367. Ineptitude (See also Awkwardness.)

1. Brown, Charlie meek hero unable to kick a football, fly a kite, or win a baseball game. [Comics: “Peanuts” in Horn, 543]
2. Capt. Queeg incompetent commander of the minesweeper Caine. [Am. Lit. and Cinema: Wouk The Caine Mutiny in Benét, 157]
3. Dogberry officious, inept constable. [Br. Lit.: Much Ado About Nothing ]
4. Fife, Barney deputy who can’t be trusted with loaded gun. [TV: “The Andy Griffith Show” in Terrace, I, 55–56]
5. George of the Jungle bungling do-gooder. [TV: Terrace, I, 305–306]
6. Gilligan whose every action reeks of incompetence. [TV: “Gilligan’s Island” in Terrace, I, 312–313]
7. Gordon, Dr. called a “butcher” for his needless and bungled operations. [Am. Lit.: King’s Row ; Magill I, 478]
8. Hagar the Horrible soft-hearted, unkempt Viking whose raids yield minuscule plunder. [Comics: Horn, 299]
9. Halftrack, General the ultimate in inept officers. [Comics: “Beetle Bailey” in Horn, 105–106]
10. Hound, Huckleberry bungler trying to find niche; always fails. [TV: “The Huckleberry Hound Show” in Terrace, I, 367–377]
11. Klink, Colonel naive official in charge of prisoner-of-war camp. [TV: “Hogan’s Heroes” in Terrace, I, 357–358]
12. Lucky Eddie Hagar’s chinless aide, bungles the simplest assignments. [Comics: Hagar the Horrible in Horn, 299]
13. Marplot actions are well-meant, but his continual interference ruins lovers’ plans. [Br. Drama: The Busybody in Barnhart, 185]
14. Orbaneja obliged to label painted objects for identification. [Span. Lit.: Don Quixote ]
15. Peter Principle, The book stating, “in a Hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to the level of his incompetence.” [Am. Lit.: The Peter Principle, Payton, 522]
16. Sad Sack who can’t do anything right. [Comics: “The Sad Sack” in Horn, 595–596]
17. Scarecrow can’t live up to his name. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ; Am. Cinema: Halliwell, 780]
18. Schultz, Sergeant bumbling assistant to Colonel Klink at Stalag 13. [TV: “Hogan’s Heroes” in Terrace, I, 357–358]
19. Slop, Dr. country doctor attends Tristram Shandy’s birth and crushes the infant’s nose with his forceps. [Br. Lit.: Tristram Shandy in Magill I, 1027]
20. three men in a boat inexperience makes their trip on the Thames become a series of misfortunes. [Br. Lit.: Jerome Three Men in a Boat in Magill II, 1018]
21. Toody and Muldoon twin antitheses of “New York’s Finest.” [TV: “Car 54, Where Are You?” in Terrace, I, 138–139]
22. Tumbleweeds world’s most incompetent sheriff. [Comics: Horn, 673]
23. White Knight invents clever objects that never work. [Br. Lit.: Lewis Carroll Through the Looking-Glass ]