Meaning
An embarrassing blunder in manners, etiquette or conduct; especially a socially awkward or improper act. The register is neutral to mildly formal, and it is used as readily of trivial social slips as of genuine gaffes. The plural is unchanged: two faux pas. Neutral to mildly formal; usable of trivial etiquette slips as well as serious gaffes, with an unchanged plural. Regional use: General English (borrowed from French).
Origin
French for 'false step' (faux = false, pas = step), used in French both of a literal misstep and of a figurative mistake. English borrowed it remarkably early: Merriam-Webster dates the first known use to 1676, and Dictionary.com records the borrowing between 1670 and 1680. From the start the emphasis fell on breaches of manners and conduct rather than literal stumbles, and the socially embarrassing sense has remained dominant, so that the phrase is now firmly fixed vocabulary for etiquette errors rather than a consciously foreign expression.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- faux pax
Usage Examples
- Wearing trainers to the wedding was the guests' mildest faux pas of the afternoon.
- Referring to the chair by her first name was a faux pas the new intern never repeated.
- The airline's seating chart caused a small faux pas when two passengers were assigned the same row.