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stumbles

Noun
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A noun denoting physical missteps, trips, or figurative lapses, errors, and hesitations during a task or journey.

Detailed Definition
Literally, a stumble is a trip or unsteady step, but in writing it can also mean a mistake or lapse. The poem uses it figuratively to describe imperfect action.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Made some stumbles on his way” — contemporary lyric example; The child stumbles across the icy field; A poem’s speaker stumbles in speech, using broken syntax to show uncertainty; Even heroes stumble, a figurative failure rather than a physical fall
Additional Notes
The quoted use is figurative and less straightforward than the common physical meaning, so readers may pause over it.; Found in the poem, Perfectionist Blues by Richard
Also Known As
Missteps Tripping Falters Blunders
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