Fickle — A Vocabulary Story
The Flavour Flip-Flopper
Nuria's little brother Tomás was the most fickle person she had ever met. On Monday his favourite colour was green. By Tuesday lunchtime it was orange. By teatime he was loyal to yellow and claimed he always had been.
Fickle means changing often and without good reason. It can also mean not being loyal or reliable in your feelings or choices.
So when Mum sent them to the ice cream van with two shiny coins, Nuria felt a shiver of dread.
"Chocolate," Tomás announced firmly as they joined the queue.
"You're sure?"
"Completely sure. Chocolate forever."
Chocolate-forever lasted four steps. "Actually, strawberry."
Nuria groaned. The queue shuffled forward. "Strawberry. Final answer?"
"Final answer," said Tomás. Then a boy walked past licking a mint choc chip cone, and Tomás's eyes followed it like a dog watching a sausage. "Mint," he whispered. "Definitely mint."
By the time they reached the window, Tomás had also promised himself to banana, bubblegum and something called Rocket Ripple. The ice cream man leaned out, spoon at the ready.
"One vanilla, please," said Nuria quickly, "and one—"
"Chocolate!" said Tomás. "No, strawberry. No—"
Nuria had prepared for exactly this level of fickleness. "One tub," she said grandly, "with a tiny scoop of everything."
Tomás gasped as if she'd handed him the moon.
On the walk home, he ate every flavour and declared each one his favourite, one after another, entirely without shame.
"You," said Nuria, licking her dependable vanilla, "are hopeless."
"I know," said Tomás happily, and swapped favourites again before they reached the gate.
Word Definition
fickle
meaning
changing often and without good reason; not loyal or reliable in your feelings or choices
synonyms
changeable · unpredictable · inconstant · capricious · erratic
antonyms
constant · steadfast · reliable · loyal
example sentence
The fickle weather ruined our picnic plans.