Ambisinister and ambidextrous. Hm. Learning new things every day!
“Ambidextrous,” which we think we know, translates to “both sides right-handed.” Okay – you’re able to do things with both hands and do them equally well. Ambisinister translates to, “both sides left-handed. Clumsy or awkward with both hands.”
It seems that the preference for right over left was a mid-19th century prejudice already. It explains a lot about education and how so many lefties were forced to be righties, thus creating awful penmanship challenges. Sometimes I feel ambisinister as I clumsily work on any sort of sewing challenge or try to operate a teeny, tiny screwdriver, regardless of “which-handed” I am.
So I’ll take my ambisinisterism (if that’s a word?) and sort the laundry. At least I won’t screw up anything too drastically.