muff moment
- noun
- Informal
:
momento torpe
- He had a muff moment during his presentation when he forgot his lines.
Examples
-
Dropping the cake right before serving was definitely my biggest muff moment this year.
-
That was a real muff moment in the meeting!
-
We all have an occasional muff moment, so don't worry about it.
-
I had a muff moment when I forgot my lines.
-
Dropping the cake just before serving was definitely my biggest muff moment of the year.
-
He had a major muff moment during his speech when he forgot what to say next.
-
Everyone experiences a muff moment now and then, so don't let it get you down.
Synonyms
53
3.3
A mistake that happens when someone confuses one thing with another
51
7.7
A remark or action made by accident that is embarrassing
50
3.5
A small mistake that causes embarrassment
49
3.0
A careless mistake that causes embarrassment or problems
44
5.3
A small wrong action that causes embarrassment or harm to people's trust
33
6.1
A careless mistake that causes problems or embarrassment
20
6.5
A problem that happens because of a big mistake and spoils plans
13
3.7
A small careless mistake you make by accident
9
3.4
A small mistake that is often embarrassing
6
7.7
An embarrassing mistake made when someone is careless or nervous
5
7.7
A serious, embarrassing mistake often caused by confusion or poor planning
5
9.9
A serious or embarrassing mistake that causes problems
4
7.7
A small unintentional mistake when speaking, writing, or performing an action
3
6.5
A careless mistake that shows a lack of skill
3
7.6
An embarrassing mistake that happens because of bad or careless work
3
9.9
A small problem that causes confusion or delay
1
7.2
An obvious embarrassing mistake that makes people laugh
1
9.6
A serious mistake that happens because of confusion or poor planning
1
8.7
An embarrassing mistake someone makes in public
A small mistake that causes embarrassment or trouble
A foolish mistake made without thinking that causes trouble
A costly mistake often made in sports or the military
A time when you make a silly, obvious mistake
A short time when someone acts silly
Antonyms
How Serious
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase simply combines 'muff' (a specific kind of error, originally a dropped catch) with 'moment' to signal a brief instance of making that error, so the overall sense is largely derivable from the parts. However, because 'muff' is a somewhat specialized/sports-oriented term and its generalization to any clumsy mistake requires pragmatic extension, the meaning is not fully predictable for an average B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Muff moment may come from sports, where a player tries to catch a ball but drops it. To muff a catch means to drop the ball. That quick moment of failure makes the phrase mean a 'clumsy mistake'.