Nice minefield metaphor. I usually call C++ a pointless annoying trivia contest but I really like the image of a minefield. Maybe programming in C++ is like a game show where if you get all the answers right the grand prize is not having to go in to work every weekend for a month to hunt down memory leaks but if you get even a single one wrong you have to walk through a minefield while a bloodthirsty studio audience cheers you on.

"Oops, sorry contestant #1. You forget to say that what you were deleting is an array. Since your code compiled you can still stay in the game by walking across that minefield."

Step, step, pause, step, pause, breathe deeply, step, step, KABOOM!