land mine

• landmine

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈlænd.maɪn/

land mine (plural land mines)

1. (military) A mine that is placed on land and designed to explode when stepped upon or touched.
2. (figuratively) A critical subject or situation with concealed or unpredictable implications.
   • 2020 January 24, Rajeev Syal, Gwyn Topham, “HS2 late and billions over budget due to Tory failures, report finds”, in The Guardian‎:

     Johnson is expected to make a decision within weeks on the future of the 250mph Y-shaped rail network, which would link Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds but has grown into a vexed political issue since it was floated in 2009. He postponed a decision in November, a move widely viewed as a means of avoiding a political landmine in the run-up to the election.

   • 2021 October 10, Caroline Anders, “A TikTok bone salesman’s wall of spines reignites ethical debate over selling human remains”, in The Washington Post‎:

     He said conversations are dressed up in language about the educational value or inherent beauty of the remains — what he called a clear ploy to divert attention from the ethical land mine that is owning a piece of a deceased person.

3. (always written together, from a Landmine™ developed in 1999 by a US company called Sorinex) A piece of exercise device consisting of a pivoting tube attached to the ground to which a barbell can be fitted to lift it off the ground.

• Lindeman