pratfall means A fall onto the buttocks. It carries an Arena rating of 1645, earned across 26 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, pratfall ranks #92 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #377 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #541 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #855 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words.
Why “pratfall” is a great word
PRATFALL — [Noun, Verb] A fall onto the buttocks, especially one that is staged for comedic effect or that results in a humiliating blunder. From English slang prat (“buttock”) + fall; first attested in North American theatrical slang around 1929-1930. Unlike a “blunder” (a grave error in judgment) or a “slip” (a minor, accidental loss of footing), a pratfall is a physical punchline, a structured collapse of dignity. It is the banana peel on an empty sidewalk, the chair pulled away at the crucial moment, the confident stride that meets a freshly waxed floor—a choreography of humility that proves gravity is the great leveler, and our dignity its most fragile target.
Etymology
From prat + fall.
noun
- A fall onto the buttocks.
- A humiliating mistake.
- A staged trip or fall, often for comedic purposes.e.g.“The motivational speaker started with a pratfall so he could speak about the importance of getting back up.”
verb
- To fall on to the buttocks.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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