fickle
adjective

- changing frequently, especially as regards one’s loyalties or affections

Oxford English Dictionaries

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ORIGIN

“fickle” is probably from the Old English “ficol”, meaning to be deceitful, cunning or tricky.

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TALKING POINT

A popular proverb says that “the only thing that ever stays the same is change.” While this seems like a paradox, it drives home the point that change is inevitable and constant. In other words, we live in a fickle world.

While we often talk about fickle weather and stock markets, fickle is primarily a human trait. The co-worker who heaps praise upon you one day and criticizes you the next could be described as fickle. Sports fans are notoriously fickle.

You may also have heard the song “Summer Wind” covered by numerous artists, including, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, Michael Bublé, and Westlife, where fickle refers the weather:

“The autumn wind, and the winter winds they have come and gone
And still the days, those lonely days, they go on and on
And guess who sighs his lullabies through nights that never end
My FICKLE friend, the summer wind
The summer wind, warm summer wind, the summer wind.”

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SYNONYMS

capricious, changeable, flighty, inconstant, irresolute, mercurial, temperamental, unpredictable, unstable, unsteady, vacillating, variable, volatile, whimsical

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PRACTICE OWAD TODAY, say something like:

“Dealing with FICKLE customers is part of running any kind of business.”