faux pas en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˌfəʊ ˈpɑːz/ (Received-Pronunciation, plural)
- /ˌfoʊ ˈpɑ/ (General-American, singular)
- (Southern-England) audio
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː/ (Received-Pronunciation, singular)
- /ˌfoʊ ˈpɑz/ (General-American, plural)
- (General-American) audio
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French faux pas (“faux pas, blunder; misstep, false step”).
Meanings
-
An embarrassing or tactless blunder.
We could laugh at our scholastic blunders and our social faux pas's.
1869, The Cornellian, volume 124, Secret Societies of Cornell University, page 353: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.
2023 June 10, Roula Khalaf, “Lunch with the FT: François Hollande”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3:A saint after repentance will forgive himself for a sin; a man about town will never forgive himself for a faux pas.
1906, Chesterton, Charles Dickens, chapter 2: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.
1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, IV.iii:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| faux pas | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| faux pas's | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
faux pas · aberration · misstep · gaffe · boo-boo · bloomer · disadventure · fluff · erroneity · clanger · lapse · slip-up · blunder · mess-up · oopsy · wrength · misadventure · flub · screwup · floater · lapsus · thinko · fault · boner · inaccuracy · error · howler · misstep · blunder · solecism · blooper · fuckup · break · slip · cock-up · mistake · stumble · mistake · goof · slipup
Translations (38)
fr bourde (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · cmn 失禮 /失礼 (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · sv fadäs (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · ru просту́пок (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · it passo falso (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · ru некраси́вый посту́пок (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · ca pas en fals (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · fi etikettivirhe (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · cmn 失態 /失态 (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · cs faux pas (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · ca pas fals (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · da træde i spinaten (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · fi kömmähdys (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · pt passo em falso (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · pl faux pas (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · eo mispaŝo (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · cmn 失足 (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · cmn 失誤 /失误 (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · vi thất lễ (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · ca passa en fals (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · fi harha-askel (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · fi moka (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · fr faux pas (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · es metida de pata (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · ja 過失 (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · de Fauxpas (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · ru ло́жный шаг (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · sk prešľap (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · cmn 過失 /过失 (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · fr gaffe (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · sk trapas (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · ru опло́шность (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · sv klavertramp (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · fr impair (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · cs trapas (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · es metedura de pata (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · nl uitschuiver (an embarrassing or tactless blunder) · ru беста́ктность (an embarrassing or tactless blunder)