gaffe means A foolish and embarrassing error, especially one made in public; a social blunder; a breach of etiquette. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 79 out of 100.
Why this word is great
GAFFE — [Noun] A foolish and embarrassing error, especially one made in public or in a social context. From French gaffe ("blunder"), itself likely from the nautical term gaffe ("boat hook"), from Middle French, of uncertain origin, possibly from Old Provençal gafar ("to seize"). Unlike a faux pas (a specific breach of polished etiquette) or a blunder (a grave, consequential misstep), a gaffe is the sudden, cringe-inducing clatter of the social self snagging on an unintended truth. It is the mispronounced dignitary's name echoing in a hushed room, the ill-advised joke that lands in a pool of silence, the hum of a microphone catching a muttered thought—a tiny, public puncture in the performance of our lives, through which we glimpse our own eternal clumsiness.
noun
- A foolish and embarrassing error, especially one made in public; a social blunder; a breach of etiquette.“make a gaffe”