To bungle is to do something badly or clumsily, especially a task that needed care or skill. It often suggests making mistakes that could have been avoided.
Probably from a Scandinavian source, perhaps related to Swedish dialect “bungla,” meaning “to work clumsily.” The exact origin is uncertain but has long carried the sense of awkward handling.
“Bungle” sounds messy and tangled, and that’s exactly what it describes: a job turned into a knot. Languages often give failure its own sound effects, and this one practically trips over its own consonants.
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