stumble to a halt
Hi, there

I found there are expressions like "lurch to a halt/stop" screech to a halt"... Could I use "stumble to a halt/stop"?

Like: Someone is walkinf/running along an uneven street and stumbles over something and stops all of a sudden. Could I say "Stumbled to a halt/stop"? Does it sound odd?

Thank you for your help

Question

stumble to a halt
Hi, there

I found there are expressions like "lurch to a halt/stop" screech to a halt"... Could I use "stumble to a halt/stop"?

Like: Someone is walkinf/running along an uneven street and stumbles over something and stops all of a sudden. Could I say "Stumbled to a halt/stop"? Does it sound odd?

Thank you for your help

Answer

"stumble to a halt" is okay. "stumble to a stop" is not okay because of the st...st...  It just doesn't sound nice. Stumble is a rather specific verb though. It is used for losing your footing (people or animals' legs giving way). Stumble usually includes some of the meaning of coming to a stop so that it's worth mentioning if you continue after stumbling. "stumbled and fell" is the usual phrase.

Answer

You can search for the phrases ("stumble to a halt" / "stumble to a stop", with quotation marks) in a general online search, or even in news articles online.

A quick check on Google News tells us that both phrases are acceptable.

Ne manquez pas cette occasion d'apprendre une langue depuis chez vous. Découvrez notre sélection de professeurs de langues expérimentés et inscrivez-vous dès maintenant à votre premier cours !