Mordor

It is a “Mordor” sort of anthropology, dark rather than light, swampland rather than solid ground.

2007, Paul F. M. Zahl, Grace in Practice: A Theology of Everyday Life, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., published 2007, →ISBN, page 94

Nevertheless, this book is about the truth, the good and the bad, so I will tread into the forbidden territory, the Mordor of motherhood.

2007, B. Erin Wylde, Where Did I Go?, →ISBN, page 100

“OK, can we go back now?” asked their guide and expert on the underground, whose restless eyes implied that he was on the edge of panic. “I for one am not venturing a step further into this Mordor.”

2012, Zygmunt Miłoszewski, A Grain of Truth: A Second Case for State Prosecutor Teodor Szacki, Bitter Lemon Press (2012; original Polish book published 2011), page 290

It’s impossible to find harmony in an outfit when you have to schlep five kilos of kit with you in order to manage the post-workout transformation. Of course, I could change at work. But this would entail using the office showers. And I would sooner venture into Mordor.

2017 November 16, Jo Ellison, “Help: the gym has turned us into slobs”, in Financial Times, archived from the original on 10 Mar 2025

They are out in nature for hours a day – despite the fact that the weather’s terrible (we’re talking Mordor from October to March).

2024 February 25, Helen Russell, “Play outside and sing together: what living in Denmark taught me about raising ‘Viking’ children”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 29 Mar 2024