pitfalls
hidden dangers
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Peter Day meets the local entrepreneurs of the new Myanmar and discovers their priorities and PITFALLS of doing business in an emerging economy.
(BBC News)
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A report from the Washington-based group Conservation International chronicles some of the PITFALLS in marketing what it calls biodiversity products.
(New Scientist magazine)
(BBC News)
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A report from the Washington-based group Conservation International chronicles some of the PITFALLS in marketing what it calls biodiversity products.
(New Scientist magazine)
Did you
know?
pitfall
noun
- an unapparent source of trouble or danger
(American Heritage Dictionary)
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Pitfall is a compound word comprised of "pit" (hole or cavity) and fall (to unintentionally go down from a higher level). It literally means to fall down into a hole. The original use referred to a trap for animals (or maybe even people) that consisted of a hole dug into the ground that was covered with leaves and tree branches.
The term pit is the from the Old English pytt - water hole, well, pit, grave - and further from the Proto-Germanic "puttjaz" (pool, puddle), which also led to cognates in Dutch and the German "Pfütze" or puddle. The Proto-Germanic term was eventually borrowed from the Latin "puteus," meaning a well, pit or shaft.
In a figurative sense, although a pitfall is defined as a "potential" danger or unexpected difficulty that can serve as a trap, in modern usage the word often simply becomes a synonym for a risk or difficulty, without the implication that it is hidden or unknown.
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SYNONYMS
booby-trap, catch, danger, difficulty, drawback, entanglement, peril, risk, setup, snag, snare, web
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Many people are not aware of the pitfalls of booking a holiday through an online provider."
noun
- an unapparent source of trouble or danger
(American Heritage Dictionary)
---
Pitfall is a compound word comprised of "pit" (hole or cavity) and fall (to unintentionally go down from a higher level). It literally means to fall down into a hole. The original use referred to a trap for animals (or maybe even people) that consisted of a hole dug into the ground that was covered with leaves and tree branches.
The term pit is the from the Old English pytt - water hole, well, pit, grave - and further from the Proto-Germanic "puttjaz" (pool, puddle), which also led to cognates in Dutch and the German "Pfütze" or puddle. The Proto-Germanic term was eventually borrowed from the Latin "puteus," meaning a well, pit or shaft.
In a figurative sense, although a pitfall is defined as a "potential" danger or unexpected difficulty that can serve as a trap, in modern usage the word often simply becomes a synonym for a risk or difficulty, without the implication that it is hidden or unknown.
---
SYNONYMS
booby-trap, catch, danger, difficulty, drawback, entanglement, peril, risk, setup, snag, snare, web
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Many people are not aware of the pitfalls of booking a holiday through an online provider."
