gaffe
noun/ɡæf/
/ɡæf/
- a mistake that a person makes in public or in a social situation, especially something embarrassing synonym faux pas
- a social gaffe
- He made some real gaffes early in his career.
- Most people will politely look the other way if you commit some social gaffe.
Word Originearly 20th cent.: from French, literally ‘boathook’ (from Provençal gaf ‘hook’), used colloquially to mean ‘blunder’.Definitions on the go
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gaffe