Faux pas

:For the web comic, see Faux Pas (webcomic).

Origin of term

The term comes from French and literally means "false step". However, it is a formal rather than everyday expression in French and does not generally have the figurative meaning used in English. It is occasionally employed to describe a physical loss of balance or general mistakes (for instance: mes faux pas dans la vie, the mistakes I made in my life). If you use faux pas with the English meaning in France, people may think you are making a slight grammatical mistake with faut pas, the colloquial pronunciation of il ne faut pas, meaning must not in English. For faux pas with the English meaning, the French would usually say gaffe or erreur.

Related Topics:
French - English - Gaffe

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