pratfall

American  

[prat-fawl] / ˈprætˌfɔl /

noun

1. a fall in which one lands on the buttocks, often regarded as comical or humiliating.

2. a humiliating blunder or defeat.

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pratfall British  

/ ˈprætˌfɔːl /

noun

1. slang a fall upon one's buttocks

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Etymology

Origin of pratfall

First recorded in 1935–40; prat + fall

Explanation

A pratfall is a mistake that is particularly embarrassing, like going to a job interview with stains on your shirt. It can also be a silly goof done on purpose to make people laugh, like slipping on a banana peel. A pratfall originally referred to a fall on your butt, which was often done by comic actors for laughs. From there, it came to mean all sorts of unplanned screw-ups. A restaurant caught serving horsemeat has committed a pratfall. A politician’s inappropriate joke is a verbal pratfall. A football player who runs the wrong way and scores for the other team has done a pratfall. Oops!

Example Sentences

Those who are constantly predicting an Apple pratfall see the company selling out its future to Google.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

But Roberts also looked brilliant, as his pratfall injected some necessary lightness into the darkening team mood.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2025

Zucker, who trained with the French guru Philippe Gaulier, doesn’t just pratfall and malaprop.

From New York Times • Mar. 5, 2024

Crosby and Bryan Rust scored for the Penguins, who had their run of 16 consecutive playoff appearances end last spring thanks in part to a late-season pratfall against the Blackhawks.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 10, 2023

As I was telling you, they had just lifted me from the floor, my performance and subsequent pratfall the sources of a great feeling of camaraderie.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

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