Put your foot in your mouth

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Meaning

To say something clumsy or offensive by mistake, tripping over words.

Origin

From 19th-century Britain, tied to 'foot in it'; a 1780s phrase for mess, slang by 1870s for speech. An 1878 Trollope novel uses it for a faux pas.

Variants

  • Foot in mouth

Usage Examples

  • He put his foot in his mouth calling her old.
  • I put my foot in my mouth joking about her ex.
  • She put her foot in her mouth at the meeting-ouch!

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