incompetence, incompentency†; inability, infelicity, indexterity†,
inexperience; disqualification, unproficiency†; quackery.
folly, stupidity &c 499; indiscretion &c (rashness) 863;
thoughtlessness &c (inattention) 458 (neglect) 460; sabotage.
mismanagement, misconduct; impolicy†; maladministration; misrule,
misgovernment, misapplication, misdirection, misfeasance; petticoat
government.
absence of rule, rule of thumb; bungling &c v.; failure &c 732;
screw loose: too many cooks.
blunder &c (mistake) 495; etourderie gaucherie [Fr.], act of
folly, balourdise†; botch, botchery†; bad job, sad work.
sprat sent out to catch a whale, much ado about nothing, wild-
goose chase.
bungler &c 701; fool &c 501.
V. be unskillful &c adj.; not see an inch beyond one's nose; blunder,
bungle, boggle, fumble, botch, bitch, flounder, stumble, trip; hobble
&c 275; put one's foot in it; make a mess of, make hash of, make sad
work of; overshoot the mark.
play tricks with, play Puck, mismanage, misconduct, misdirect,
misapply, missend.
stultify oneself, make a fool of oneself, commit oneself; act
foolishly; play the fool; put oneself out of court; lose control, lose
control of oneself, lose one's head, lose one's cunning.
begin at the wrong end; do things by halves &c (not complete) 730;
make two bites of a cherry; play at cross purposes; strain at a gnat
and swallow a camel &c (caprice) 608; put the cart before the horse;
lock the stable door when the horse is stolen &c (too late) 135.
not know what one is about, not know one's own interest, not know
on which side one's bread is buttered; stand in one's own light,
quarrel with one's bread and butter, throw a stone in one's own garden,
kill the goose which lays the golden eggs, pay dear for one's whistle,
cut one's own throat, bum one's fingers; knock one's head against a
stone wall, beat one's head against a stone wall; fall into a trap,
catch a Tartar, bring the house about one's ears; have too many eggs in
one basket (imprudent) 863, have too many irons in the fire.
mistake &c 495; take the shadow for the substance &c (credulity)
486; bark up the wrong tree; be in the wrong box, aim at a pigeon and
kill a crow; take the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong pig by the
tail, get the wrong sow by the ear, get the dirty end of the stick; put
the saddle on the wrong horse, put a square peg into a round hole, put
new wine into old bottles.
cut blocks with a razor; hold a farthing candle to the sun &c
(useless) 645; fight with a shadow, grasp at a shadow; catch at straws,
lean on a broken reed, reckon without one's host, pursue a wild goose
chase; go on a fool's goose chase, sleeveless errand; go further and
fare worse; lose one's way, miss one's way; fail &c 732.
Adj. unskillful &c 698; inexpert; bungling &c v.; awkward, clumsy,
unhandy, lubberly, gauche, maladroit; left-handed, heavy-handed;
slovenly, slatternly; gawky.
adrift, at fault.
inapt, unapt; inhabile [Fr.]; untractable†, unteachable; giddy &c
(inattentive) 458; inconsiderate &c (neglectful) 460; stupid &c 499;
inactive &c 683; incompetent; unqualified, disqualified, ill-qualified;
unfit; quackish; raw, green, inexperienced, rusty, out of practice.
unaccustomed, unused, untrained &c 537, uninitiated, unconversant
&c (ignorant) 491 [Obs.]; shiftless; unstatesmanlike.
unadvised; ill-advised, misadvised; ill-devised, ill-imagined,
ill-judged, ill-contrived, ill-conducted; unguided, misguided;
misconducted, foolish, wild; infelicitous; penny wise and pound foolish
&c (inconsistent) 608.
Phr. one's fingers being all thumbs; the right hand forgets its
cunning; il se noyerait dans une goutte d'eau [Fr.]; incidit in Scyllam
qui vult vitare Charybdim [Lat.]; out of the frying pan into the fire;
non omnia possumus omnes [Lat.] [Vergil].