sloughs of despond

Noun

slough of despond (plural sloughs of despond)

1. A dreary bog or marsh.
   • The road is winding, and consists of a succession of short, steep descents, diversified by occasional sloughs, which might well be called "sloughs of despond," into one of which Manuel was thrown rather unceremoniously, by the bursting of his saddle-girths at the top of one of these short hills, by...1834, Adrian R[ussell] Terry, Travels in the Equatorial Regions of South America, in 1832, Hartford, Conn.: Cooke & Co., →OCLC, pages 245–246
2. (figuratively) A state of disheartening hopelessness; pit of despair.
   • Amy laughed too, and, kissing her mother, said, 'Well, I never had such a "Day of Misfortunes" as Rosamund's. I think it is because I have got such a dear darling mother that she helps me out of my troubles, my "Sloughs of Despond," as Clara calls them, quicker.' / 'The best thing is to try not to...1870, Mrs. George Tylee, “Amy's Home”, in Amy's Wish, and What Came of It: A Fairy Tale, London: Griffith and Farran, successors to Newbery and Harris, corner of St. Paul's Churchyard, →OCLC, page 6