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I am working to master the American English language. Recently I came across a new word, fickle. The word fickle defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary is "marked by lack of steadfastness, constancy, or stability". Simple enough. However, when you add a noun and/or a preposition then the phrase seems to take on another meaning that I don't quite get. A few examples:
Money is a fickle thing.
The fickle wind.
A fickle fortune.
Fickle love.
Fickle in love.
I will try to define each of these examples, and you tell me if I am close or if I need to study this word even more.
Money is a fickle thing. Meaning that money is not stable. That you can lose money really easily.
The fickle wind. Sounds like "the soft wind". Or the wind that does not feel like wind.
A fickle fortune. A fortune that is supported by questionable investments.
Fickle love. That love is weak. Or just weak love.
Fickle in love. I have no idea what this means.
Your input would be greatly appreciated.
A century-old time capsule's contents are unveiled in Kansas City | World News | thecanadianpressnews.ca
It starts off like this - "Time capsules are fickle, and the opening of one entombed a century ago inside one of the nation's preeminent World War I memorials was no exception."
This isn't a word I use very often so I had to look it up and it's definition is
adjective
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likely to change, especially due to caprice, irresolution, or instability; casually changeable:*fickle weather.*Synonyms: fitful, capricious, variable, unsteady, unstable
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not constant or loyal in affections:*a fickle lover.*Synonyms: inconstant
What is so 'fickle' about time capsules? In my opinion time capsules are the opposite of the above definition. (i.e. time capsules don't change, the capsule and it's contents remain constant.)
I think it's because they often become damaged or flooded, and you can never tell until you open them. Thus, fickle.
More often than not, the contents of time capsules were never stored with proper thought for what it would take to actually preserve them. So you get moisture/humidity destroying paper, etc.