the.com/impasse
A dead end with better lighting and worse outcomes.
means A situation where progress is impossible because every side refuses to budge.
from From French impasse, coined by Voltaire from in- (not) plus passer (to pass) — literally a street with no exit, politely renamed to avoid the vulgar word for blind alley.
Voltaire's polishInvented to dodge the cruder cul-de-sac.
Literal senseFrench street sign for a dead end.
Diplomatic favoriteNegotiators say it when nothing else works.