pratfall

[prat-fawl] Origin

prat·fall

[prat-fawl]
noun
1.
a fall in which one lands on the buttocks, often regarded as comical or humiliating.
2.
a humiliating blunder or defeat.

Origin:
1935–40; prat + fall
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Pratfall is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Collins
World English Dictionary
pratfall (ˈprætˌfɔːl)
 
n
slang (US), (Canadian) a fall upon one's buttocks
 
[C20: from C16 prat buttocks (of unknown origin) + fall]

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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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pratfall
1939, from prat "buttocks" (1567), originally criminals' slang, of unknown origin. Prat in British slang sense of "dolt, fool" is recorded from 1968.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

pratfall definition


  1. n.
    a fall on the buttocks; a fall on the buttocks done as part of a comedy act. : If you want to be in musical comedy, you should learn to take a pratfall.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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