Whether we ’re waffle between Facebook and Twitter , beer and wine , or sodding good and diabolical evil , few of us are unwavering enough to avoid some somerset - flopping — and inconstancy must be an ancient quality , because there are many sometime - fashioned language for the flighty . Make certain to use them the next time you dither .
1. SHITTLE
Shittle , which goes back to the 1400s , means , consort to the Oxford English Dictionary , “ Inconstant , variable , vacillation ; mercurial , flighty ; hasty , rash . ” In 1676 , Aylett Sammes’Britannia Antiqua Illustrata , Or the Antiquities of Ancient Britaindemonstrated the changeableness inherent in the terminus , identify a loss leader who “ had once an intention to Invade Britain , but by his shittle Head , sudden penitence , and mighty pattern against Germany , all come in to nothing . ” If you ’re about as dependable as a ditzy dunderhead , you’re able to also be calledshittle - brained , shittle - headed , or the pleasingly rhymingshittle - witted .
2. CHOICEFUL
This rare term is a mo inoffensive . It sounds like positive full term for a decisive , stalwart wedge , but sometimes refers to someone so overwhelmed by selection they ca n’t make a individual one . path back in 1591 , the terminal figure was used by Edmund Spenser in his collectionComplaints : “ None of these … Mote please his fancie … His choicefull sense with euerie change doth flit . ” In other words , that fella ca n’t make up his damn psyche .
3. BINGLE-BANGLE
Reduplicative word are an untrustworthy bunch , with many meaning some form of wind , such asfiddle - faddle , jibber - jabber , andmumbo jumbo . So it ’s fitting thatbingle - bangleis a word for flippy - floppy behavior . This term , which show up rarely in the 1800s , comes from a significance ofbanglethat refers to the apparently aimless fluttering of a bird . Bingle - bracelet - ness similarly ask a flutter and frittering about , lost in the fog of fickledom .
4. SHILLY-SHALLY
Another reduplicative term with a flimsy meaning isshilly - shally , which has had several forms and uses , all relate to irresolution , since about 1700 . This terminal figure can be an adjective , describing shilly - shally stuff and nonsense , and also a noun mean fickleness . An 1847 instance by Thomas De Quincey apply the Good Book to describe its opposite word : “ She miss not one of her forty - five minutes in picking and choosing . No shilly - shally in Kate . ”
5. MOONISH
This word can refer to many moony attribute , but especially the sense that the lunation is determine you — maybe not to lycanthropy , but perhaps to wishy - washiness . Moonishhas been around since the 1400s , and it appear in Shakespeare’sAs You Like Itin 1616 : “ At which time would I , being but a moonish youth , greeue , be effeminate , changeable … ”
6. VERSATILE
Today , if you ’re draw asversatile , you ’d probably take it as a compliment , meaning you’re able to do this , that , and a lot of other matter . But the account of versatility is a tad disreputable . The OED has several examples that demonstrate how badly - involve versatility was , including quotations from 1659 ( “ To mold , the versatle hypocrisy of his perverted judgment ” ) and 1882 ( “ He is too various , too indulgent - hearted and impressible . ) ” This meaning deserves a comeback : versatileshould live up to its own meaning .
7. FRITTLE
This unsung watchword is related to frittering , which the fickle do at an Olympic level . In 1579 , the full term popped up in a displacement of a Jean Calvin sermon : “ We are so frittle , that though the way be plaine and beaten before vs , yet can we barely lift vp one foote . ”
8. WEATHERCOCK
Aweathercockis a rooster - ish weathervane whose name get hold of a metaphorical turn as a word of honor for citizenry who also reposition easy with the walkover . This term appears in Shakespeare ’s comedyLove ’s Labour ’s Lost : “ What plume of fethers is he that pen this letter ? What vaine ? What Wethercock ? ” The adjectival form is the amusingweathercocky . Another variation is a equivalent word for falseness that showed up in an 1887 issue of London’sSaturday Review : “ To do these Radicals DoJ , there is a outstanding deal of consistency in their weathercockism . ”
9. HEBDOMADAL
The first uses of this word , found in the 1600s , had a simple sense : lasting a week . In the 1700s , this word evolve to advert to folk who vary their minds once a workweek . This sentence , from Edmund Burke in 1797 , account a timeless and unpleasant experience : “ listen to varying , hebdomadal politicians , who run away from their opinion without giving us a month ’s warning . ”
