banana skin

British

noun

the soft outer covering of a banana
informal something unforeseen that causes an obvious and embarrassing mistake

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of banana skin

sense 2 from the common slapstick joke of a person slipping after treading on a banana skin

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The former world number one did not make it easy for herself but managed to survive a potential banana skin, having gone 3-4 down in the deciding set.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026

For example, the plants glowed much more strongly when a ripe banana skin was nearby.

From NewsForKids.net • Jan. 19, 2024

Strawberry syrup and banana skin preserved in gesso offer bright, sticky-sweet contrast in some shadows.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 7, 2023

I make Eubank a chunky favourite but it's definitely a banana skin.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2023

And he became as pale as a dried banana skin.

From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023