rake-stepping

English

Alternative forms

• rake stepping

Etymology

Popularized by a gag in the 1993 episode "Cape Feare" of The Simpsons, in which Sideshow Bob, already injured, accidentally steps on several rakes, causing the handles to hit him in the face.

Noun

rake-stepping (countable and uncountable, plural rake-steppings)

1. (slang) The act of repeatedly making damaging and avoidable mistakes.
   • 2019 August 13, Tina Nguyen, “Biden Advisers Worry the Gaffes Are Becoming a Problem”, in Vanity Fair:

     But the rake-stepping won’t stop, and the attacks won’t go away, raising the question of whether there will come a tipping point for Biden.

   • 2023 September 12, Mark Gongloff, FEMA Isn’t Ready for Our New Age of Climate Disasters‎, Bloomberg:

     And despite occasional attempts at reform, usually in response to some epic rake-stepping by the agency, federal disaster relief has gotten no simpler or more effective.

   • 2024 June 19, Tom E. Curran, “Five burning questions the Patriots need to answer this summer”, in NBC Sports Boston:

     VP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf oozes with, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing …” and has deftly escaped any blame for the personnel rake-stepping of the past few seasons.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:rake-stepping.

Related terms

• step on a rake

See also

• fuck around and find out
• Leopards Eating People's Faces Party
• make one's bed and lie in it
• play stupid games, win stupid prizes
• reap what one sows