See Also: MOVEMENT

1. Flounder around like a fish on the beach —Anon

   A commonly used variation: “Flounder around like a beached whale.”

2. Floundered like a waterlogged ship —James Hilton
3. Floundered like insects in yogurt —George F. Will, about those involved in Watergate crimes
4. Floundering like someone running in deep sand, blind without glasses, burdened with books —George Garrett
5. Flounder like a compass that’s lost its needle —Anon

   A variation: “Flounder like a windup watch without a dial.”

6. (Was solidly built but) gave the impression of not being very stable, like a building with imperfect foundations —MacDonald Harris
7. Reel like a leaf that’s drawn to a water-wheel —Dante Gabriel Rossetti
8. Stagger like a drunken man —The Holy Bible/The Psalms
9. Staggers slightly … like a carnival clown —Hilary Masters
10. Staggers to his feet like a battered middleweight coming out for the fifteenth round —T. Coraghessan Boyle
11. Stumbled … like an old woman leaning on a cane that wasn’t there —Ross Macdonald
12. Stumbled like fat sheep —Stephen Crane
13. Stumbling a little over his own feet like an adolescent not accustomed to his new growth —Margaret Millar
14. Tumbling … like a moth blinded by sudden brightness —Jerzy Kosinski
15. Unconstant as the wind; as wavering as the weathercock —William Walker
16. Unstable as water —The Holy Bible/Genesis
17. (She seemed volatile right now,) unstable, like a vial of nitroglycerin —Sue Grafton
18. Unsteady like a pole balanced on the tip of one’s finger —Arthur Schopenhauer
19. Wavering as the wind —John Heywood’s Proverbs

    Modernized from the Old English: “Waueryng as the wynde.”

20. Wobbled like an overfed penguin —Len Deighton
21. (His new English) wobbles like a first bicycle —Diane Ackerman