Foible.
There. I said it.
It is one of those words which is perfectly good. It has an adept definition, just like all the other words in the dictionary. Its meaning is clear.
But there is something about saying the word foible, that seems to harm one’s credibility in a discussion.
foi·ble | ˈfoibəl |
noun
1 a minor weakness or eccentricity in someone’s character
2 the weaker part of a sword blade, from the middle to the point.
“I met Mr. Farrington on the train the other day. It was clear his foibles would get the best of him.”
You see? When you say someone is dirty rotten rat, it holds a lot more water than if you simple say they have a foible.
A foible should be something else entirely, if you ask me. It is one of those words, that got off on the wrong path in ancient word origins. It comes from the late 16th century — as an adjective in the sense ‘feeble’. You can blame the French for this one. The Old French word “fieble” is the cause.
Feeble is slightly better, but not by much. A foible should be some sort of a toy. Like those Weebles. Weebles were great if you ask me. Those roly-poly toys which came from the thinkers at Hasbro’s Playskool Toy division. Weebles came into this world on July 23, 1971.
No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t knock a Weeble over. They were always sort of egg-shaped. And when you tipped over the Weeble, the weight at the bottom-center would lift slightly off the ground. But no matter what, gravity worked in its favor. It brought that weight right back to the ground, putting the heaviest part at the bottom, leaving the Weeble standing in an upright position. With that silly little smile on its face.
Weebles could be anything. Cows. People. Monkeys. Clowns. Ducks. Anything. They should have made a branch of Weebles called Foibles. I’m not sure what the difference would have been.
I mean, Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.
I guess, Foibles fobble but they do fall down.
Maybe that would be the hook.
Regardless, I heard a news reporter use the word foible last week, and it had been pinging around in my mind ever since. The guy, Major Garrett on CBS, said something about Donald Trump’s foibles.
It felt like an understatement to me.
Anyway, I guess my toy idea wasn’t so great. The truth of the matter is that we all have our foibles. We all have our flaws in character, our weaknesses. And sometimes, they may be deep-seeded and on-going.
I’m chock-full of foibles.
But they needn’t get us down and keep us down. If we can step back slightly and recognize them, making an effort to try a little harder the next time, then we are finding our center of gravity. We are planting our feet firmly on the ground, so we can get back up, when things seem to knock us down. Like the Weeble, with their weighty butts.
I know it will never make it to one of those Pintrest placards, but “Weighty butts make us better people.”
Have a weighty-butt-day today. Stand up to your foibles.
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“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
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“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.”
― Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven
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“Strong people don’t put others down… They lift them up.”
― Michael P. Watson
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Foibles. How big weighty butts are better.
