slip of the lip

Idioms  

1. Also,. An inadvertent mistake in speaking (or writing), as in It was just a slip of the lip that made me say the wrong name, or She didn't mean it; it was a slip of the tongue, or He intended to write “the honorable” but a slip of the pen turned it into “reverend.” The usage with pen dates from the mid-1600s; the others are a century or so younger.

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Example Sentences

"You can't afford to let your concentration slip for even a moment when there's a camera pointed at you … and it doesn't take more than a minor slip of the lip to bring on the crows."

From US News

While he was waiting for someone to answer the bell, he read the faded sticker on the crystal of the door, “A slip of the lip can sink a ship.”

From Literature

Makor Rishon deputy editor, Uri Elitzur, deemed Bennett's remarks untrue - "an unpleasant slip of the lip" - and said his newspaper would come out against any settlement evacuations.

From Reuters

So did they think the stumble was because of the ill-fated “47 percent” slip of the lip, or the hasty effort to gain a political edge after the death of an American ambassador in Libya, or more problematically, a campaign that can’t seem to stop pratfalling no matter what the news?

From New York Times

The latest slip of the lip occurred during his Sarajevo visit.

From Time Magazine Archive