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Meaning of knee-deep in the Big Muddy | Babel Free

Adjective CEFR C2

Definitions

Stuck in a predicament; mired in a difficult situation, especially one resulting from poor judgment or bad leadership.

US, idiomatic

Examples

“Polls show three-quarters of the people don't want us to invade Haiti. Nonetheless, it appears we're about to go knee-deep in the Big Muddy.”
“The 40-year-old Fastow, a hot-tempered financial whiz, engineered the controversial partnerships that led to Enron's meltdown. . . . "He's knee-deep in the big muddy," Meagher says.”
“In the classic ‘knee deep in the Big Muddy’ scenario (Staw, 1976), individuals continue to contribute to a losing cause long after it is clear that this is a tremendous waste of money.”

CEFR level

C2
Mastery
This word is part of the CEFR C2 vocabulary — mastery level.

See also

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