Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget

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].