gaffer

to blunder, to put one's foot in it

verb gah-FEH Rare

Usage Note

Gaffer means to make a clumsy social mistake — j'ai encore gaffé ('I've put my foot in it again'). The related noun une gaffe means a blunder or faux pas, and un gaffeur/une gaffeuse is someone who regularly makes such mistakes. It is informal but very common in everyday speech.

Examples

"Il a encore gaffé devant ses collègues."

Natural Translation

He put his foot in it again in front of his colleagues.

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