No subject

       -f
       --fix-broken
              Fix; attempt to correct a system with  broken  dependen-
              cies   in   place.   This   option,   when   used   with
              install/remove, can omit any packages to permit  APT  to
              deduce  a likely soltion. Any Package that are specified
              must completly correct the problem. The option is  some-
              times necessary when running APT for the first time; APT
              itself does not allow  broken  package  dependencies  to
              exist on a system.

| Have I confused the whole apt system? Is it recoverable?

Yes (but not confused it badly), and yes.

HTH,

Cameron.