cockbrained mistake
- noun
- Archaic
- Their plan failed because of one cockbrained mistake in the calculations.
Examples
-
The CEO resigned after making a cockbrained mistake that cost the company millions.
-
He realized too late that forgetting her birthday was a cockbrained mistake.
-
That was a real cockbrained mistake!
-
She made a cockbrained mistake during the presentation.
-
He realized too late that forgetting her birthday was a cockbrained mistake.
-
The CEO resigned after making a cockbrained mistake that cost the company millions.
-
Their plan failed because of one cockbrained mistake in the calculations.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A wrong action or decision
58
3.3
A mistake that happens when someone confuses one thing with another
45
3.0
A careless mistake that causes embarrassment or problems
42
5.3
A small wrong action that causes embarrassment or harm to people's trust
34
6.1
A careless mistake that causes problems or embarrassment
28
4.2
A wrong estimate of numbers or plans that causes problems
25
6.5
A problem that happens because of a big mistake and spoils plans
13
3.4
A small mistake that is often embarrassing
9
3.5
A small mistake that causes embarrassment
7
9.9
A serious or embarrassing mistake that causes problems
5
2.8
A careless, foolish error that causes problems
5
7.7
A serious, embarrassing mistake often caused by confusion or poor planning
5
7.7
An embarrassing mistake made when someone is careless or nervous
2
7.6
An embarrassing mistake that happens because of bad or careless work
2
6.5
A careless mistake that shows a lack of skill
1
5.6
A big mistake that causes serious problems
1
9.6
A serious mistake that happens because of confusion or poor planning
1
8.4
A stupid action or remark
1
6.5
A small mistake that causes embarrassment or trouble
1
9.5
An error in calculating numbers or amounts
A very serious and foolish error that causes big problems
A short embarrassing mistake you make
A costly mistake often made in sports or the military
How Foolish
7
4.1
- Archaic
3
4.4
∞
1.0
1
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
cockbrained + mistake
The adjective 'cockbrained' is an archaic/idiomatic formation whose meaning 'foolish' is not transparently derived from literal constituents 'cock' (a rooster) and 'brained' (related to brain). The compound is rare and not built from a productive, cross-linguistically obvious pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would unlikely infer the idiomatic sense without prior exposure.
Etymology
Cockbrained mistake may come from the picture of a rooster (cock) acting loud and silly instead of thinking clearly. If an idea is 'cockbrained' it is a silly idea that was not well thought, so a cockbrained mistake means a foolish error.