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Backwater vs Quagmire - What's the difference?

backwater | quagmire |

As nouns the difference between backwater and quagmire

is that backwater is the water held back by a dam or other obstruction while quagmire is a swampy, soggy area of ground.

As a verb backwater

is to row or paddle a backwater stroke.

backwater

English

Alternative forms

* back water * back-water

Noun

(en noun)
  • The water held back by a dam or other obstruction
  • (idiomatic) A remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc.
  • * 1978 , National Opera Association - The Opera Journal page 29
    • It's a volume for those who delight in exploring the backwaters of nineteenth-century opera
  • A rowing stroke in which the oar is pushed forward to stop the boat; see back water

    • Synonyms

    * jerkwater town, one-horse town, Podunk * See

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To row or paddle a backwater stroke.
  • (idiomatic) To vacillate on a long-held position.

    • quagmire

    English

    (wikipedia quagmire)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A swampy, soggy area of ground.
    • ''That quagmire regularly 'swallows' caught-up hikers' boots
  • (figuratively) A perilous, mixed up and troubled situation; a hopeless tangle; a predicament.
    • The paperwork got lost in a quagmire of bureaucracy.
    ''Those election results are a quagmire for any coalition except one of national union

    Synonyms

    * bog, marsh (land), mire, quag

    References

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