Let’s take a look at two words this week that can be very easily confused: many people have problems with flounder and founder.

Flounder is easy to remember by thinking of a similar word, blunder, which suggests one is moving about in a confused state or in a clumsy way. For example, Rob floundered through his first years in Japan without studying the language, but after entering school and making a concerted effort*, he finally became fluent (in Japanese).

The other word, founder, in its foremost meaning refers to the idea of sinking below the surface of water. By a logical enhancement of this meaning, it can also be used to indicate that something has completely failed. So, compare these two examples:

1. The boy was an inexperienced swimmer and he foundered after being taken too far out into the sea on a current.
2. As the business opportunities began to dry up and the clients disappeared, the company gradually foundered.

So, work and study hard, and I’m sure you won’t flounder

~Rob

concerted effort* = This means to focus and concentrate and try very hard.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 19th, 2008 at 4:51 pm and is filed under Confusing English Words. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.