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?
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
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
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.
just incase you haven't heard, the bird is the word. i would say uncoordinated, but i think you already found your answers
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?
trimblefoot spastoped disglaced stumbletoed Of course none of these are proper words but . . . Bob Wilson
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.
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.
