ˈgaf, -aa(ə)f, -aif noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, gaff, gaffe — more at gaff III
: a marked especially social or diplomatic blunder or clumsy mistake : faux pas
mere social gaffes and unfortunate encounters of the sort which used to provide copy for … society jokes — Times Literary Supplement
his attention to detail is really remarkable and seldom permits a major gaffe — W.F.Albright
like all newspapers it sometimes commits a gaffe — Stuart Keate