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drop a brick / faire une gaffe

Unknowingly to say or do something extremely tactless..

Polish

drop a brick / faire une gaffe = popełnić gafę, palnąć , strzelić głupstwo.

The story of the word "gaffe" begins with the Italian term gaffa, which referred to a fishing hook – yes, a hook. Originally, the idea was that a gaffe (hook) could "catch" or "snare" you, serving as a reminder to stay alert. Over time, the term evolved in French slang to mean being cautious or paying attention. The phrase faire gaffe means "be careful," almost like handing someone a fishing rod and saying, "Watch out for that hook!"

But the story takes an interesting twist. The gaffe in the phrase faire une gaffe may actually come from the Dutch word gaff (or gaffen), meaning clumsiness or fumbling. This word was borrowed into French to describe a socially awkward or clumsy mistake.
The story of the word "gaffe" begins with the Italian term gaffa, which referred to a fishing hook – yes, a hook. Originally, the idea was that a gaffe (hook) could "catch" or "snare" you, serving as a reminder to stay alert. Over time, the term evolved in French slang to mean being cautious or paying attention.
Gaffe is also used in French today in its primary meaning of "fishing hook".
In Russian, as the general term for gaffe I see оплошность - constructed as "around/about" + "bad" + suffix for qualities/manifestations. The verb phrase = совершить ... ("commit, perform"...). In principle it can designate any personal failure, not only in etiquette - as it doesn't much highlight the sense of shame, unless there are some adjectives supplied.

There are also дать маху ( ~"give a miss", more colloquial/expressive and also rather broad in meaning), опростоволоситься (the verb refers to appearance without hair covering - lit. "around/about" + "rough" + "hair" + "self"), выставить себя в дурном свете ("to expose self in a bad light") and other things related.
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Gaffe is also used in French today in its primary meaning of "fishing hook".
Merci !
1.Une gaffe est une longue perche en bois ou en métal (de nos jours souvent en aluminium).
2.En français, une gaffe désigne une action ou une parole maladroite, inappropriée ou inopportune, souvent due à une étourderie ou à un manque de tact.


1
We use it too as «γκάφα» [ˈga.fa] (f.) or (dialectal pronunciation) [ˈnga.fa], from Italian.
We don't drop bricks when we make a clumsy mistake or (mostly) say a stupid thing, we drop...potatoes 🙂
Thanks!

Italian

Un sinonimo di "fare una gaffe" è commettere uno sproposito o fare una figuraccia.
Other terms that can be used in a similar way include: fare una topica o fare una cantonata, especially in informal language.
In Russian, as the general term for gaffe I see оплошность - constructed as "around/about" + "bad" + suffix for qualities/manifestations. The verb phrase = совершить ... ("commit, perform"...). In principle it can designate any personal failure, not only in etiquette - as it doesn't much highlight the sense of shame, unless there are some adjectives supplied.

There are also дать маху ( ~"give a miss", more colloquial/expressive and also rather broad in meaning), опростоволоситься (the verb refers to appearance without hair covering - lit. "around/about" + "rough" + "hair" + "self"), выставить себя в дурном свете ("to expose self in a bad light") and other things related.
Thanks !

оплошность = nieroztropność, niezręczność, gafa.

опло́шный = wrong, erroneous.

опростоволоситься = dać plamę, skompromitować się.
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Thanks !

Is there any difference between: "to put your foot in it" and "to drop a brick".?
To make a mistake, to commit a faux pas. That's what I see for both. (In both languages). Notice that in CYM., you put in both feet, whereas ENG. only you place one foot ...

However, if you paid me as a lawyer, I'd try to work out a different nuance for each for you ... ;)
In Polish, ‘zrobic kozła’ can mean two things: to do a forward roll (a somersault) or to build an X-shaped wood-cutting stand.:p

Yep, prevračati kozolce (to turn around kozolecs) is a way to say do a forward roll. According to the etymological dictionary, kozolec (or similar) is a word for a somersalut in multiple languages, with parallels in Italian (capriola) and French (cabriole) as well, all stemming from how goats jump around.

However, kozolec is also this (a very Slovenian structure, used for drying hay) and it is 100% the first association of the word, which is why prevračati kozolce never made sense to me until today when I learned about the somersault meaning!!
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