You might be a blunderbuss

Blunderbus definition

When I was a child, my grandmother occasionally utilized a word that I never heard anyone else speak. This morning that idiom “ blunderbuss" came to mind. Grandma would call me or my brothers a blunderbuss if we were having a day where things went wrong. If we dropped a glass and it broke or knocked over some books or spilled a drink she would call us a blunderbuss. I took for granted it meant we were clumsy or all thumbs as people said back in those days.

Another way that my grandma used blunderbuss was after someone had spoken something that she thought was best kept to themselves. I assumed that because blunder was at the beginning of this word that it meant exactly what my grandma implied. My interpretation became associated with those who often had mishaps and or slips of the tongue. I found that I was guilty of both on many occasions.

Steve Urkel an orginal blunderbus

The dictionary describes a blunder as a stupid or careless mistake. Those who enjoyed the 90s sitcom FAMILY MATTERS will recall that Steve Urkel had a lot of blunders. He would break windows and doors, drive into houses, or cause groups of people to fall all over each other, and then ask "Did I do that?" Until I looked up the definition of the word, I had assumed wrongly that my grandmother was calling us blunder- busts. I believed the meaning to be that we often had blundered in both word and deed and busted up everything.

Blunderbus : Two definitions

A blunderbuss is actually a "short-barreled large-bored gun with a flared muzzle, used at short range". I could not locate any online information to indicate why this gun would be associated with mishaps but I did find a different definition for the word. A blunderbuss can also be considered as an action or a way of doing something that is regarded as lacking in subtlety and precision". My grandmother is deceased and so are those of her generation who might shed some light on the subject of why they utilized this word as they did.

I had to assume that this second definition could be how the term came about to be known as someone who is always blundering. I vaguely recall one of the Three Stooges referring to the others as blundering idiots so I continued to search and eventually found a definition on Dictionary.com. This one says a blunderbuss is an "insensitive, blundering person". I don't agree with the insensitive part but there are those of us who seem to have more mishaps than others.

Mishaps can happen to anyone

The reason the word blunderbuss came to mind this morning is that I broke my 4th cell phone. For whatever reason, no matter how careful I am my phones seem to slip out of my hands. A few years back my husband and I noticed that our Iphones would slide across tables when they rang or there was just a little additional noise. Sometimes they would slide right off the table into the floor. I am currently in possession of two iPhones where I need headphones in order to have conversations with anyone. I can hear callers on the phones but they cannot hear me.

I have probably spent hundreds of dollars on wireless headphones because I lose them, step on them or break them shortly after obtaining them. This is very frustrating and this morning when I was unable to use my phone to call anyone because the headphones needed to charge I could hear my grandma calling me a blunderbuss. I'm not sure what makes some of us more prone to blunders but my youngest son has a fit each time I have to get a new iPhone. He reiterates how expensive they are and reminds me to be careful.

Perhaps we ae wired this way

I try so hard but for whatever reason, I seem to be a blunderbuss in my grandma's definition of the word. Today my oldest son is giving me the iPhone he purchased last year because he got a new one. As always I will pray over the phone and do my best not to drop it or spill anything on it and who knows perhaps this time the phone will last until the end of the contract. If you find that you seem to have mishaps that don't happen to others please know you are not alone.

No one wants to be thought of as a blunderbuss but in this world, it happens. If you find that you are often clumsy, there is not much you can do but pay closer attention and keep moving. What you do not have to do is consider yourself as insensitive or a blundering idiot. Those words are harsh. From now on if blunderbuss comes to mind for me, I will simply consider it to indicate that I sometimes have blunders. This can mean both accidents or slips of the tongue. Nothing more and nothing less. Keep it in it's proper perspective and never again think of yourself as a clumsy oath or an idiot which are pretty rough definitions.