Typo in "The Admiral's Resolve"

[Hace]

This comes up in the 5.4 quest "The Admiral's Resolve" when talking to Merlwyb.

She says:

"Though they are but one of the three pirate powers, they are the greatest, and any attempt at peace would founder without them."

Highlighted in bold here is what I believe to be the typo, as I'm pretty sure it's intended to be "flounder" instead (assuming I'm not being boneheaded here).

Edit: Having looked an online dictionary (something I should have done initially) I can see that I'm entirely wrong. Feel free to lock this!

[Rongway]

I know you said you already consulted a dictionary but I'm just posting for the sake of future people who might balk at this or any another line that uses founder so that they will see it if this thread comes up in a search:

To founder in this sense means to sink, as in a ship.

[Breakbeat]

Yep, 'flounder' (in the sense of a failed venture or something that is 'stuck' and unable to move) is one of those interesting words we use in English. We say 'flounder' in that sense because it's a convolution of 'founder,' and people associate it with a flopping fish. Funny enough, flounders don't have any problem living full lives swimming wherever they swim. Someone, somewhere misunderstood 'founder' as 'flounder' and said, "yeah, that makes sense, 'flounder' like a flopping fish, it's stuck, not going anywhere." It's ironic in the extreme that flounders don't normally flounder. Or, rather, they don't founder. LOL.

Compare to 'chaise-longue', which many - if not most - people pronounce "chaise lounge" - because you either lounge on it or keep it in a lounge. Note the difference between 'longue' (French, "long") and 'lounge' (French, "lie or sit lazily"). It's a 'long chair', not a chair to lounge on, or a chair kept in a lounge. But, then again, people do lounge on it. Go figure!

Sorry, I'm a geek for etymology. /shrug