Feckless

Definition: careless, irresponsible, ineffective

“Feck” means “effect” in Scottish. It’s loosely related to “effect.”

So, to be “feck-less” is to be without effect.

Why I Looked It Up

I’ve seen it for years, and sort of knew what it was – I knew it wasn’t a compliment and generally meant that someone was incompetent.

In the novel Eurostorm:

“All the while feckless governments are powerless to so anything about it…”

Postscript

In an article about politics:

Still, he said he was proud of the work of the committee, which over many decades has earned a reputation for fecklessness and secrecy.