Swampy ground or deep mud; a difficult or precarious situation from which it is hard to escape.
From Old Norse 'mýrr' meaning bog or swamp. The figurative sense of being stuck in a difficult situation developed by the 16th century, drawing on the literal experience of being trapped in boggy ground.
The phrase 'mired in controversy' comes from the very real danger of walking into a mire - what looks like solid ground can actually be a bog that will trap you. Medieval travelers feared mires as much as we fear getting stuck in bureaucratic red tape today.
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