pratfall

[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.
Origin
1935-40; prat + fall
Examples from the web for pratfall
  • She's not above taking the occasional comedic pratfall.
  • Despite steady advances in hardware, no machine could think as far as to laugh at a pratfall or make a bad pun.
  • When you've seen one pratfall, however, you've seen almost all of them.
  • There's not a gold tooth here that isn't lingered on lovingly, and not a pratfall that its characters won't take.
  • They have never called attention to themselves so demandingly, only to pratfall so comically.
  • In one violent gesture, the pratfall condensed the culture's dynamism and panic.
  • Faith without doubt leads to moral arrogance, the eternal pratfall of the religiously convinced.
  • That's a pretty expensive pratfall, although museum authorities say the painting can be repaired.
British Dictionary definitions for pratfall

pratfall

/ˈprætˌfɔːl/
noun
1.
(US & Canadian, slang) a fall upon one's buttocks
Word Origin
C20: from C16 prat buttocks (of unknown origin) + fall
Word Origin and History for pratfall
n.

1939, from prat "buttock" + fall (n.). "Chiefly N. Amer. slang" [OED]. As a verb from 1940.

Slang definitions & phrases for pratfall

pratfall

noun
  1. A fall on one's rump, esp by a clown or comedian: a perfect pratfall (1939+)
  2. A humiliating defeat; an embarrassing humiliation: the principles and pratfalls of the rhyming racket (1950+ fr theater)