Bunglering

“Yet more bunglering.” One of my table guests threw the comment out amid a mixture of resignation, pity, and amusement. I knew the word “bungle” (to handle badly, if used as a verb; a botch, if used as a noun). Bunglering? That was a new one. I asked what it meant and the answer was, “Just watch.” I did. Within five minutes a fork decided it preferred the floor, a glob of butter slithered into a cup of soup, a napkin flew to the next table, and one corner of a roll nestled its way into nearby cleavage. Stifling my laughter was becoming a near impossibility so I made my way to a safe female hangout¾the ladies’ room. That’s when I learned she had come up with the word to describe inept behavior that kept reoccurring. That’s how language keeps evolving. Brains get creative, their creation gets picked up (especially with current technology that allows a word to go viral), and voila, the language expands. Bunglering. I like it. I’ve done my share—not that I particularly liked that! Smile. Have you heard a new word lately? Have you created one?