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Bill W

Bill W 61,514
Monday Blues

Posted (edited)

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Gaffe is from French, literally ‘boathook’ (from Provençal gaf : see gaff1), used colloquially to mean ‘social blunder’ or 'faux pas'. 

The word "gaffe" meaning a social blunder or faux pas, first appeared in English around 1919, in the early 20th century.  


Examples of Gaffe in a sentence: 
*She realized her gaffe only after she had mistakenly revealed the surprise party plans to the guest of honor. 
*Accidentally calling his teacher by the wrong name was an embarrassing gaffe for the young student.
*If you run into a friend out with her grey-haired father, and blurt out, "Oh, hi, you must be Tara's grandfather!" then you have made a gaffe.  
*He made an embarrassing gaffe at the convention last weekend. 
*It’s also worth recording some of the social media gaffes from this election. 

Edited by Bill W
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Paladin

Paladin 18,608
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Off course we also have gaff (same word, slightly different spelling) tape with it's multiple uses.

There is always that DYI rule that if it doesn't move when it should, use a hammer and if it moves when it shouldn't use gaff tape.

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drpaladin

drpaladin 107,824
Zorro

Posted (edited)

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10 hours ago, Paladin said:

Off course we also have gaff (same word, slightly different spelling) tape with it's multiple uses.

There is always that DYI rule that if it doesn't move when it should, use a hammer and if it moves when it shouldn't use gaff tape.

Our worst (or best) gaffes stick to us like gaff tape.

When I think of big gaffes, Geraldo Rivera's  much hyped The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults on April 21, 1986 and found Al Capone's trash.

 

Edited by drpaladin
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Bill W

Bill W 61,514
Monday Blues

Posted (edited)

The most embarrassing gaffe for a politician is being caught on a "hot mic". Such as when Ronald Reagan got caught on a hot mic in 1984 saying "we start bombing in five minutes."  

 

Or at a G-20 when the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and then President Barack Obama where caught saying the following about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a "hot mic": 

"I can't stand him any more, he's a liar," President Sarkozy said.

"You may be sick of him, but me, I have to deal with him every day," replied President Obama. 

Those were considered major gaffes at the time. 

Edited by Bill W
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