Oscar Wilde once said: Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.
We all make mistakes some are big and some are small. Some are good, in that we learn from them and some are disastrous that in many cases are not forgivable.
The degree of how bad depends on the situation and the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and the How.
- Who made the mistake take and who it affected.
- What kind of mistake was made.
- When it was made (past, present).
- Where it was made, at home in public in an important meeting.
- Why it was made the mistake was made.
Finally, how the mistake was made. All of these can affect the seriousness of the mistake and how the mistake is described.
Blunder Meaning:
When we use the word blunder, we are saying that someone has made a careless, stupid and serious mistake. This is used to describe a mistake of a much higher degree.
Blunder word in a sentence:
Example 1: It is unbelievable someone could make a blunder like that and still think they would have a job.
Example 2: The politician made a real blunder when he tried to hug the Chinese politician.
Dialog:
Priscilla: Elvis, we need to talk about what happened last night.
Elvis: Ahh ok. Yeah, I kind of expected you would want to talk to me about my mistake last night.
Priscilla: Mistake?! You call what happened a mistake?! It was an unquestionable blunder?
Elvis: A blunder? Ohh come on, blunder is a little strong don’t you think?
Priscilla: Elvis! For god sake, you split a drink on the guest of honor and then you insulted his wife asking if she was pregnant!
Elvis: Ok, ok. I made a few blunders. I am sorry.
Other words you can create:
noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc. (ex: mug – mugger)
As a noun: This is your second blunder today.
Verb (used without object): Without my glasses I blundered into the wrong meeting.
Verb (used with object): Several of the email accounts were blundered by a hacker.
Blunder Related Phrasal Verbs
Slip-up - we use this phrase in the context of blunder to indicated that someone has made a error, usually in speaking.
- She made a real blunder when she slipped-up and told her boss that she was smarter than his wife.
Screw-up - when we say someone screws up we say that they made a serious mistake.
- I really screwed up and went to the wrong meeting and made things worse when I made a blunder not calling and let the office and letting them know I went to the wrong meeting.
Mess up - an informal way of saying someone made a mistake.
- The government really messed up when they designed the law and made a serious blunder when they tried to pass it.
Foul up - we use this phrase in the context of blunder to say that someone has made an error.
- She really fouled up the meeting today and made a serious blunder when she divulged a new product that was not supposed to be made public.
Louse up - when we use this verb phrase we are saying that someone or something spoiled something.
- I’m sorry I really loused up, but you made a real blunder yourself when you forgot to say happy birthday to me last week.
Make a mess of - in the context of blunder, when someone makes a mess of something they make a mistake or series of mistakes that cause something or situation to be confusing.
- Frank made a real mess when he told his girlfriend she made a blunder of dinner and then really fucked things up when he told her his mother was a much better cook.
Blunder Related idioms:
Blooper - making a minor mistake and often one that is humorous.
Dumb move - when someone does or says something that is foolish
Faux pas - when someone makes a social etiquette mistake.
Flub-up - when someone makes a silly and stupid mistake
Put your foot in your mouth - in the context of blunder, we use this to describe someone who says something that is embarrassing and foolish.
By Anastasia Koltai