byzantine bureaucracy

highly complicated bureaucracy

TRANSLATION

byzantine = sehr kompliziert

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

The politics of soccer had always been BYZANTINE. Indeed, after a brief involvement with FIFA* in the 1980s, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger remarked that the experience had made him nostalgic for the Middle East!

Kissinger, Henry Alfred (1923- ) German-born American diplomat, National Security Advisor (1968-75), Secretary of State (1973-77), Nobel Prize recipient (Peace, 1972) - noted for his role in the cease-fire negotiations with ended the war in Vietnam (1972)

FIFA = Federation Intérnationalé de Football Association

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byzantine

Although the common historical meaning of 'byzantine' relates to the ancient city of Byzantium, or to the Byzantine Empire; we often use this word to describe a system which is highly complicated, intricate and involved - often with the purpose of keeping out outsiders.

Synonyms:

Byzantine, Rube Goldberg, abstruse, arduous, convoluted, difficult, difficult, elaborate, entangled, gordian, intricate, involved, knotty, labyrinthine, mega factor, mind blower, perplexing, problematic, puzzling, rat's nest, recondite, snake pit, sophisticated

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