Put Your Foot in Your Mouth
Meaning: To accidentally say something embarrassing, rude or hurtful.
If someone says, “I really put my foot in my mouth,” they don’t mean it literally! It means they said something embarrassing or inappropriate. Example: “I asked her when the baby is due... and she wasn’t pregnant.” Oops! That’s definitely a foot-in-mouth moment.
How to use it
People usually say it about themselves after a social mistake: “I really put my foot in my mouth.” It’s informal but fine at work when you’re talking about an awkward moment. British speakers often say “put your foot in it.” Someone who does this a lot is jokingly said to have “foot-in-mouth disease.”
Examples
- I asked about her husband, and then I remembered they’d divorced. I totally put my foot in my mouth.
- He put his foot in his mouth by complaining about the boss while she was standing right behind him.
- Sorry, I put my foot in my mouth earlier. I didn’t mean it that way.
A common mistake
Match the possessive to the person: I put my foot in my mouth, she put her foot in her mouth, not “put the foot in the mouth.” The past tense is also “put,” not “putted.”
Say it out loud
Tabbi Daily gives you one short lesson like this every day. Listen, record yourself and hear how you sound. Free, no account needed.
Source: Cambridge Dictionary