English translation of "si dibatteva tra le spire" - "was struggling with Harding's convoluted administration/administrative procedures"

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159 months ago

Barbara Cochran (a guest user) asked this question:

Language pair:	Italian > English
Subject:	Other
Level of diffculty:	Easy / medium
Word or term in question:	si dibatteva tra le spire
Context:	Tanto Johnson, che rimase a Roma poco tempo, vecchio e senza mezzi finanziari propri,...
Keywords:	...quanto Child, furono rappresentanti incolori del governo di Washington, che, a sua volta, si dibatteva tra le spire dell'amministrazione di Harding e di una fase poco brillante quanto al prestigio interno...Talking about two American ambassadors to Rome.

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Complete list of answers and comments

159 months ago

wrote:

...was burdened with...

My comment:

On the "Vocabolario Treccani" under "dibattersi tra le spire di", it reads: "essere in mezzo ad una situazione (o condizione) che avvolge e stringe in modo tenace".

That is why I felt it as a bothersome load, a burden. Hope it helps.

159 months ago

giulianoscarpa wrote:

was muddling through Harding's burocracy

159 months ago

giulianoscarpa wrote:

was struggling through (amidst) the maze of the administrative proceedings (administrative formalities)

159 months ago

Amanda Haste PhD, DipTrans(IoLET), MCIL, CL wrote:

was struggling with Harding's convoluted administration/administrative procedures

The asker rated this answer best