English-Italian translations for quicksand

• sabbie mobili
  I persistenti tentativi di unificare l' Europa dal punto di vista politico sembrano essere costruiti sulle sabbie mobili. The relentless attempts to turn Europe into a political unity seem to be built on quicksand.
  Accettando statistiche incerte come se fossero veritiere, l'ONU sta costruendo una serie di obiettivi del Millennio sulle sabbie mobili, secondo Attaran. By accepting uncertain statistics as the truth, the UN is building a set of Millennium Objectives on quicksand, according to Mr Attaran.
  Sta cercando di fondarsi sulle sabbie mobili, avendo respinto i principi dell’etica civile e dell’etica cristiana, che per millenni ne sono state il fondamento. It is trying to build on quicksand, having rejected the principles of civilised ethics and Christian ethics, which have acted as a foundation for millennia.

Definition of quicksand

• Wet sand that things readily sink in, often found near rivers or coasts
• Anything that pulls one down or buries one metaphorically

Examples

• My feet were firmly lodged in the quicksand, and the more I struggled the more I sank into it.
• The quicksands of youth...

Related words

• quicksilver
• quickstep
• quickset
• quicksort
• quickset hedge