gaffe
Use Gaffe in a sentence
noun
a social blunder; faux pas.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To gaffe
Collins
World English Dictionary
gaffe (ɡæf) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a social blunder, esp a tactless remark | |
| [C19: from French] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Gaffe
is an SAT word you need to know.
So is incessant. Does it mean:
| not ceasing |
| incapable of producing any result; ineffective; useless; not successful: |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
gaffe
"blunder," 1909, perhaps from Fr. gaffe "clumsy remark," originally "boat hook," from O.Fr. gaffe, from O.Prov. gaf, probably from W.Goth. *gafa "hook," from P.Gmc. *gafa. Sense connection is obscure. The gaff was also used to land big fish. Or it may derive from Brit. slang gaff "to cheat, trick" (1893);
or gaff "criticism" (1896), from Scot. dial. sense of "loud, rude talk," which ultimately may be from O.E. gaf-spræc "blasphemous or ribald speech."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Offered a chance to walk his gaffe back, the poor fellow only digs himself deeper.
At one point, he explained the residency gaffe by saying he didn't read his tax return before signing it.
Perry's campaign diminished into a poof of smoke with each gaffe or stiff answer.
But that was a public relations gaffe, albeit a serious one, not a policy error.
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