maelstrom situation full of wild activity or tempestuous emotions 'Caught in the maelstrom of London , the poet is admonished as if from another world ' .Indeed , in its newsletter , Good Practice , it says that the ` current economic recession appears to have dragged high-earning professionals of all disciplines into its maelstrom' . For a further four years , he found himself at the centre of a political maelstrom of which the outcome seemed obscure . of Her husband , who had come to set up a World Cup exhibition , was seeking their luggage among a multinational maelstrom of families , business travelers , confused policemen and customs officers . The traditional " galero " , the unfeasibly wide-brimmed hat the colour of Scarlet O'Hara 's petticoat , was abolished by Pope Paul VI in a maelstromof modernisation in the summer of ' 69 . strong feelings Once inside , she slid the bolt , leaning thankfully against the door , a maelstrom of emotions fighting for supremacy . A 15-note phrase takes over and is continuously repeated , the left hand accompanying figure becoming more and more embellished until octaves grab the attention , with the right hand adding cadenza passages to create a maelstrom of excitement . set of powerful swirling currents Well , a freak maelstrom hit us last September and drove wreckage into the bay at Moltke , where a group of German amateur divers were camping . The captain , the second mate , two of the crewmen and two apprentice boys jumped into the maelstrom to secure her but about twenty-five frenzied passengers attempted to board the boat and it was swamped . of Nonetheless he ordered the San Antonio and the Concepción into the headwaters of the bay -- only to be horrified when he saw them being swept by unsuspected currents and winds into a huge maelstrom of surf and spindrift , and on to a wicked-looking spur of black rock . Thirty yards downstream , the calm water ends abruptly , and the river takes a headlong plunge into a frothing maelstrom of rocks , boulders , giant such holes and standing waves .