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Bermuda Triangle

Bermuda Triangle

1 5.8
A part of a project where tasks, decisions, or resources disappear and never get done
  • proper noun
  • /bərˈmjuːdə ˈtraɪæŋɡəl/
  • Informal
translation icon : Triángulo de las Bermudas

Examples

  • I have yet to see it at its worst, but I am convinced that it can resemble the Bermuda Triangle, where boats of all sizes disappear, never to be seen again.

    Blog text (6)
  • In project management, we often encounter a Bermuda Triangle where resources are lost and deadlines fail to be met.

  • This new software seems to act like a Bermuda Triangle, where our ideas disappear before they can be implemented.

  • Many teams describe their workflow as a Bermuda Triangle, where tasks vanish and progress halts unexpectedly.

Synonyms

quagmire
vsBermuda Triangle
25 7.9

A difficult situation that is hard to escape or solve

is a spot where items repeatedly disappear rather than a stuck mess
vicious cycle
vsBermuda Triangle
14 4.8

A situation where one problem causes another and makes things worse

is where tasks or items repeatedly disappear rather than problems causing each other
sinking ship
vsBermuda Triangle
  • Informal
10 4.8

A project or organization that is failing and likely to collapse

is a place where things vanish repeatedly, not simply an overall failure
vicious circle
vsBermuda Triangle
5 3.9

A situation where one problem causes another and makes the first problem worse

is about repeated loss or disappearance, not cyclical cause and effect
bottomless pit
vsBermuda Triangle
  • Informal
3 6.3

A situation that always needs more money or help

is where tasks or resources repeatedly vanish without completion

Surface Forms

Morphology

Bermuda + triangle

Bermuda Triangle is a proper-name reference to a region famous for alleged mysterious disappearances; the figurative meaning 'an area where things repeatedly disappear or fail' depends on that cultural/encyclopedic knowledge rather than regular compositional semantics. A B1 learner who knows 'Bermuda' (as a place name) and 'triangle' (a three‑sided shape) would not reliably infer the idiomatic figurative sense from the constituents alone, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Bermuda Triangle is used as a simple picture: because the sea area was said to make things 'vanish', people call any part of a project a Bermuda Triangle when tasks, decisions, or resources keep getting lost there. So it means a place in a system where work or items seem to disappear.