Ratner moment
- noun
- Literature
:
momento Ratner
- The CEO's comments about his customers led to a disastrous Ratner moment for the company.
Examples
-
His comments about the product were a huge Ratner moment for the company.
-
After that Ratner moment, the CEO had to step down.
-
Fearing a Ratner moment, the politician rehearsed her speech multiple times.
-
Journalists were quick to report every Ratner moment during the heated debate.
-
The CEO's careless remarks during the interview turned into a damaging Ratner moment for the company.
-
After his tactless comment went viral, many labeled it a major Ratner moment that affected his reputation.
-
In trying to downplay the issue, she accidentally created a public Ratner moment that backfired spectacularly.
Synonyms
51
7.7
A remark or action made by accident that is embarrassing
49
3.0
A careless mistake that causes embarrassment or problems
13
8.8
An embarrassing act or remark that upsets people in social situations
1
7.2
An obvious embarrassing mistake that makes people laugh
1
8.7
An embarrassing mistake someone makes in public
A short embarrassing mistake you make
How Damaging
Surface Forms
Morphology
Ratner + moment
This is an eponymic expression referring to a specific public-relations fiasco (the Gerald Ratner incident); a learner who knows the word 'moment' but not the proper name 'Ratner' cannot infer 'an embarrassing PR incident' from the parts. The meaning depends on cultural/historical knowledge of that event rather than transparent composition, so it is not predictable from the constituents.
Etymology
Ratner moment comes from a real event in Britain when Gerald Ratner, the owner of a jewellery company, joked in public that some of his own goods were low quality and people were shocked, which badly hurt the business. So, a 'Ratner moment' now means an embarrassing public mistake or a 'careless remark' that damages a person's reputation.