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PDF 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[obs3], 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[obs3]; 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].
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[obs3], 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[obs3]; 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].
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