was terribly two-edged; but Carlton had not perceived the pitfall until he was over the brink.

Peccavi |E. W. Hornung
If there was any angle, he seemed somehow to knock against it; and if there was any pitfall, it was he who fell into it.

The Candidate |Joseph Alexander Altsheler

pitfall

/ (ˈpɪtˌfɔːl) /

an unsuspected difficulty or danger

a trap in the form of a concealed pit, designed to catch men or wild animals

Old English pytt pit 1 + fealle trap