Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ship of fools

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.84 in modern English

Syllables
ship of -fools
IPA
22
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A country or organization that is poorly run by leaders who lack the expertise to cope with the problems that arise and equally inexpert subjects or members who attempt to influence those leaders.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From ship + of + fools, a calque of German Narrenschiff. From a German poem named "Narrenschiff", published in 1494 by Sebastian Brant, about a ship carrying 112 passengers, each of whom represents a specific human foible, which sails into oblivion. The poem was translated into English in 1509 by Alexander Barclay. Brant may have been inspired by an allegory that first appeared in Book VI of Plato's Republic, about a ship with a dysfunctional crew.

Inflected Forms

ships of fools (plural)

Questions

What does ship of fools mean?
A country or organization that is poorly run by leaders who lack the expertise to cope with the problems that arise and equally inexpert subjects or members who attempt to influence those leaders.
Where does ship of fools come from?
From ship + of + fools, a calque of German Narrenschiff. From a German poem named "Narrenschiff", published in 1494 by Sebastian Brant, about a ship carrying 112 passengers, each of whom represents a specific human foible, which sails into oblivion. The poem was translated into English in 1509 by Alexander Barclay. Brant may have been inspired by an allegory that first appeared in Book VI of Plato's Republic, about a ship with a dysfunctional crew.

How to pronounce ship of fools

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