Oh dear God, I was going down. There was no stopping it. Visions of broken necks danced in my head.

Are you referring to the fact that you can't walk across a flat, stable surface without finding something to trip over?

Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.

Clumsiness would be just as deadly an opponent.

Me and nice things didn't go well together.

He [Bloch] was one of those touchy, highly-strung people who cannot bear to have made a blunder, will not admit it to themselves, and whose whole day is ruined by it.