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I need a word.

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by daniel, Apr 15, 2010.

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  1. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    There are people who are sure-footed, and there are people who are not. And then there are people who are the opposite of sure-footed. But I cannot think of a word to describe being the opposite of sure-footed. "Clumsy" is too broad a word, as it involves every aspect of dexterity, which it is the opposite of.

    Can anyone think of an English word that means the opposite of sure-footed, and specifically relates just to the inability to find good footing, especially (but not exclusively) on uneven terrain?
     
    #1 daniel, Apr 15, 2010
  2. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    erm, drunk?
     
    #2 GrumpyCabbie, Apr 15, 2010
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    two-left-feet?
     
    #3 efusco, Apr 15, 2010
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    unsteady on feet
    slipfooted
     
    #4 efusco, Apr 15, 2010
  5. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    unsteady
     
    #5 JimboPalmer, Apr 15, 2010
  6. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Maladroit, teetering, spastic, doddering, staggering, ill-balanced, jagged, precarious, lurching, erratic, sporadic, herky-jerky, jerky, spasmodic, off-balance, shaky, tottering, unbalanced, wobbly.

    From your description, "tottering" or "wobbly" are probably the best fit.

    Tom
     
    #6 qbee42, Apr 15, 2010
  7. dtuite

    dtuite Silverback

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    Tangle-toed
     
    #7 dtuite, Apr 15, 2010
    2 people like this.
  8. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    I'd go with "s*** faced"
     
    #8 jayman, Apr 15, 2010
  9. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    As I was going to sell my eggs, I met a man with bandy legs, bandy legs and crooked toes, I tripped up his heels and he fell on his nose.

    Mother Goose
     
    #9 qbee42, Apr 15, 2010
  10. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    That's a good one.

    Too general.

    All of those seem either too general (not specific to the feet) or include concepts outside what I'm looking for.

    I like that one! Best yet. Thanks.

    That suggests the consumption of alcohol. I do not need so much as a drop of alcohol to trip over a half-centimeter pebble and fall flat on my face.
     
    #10 daniel, Apr 15, 2010
  11. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Precursor of the Three Stooges???
     
    #11 daniel, Apr 15, 2010
  12. Au-Toe

    Au-Toe Matrixowner

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    just incase you haven't heard, the bird is the word.

    i would say uncoordinated, but i think you already found your answers
     
    #12 Au-Toe, Apr 15, 2010
  13. lunabelgium

    lunabelgium Member

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    nontrustful (not easy for me - LOL)
     
    #13 lunabelgium, Apr 15, 2010
  14. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    I'd say tangle-toed sounds about right for the condition you described. A most unfortunate affliction, given your love of hiking. What do you do on scree slopes, and rope bridges, and slippery logs across raging creeks?
     
    #14 hyo silver, Apr 15, 2010
  15. samiam

    samiam Antipodean Prius Poster

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    unnimble or disnimble
     
    #15 samiam, Apr 15, 2010
  16. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    trimblefoot
    spastoped
    disglaced
    stumbletoed

    Of course none of these are proper words but . . .

    Bob Wilson
     
    #16 bwilson4web, Apr 15, 2010
  17. LRKingII

    LRKingII New Member

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    clutz :D
     
    #17 LRKingII, Apr 15, 2010
  18. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    clumsy
     
    #18 JimN, Apr 15, 2010
  19. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    While I'd love to win the enormous grand prize I'm sure you're going to award with Slipfooted, I agree that tangletoed is a bit better and would be my first choice as well...slipfooted being a close second.
     
    #19 efusco, Apr 15, 2010
  20. Author

    Author New Member

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    I remember my grandfather telling me about a clumsy "slop-footed" plow horse my gr.-gr. grandfather had on the farm grant in Nova Scotia. That gentleman hailed from a place called North Allerton (sp?) in Yorkshire, England, so might be an expression from that neck of the woods.
     
    #20 Author, Apr 15, 2010
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