bloomer
noun
Bloomer — a British colloquialism for an embarrassing, often comic mistake
Definition
An embarrassing mistake
In depth
A bloomer is an embarrassing mistake, the word carrying a distinctly British, somewhat dated colloquial flavor, used much as 'blooper' describes an error that is awkward but ultimately more amusing than genuinely damaging. The term should not be confused with the unrelated word for the loose trousers historically worn by women, despite the identical spelling.
Origin
The word's origin as slang for an embarrassing mistake is uncertain, possibly related to an older sense of 'blooming' as an intensifying adjective in British slang, unrelated to the clothing reformer Amelia Bloomer, whose name separately gave English the unrelated word for the loose-fitting trousers she popularized in the nineteenth century.
Usage examples
"He made a real bloomer during the interview, accidentally calling his interviewer by the wrong name entirely."
"The newspaper's correction the next day acknowledged the bloomer with good-humored embarrassment."
"British comedy has long mined the social bloomer for reliable laughs, the awkward faux pas a staple of the genre."
How to use it
Bloomer in this sense is distinctly British and somewhat dated colloquial vocabulary, well suited to casual, lighthearted British English writing, though American readers may find it more familiar as the unrelated clothing term.
Related concepts
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