misadventure

Everyday

1. A bit of bad luck or an unlucky accident, often a small one. tree →
2. (law, UK) «Death by misadventure» means a death caused by an accident during a risky but legal activity. tree →

In the lessons

In stories, a character's misadventures are funny or unlucky events, like Toad's misadventures with motor-cars and horses. The law sense is used in British courts.

Examples

• The book tells of Toad's many misadventures. tree →
• After a few misadventures, we finally found the campsite. tree →
• Getting lost in the woods was quite a misadventure. tree →
• The holiday was full of small misadventures. tree →
• (law, UK) The coroner said the death was by misadventure. tree →
• Alice's misadventures in Wonderland kept going wrong. tree →
• The Prince told him all about his misadventure, and the condition on which the Emperor had promised to spare his life. tree →

Note

Mis- (badly) + adventure. Usually milder than «disaster».