cul-de-sac
/ˈkʌldəˌsæk/noun
(pl. culs-de-sac. 读音同)
1- a street or passage closed at one end死胡同; 尽头路。
1.1
- figurative a route or course leading nowhere〈喻〉绝境; 僵局; 死胡同：
was the new post a career cul-de-sac?
这个新职务是否就是职业生涯的尽头呢？
1.2
- Anatomy a vessel, tube, or sac open at only one end【剖】盲管, 陷凹。
词源
mid 18th cent. (originally in anatomy)： French, literally 'bottom of a sack'.