land mine

noun land mines · landmine

1. A mine that is placed on land and designed to explode when stepped upon or touched. With the cessation of hostilities, the military traffic declined considerably, although at least two years will be required to remove the many thousands of tons of explosives still stored at the depot. The supplies of mustard gas have already been despatched to Stranraer to be dumped in the sea, and

   Similar: land torpedo, torpedo

2. figuratively A critical subject or situation with concealed or unpredictable implications. 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 av
3. 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.
4. figuratively, slang A pile of uncollected dog feces that has been left on a public area (such as a sidewalk, park, or common lawn) and on which someone might accidentally step. Our streets and sidewalks have been overrun with trash, and the dog feces landmines that pedestrians have to navigate are an added element having deleterious effects on our health and well-being ...