put your foot in it
put your foot in it (British)
also, put your foot in your mouth
Meaning
- say something (by mistake) that upsets, humiliates, or embarrasses someone
- make an embarrassing, inappropriate or stupid statement
- causing embarrassment with a tactless remark
- to be unintentionally disrespectful, thoughtless, or offensive
- to commit an indiscretion or social blunder
- to accidentally do or say something that you later regret
Example Sentences
- Carla put her foot right in it when she congratulated her neighbour on being pregnant. It turns out she’s not expecting but had just put on weight.
- The president is always putting his foot in his mouth. He embarrasses himself and his party every time he speaks.
- Martin put his foot in it today. He was moaning about having no bonuses this year, and the boss was standing right behind him. How awkward!
- Mary and Joe had such a row the whole street must have been able to hear it. Apparently, Joe had put his foot in it by referring to her by his first wife’s name.
- A couple of times, it’s happened that someone really had screwed up on my team, and I put my foot in my mouth.
- I suggest you that don’t put your foot in your mouth at the party and look stupid.
- The first impression does matter unless you put your foot in your mouth and manage to ruin the interaction before it starts.
- At some point in your quest to learn Spanish, it is quite likely that you will put your foot in it and that will leave those around you clutching their sides as they try to control the laughter.
- You’re blessed with the ability to gab but are also known to put your foot in it.
Origin
This informal phrase dates back to at least the early 1700s, and there is mixed history for it.
One origin alludes to stepping in something unpleasant. In ‘Polite Conversation,’ Jonathan Swift wrote, ‘The bishop has put his foot in it.‘ In 1823 the phrase was defined in a book of slang.
Other sources say that it derived from a variation of ‘foot and mouth disease’ – a dreadful medical condition affecting livestock with hooves. Although it is possible for cows and sheep to recover, farmers usually destroy infected animals in order to stop the spread amongst the rest of the flock or herd.
So, ‘foot in mouth disease’ would imply that someone has said/done something as awful or problematic as this disease.
Share your opinions3 Opinions
Donna’s offensive vernacular spelling aside, I think the use of this idiom for food cooked well is used in irony, not referring to how a dog eats. Similar to telling a waitress that the food was so bad, I had to make it disappear.
‒ Andrew May 7, 2024
I also wonder about the way it is used today, mainly in black communities, to refer to how someone cooks well. As in “girl you put yo foot in dis chicken.” I think it is a reference to when a dog puts his foot in a plate to lick every last morsel off so as not to miss a drop. The dog had to work hard to get it all therefore “he put his foot in it” to hold the plate down to accomplish the feat.
‒ Donna January 29, 2022
Also; “Stepped in it”, meaning to be in a sticky, smelly or otherwise repugnant situation.
‒ Michael Joseph Foy January 21, 2022