Flounder ***

flounder







Yahoo!奇摩字典



vi. (不及物動詞 intransitive verb)



          1.    掙扎

                      We floundered through deep snow to get to the store.

                      我們費力地踏著厚厚的積雪去那家店裡。



          2.    錯亂地做事(或說話)

                      He floundered through his speech.

                      他張惶失措地作完了演說。



n. (名詞 noun)



          1.    比目魚,鰈[C]





The Columbia Guide to Standard American English



flounder, founder (vv.)   

 

Flounder means“to fumble, blunder, and stumble about, especially in deep mud or water,”and it is said to be a blend of founder and blunder. 



Founder means“to break down,”“to stumble or bog down in mud,”and (of a ship or boat) “to fill with water.”



The words are often confused, particularly in the inadvertent substitution of flounder for founder in the seagoing cliché to founder and sink, 



which is often used figuratively as well, meaning“to break down and collapse or die,”said especially of institutions and enterprises. 



(Founder can also be used alone to describe a sinking or a company's failure.)