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faux pas
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Fauxpas
English
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French faux pas (“faux pas, blunder; misstep, false step”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): (singular) /fəʊ pɑː/, (plural) /fəʊ pɑːz/
Audio (Southern England, singular): (file) Audio (Southern England, plural): (file) Audio (General American): (file)
Noun
- An embarrassing or tactless blunder.
- Synonyms: misstep, mistake, blunder; see also Thesaurus:error
- 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, IV.iii:
- Now my dear Lady Teazle if you but once make a trifling Faux Pas you can't conceive how cautious you would grow, and how ready to humour and agree with your Husband.
- 1906, Chesterton, Charles Dickens, chapter 2:
- A saint after repentance will forgive himself for a sin; a man about town will never forgive himself for a faux pas.
- 2023 June 10, Roula Khalaf, “Lunch with the FT: François Hollande”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 3:
- He was also prone to faux pas, none as memorable as his 2014 secret escapade from the Élysée. He was captured in full-faced helmet on the back of a motor scooter on his way to meet his mistress, the actress Julie Gayet, who is now his wife.
Usage notes
- Especially used in social situations and contexts.
Translations
an embarrassing or tactless blunder
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French
Pronunciation
Noun
- stumble, misstep, false step
- (figuratively) faux pas, blunder
- Synonyms: pas de travers, (informal) gaffe, (informal) bourde, impair
Descendants
See also
Polish
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
faux pas n (indeclinable)
Further reading
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