Monday 13 April 2015

K is for Kludge


For this year's A-Z Challenge I have selected a word from the dictionary for each day and written a story around it with a 100 word limit. For extra interest I have chosen words that are unknown or unfamiliar to me. All definitions are from the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus 2007 Edition. Today's word is Kludge.

Kludge: Something hastily or badly put together.

It was a real kludge and he knew it, hammered together with mismatched planks and nails knocked in at odd angles. When Sandra had asked him to build a kennel for Bobo – his dog, he still thought – at her new house after she was done divorcing him, he couldn’t believe her cheek.

It was a bit mean to the dog, but it should do the trick. Sure enough, she chewed his ear off when the storm shredded the kennel, leaving a sodden Bobo yowling at her back door, but he knew she wouldn’t ask him for a favour ever again.

39 comments:

Keith's Ramblings said...

Poor old Bobo! It's worth becoming a kludger to get out of doing jobs for people!

Sally said...

What a great word - another new one for me.

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

Well that is one way to get out of a favour I suppose, I just feel sorry for Bobo :) I'm sure there was a character called Kludge in something, but I can't for the life of me remember what.
Tasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

Annalisa Crawford said...

Good old bit of revenge there. Poor Bobo getting caught in the middle, and in the rain :-)

Annalisa, writing A-Z vignettes, at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick - love the word 'Kludge' .. one many of us could use .. I'll kludge supper together tonight!!

But exactly - poor Bobo ... and don't kludge things today?! cheers Hilary

Jolie du Pre said...

Love it! Serves her right!

Precious Monsters

JeffO said...

And that word sounds just right for it's meaning, doesn't it?

Unknown said...

Love it!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'm sure she learned!

Chrys Fey said...

Great word! All of the words you keep have a great sound and look to them. :)

Tamara Narayan said...

Bobo. What a name! Somehow the story would have to end on a better note for a dog named King. Kludge is good too. I hope no one notices which of my blogs are kludges this month.

Julie Flanders said...

I love the word kludge! I have to remember this one. I can't blame this guy for being annoyed but I also got annoyed with him for putting poor Bobo in the middle of it. LOL I always side with the pets.

Jay Noel said...

Dang! Dogs usually don't need training, it's the humans who need help.

Jeremy [Retro] said...

I am going to try to use this word somewhere in the day...

Jeremy [Retro]
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2015]

There's no earthly way of knowing.
Which direction we are going!

HOLLYWOOD NUTS!
Come Visit: You know you want to know if me or Hollywood... is Nuts?

A Tarkabarka Hölgy said...

Awww, poor dog :D Taking the dog is a final blow in any breakup...

@TarkabarkaHolgy from
Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

Jennifer Hawes said...

At first, I thought it read, "He was a real kludge" meaning he was a robot or something hastily put together:) Poor dog! My mind is in sci-fi mode right now.

jaybird said...

He should have taken the dog and ran...lol.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Poor Bobo, caught in the middle of his divorcing parents.

Sunday Visitor said...

Never came across that word before. Thankyou for sharing that. Nice short story.

cleemckenzie said...

I have immediate use for this word. Thanks for giving it to us today.

betty said...

I'm going to remember Kludge. It might even apply to one or two of my remaining A/Z posts :) Glad that the dog in the end was okay, just wet :)

betty

Tyrean Martinson said...

Poor Bobo. Great story, though!

Anonymous said...

Awww, poor Bobo. Don't put the dog in between your battles! =(

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

Roland D. Yeomans said...

Yes, like Patricia wrote: leave poor Bobo out of the slings and arrows of human love gone wrong! At least that is what poor Bobo is probably thinking! Great flash fiction. :-)

Sophie Duncan said...

Poor Bobo! ;P
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles
FB3X
Wittegen Press

JazzFeathers said...

Hey, that was quite mean... but good story :-)

Michelle Wallace said...

A new word for me!
Another good piece, Nick!

T. Powell Coltrin said...

I'm am feeling it for Bobo. LOVE the word though and the story.

Anonymous said...

That is a great word! Poor Bobo.

Nick Wilford said...

Thanks everyone!

Sorry I haven't had time to reply to you all individually due to some unexplained circumstances over the last few days. But I wanted to explain why Bobo got a raw deal. I love dogs! The story was partly inspired by my wife's divorce from her ex-husband, when he got rid of the dog. Yes, got rid of. He said he gave her to a nice old lady, but that was rubbish... it's never been forgiven!

J E Oneil said...

Oh, that makes me sad. Poor Bobo...

Shell Flower said...

Hahaha. Your characters are so funny and real. I think a lot of kids think that way about chores, too. Like, "If I do a crap job, I'll never have to do it again." There is a blog called Kludgy Mom, and maybe that is where she got the word kludgy. I always wondered.

Liz A. said...

Terrible to punish the dog... Oh well, at least he won't be asked to do anything like that again.

Liz A. from Laws of Gravity

Kathryn Thornton said...

Poor bobo. He should petition to get him back.
Great story about complicated relationships.

Holly Jahangiri said...

I think Bobo ended up with the right ex. It WAS mean to the dog, and I suppose I needn't ask YOU, "The lady, or the tiger?" I think I know.

Yvonne Ventresca said...

A fun word! Its meaning matches its sound.

Yvonne

Debbie D. said...

Aww, poor Bobo! :( I understand the deviousness of his reasoning, though. "Kludge" is fun to say and seems appropriate for its meaning.

A GAL NEEDS... said...

Hi Nick! This is my first A to Z. I love your theme and perimeters for your posts. Mine is just a bunch of mish mash. Next year, if there is one, I want to do themes!

Mina Burrows said...

Ah, Bobo! Great word. :)