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Glite Dictionary
to put foot in it

to put foot in it

3 7.7
To say or do something embarrassing by accident
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : meter la pata
  • She had really put her foot in it.
  • gone and put foot in it

Examples

  • And whenever he tries to be clever, he puts his foot in it.

    Blog text (14)

  • I've gone and put my foot in it.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • You really put your foot in it!

    Blog text (4)

  • Southern Cross spokesperson puts his foot in it.

    Academic text (2011)

  • I will say that if Sandy promised wholesale changes, he put his foot in it.

    Blog text (17)

  • You put your foot in it by using the word "hysterical."

    Blog text (29)

  • Thank goodness he hadn't opened his big mouth and put his foot in it.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • So, in my haste to 'apologize,' I'd also inadvertently put my foot in it.

    Blog text (28)

  • He didn't want to put his foot in it, and it was a good thing he asked, because Paxton shrieked at the very suggestion.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I really put my foot in it when I mentioned her ex at the party.

Synonyms

to make a fool of oneself
vsto put foot in it
42 4.1

Act in a way that makes you look silly or embarrassed

is narrower, focusing on accidental tactless words or actions rather than general foolishness
to slip up
vsto put foot in it
  • Informal
27 4.1

To make a small careless mistake

is more about accidental tactless acts or words rather than small errors
to fall on one's face
vsto put foot in it
  • Informal
6 7.6

To fail badly and embarrass yourself in front of other people

is more about saying or doing something tactless rather than broad failure
to make a blunder
vsto put foot in it
1 4.2

Do something that is a serious and embarrassing mistake

is mainly about accidental tactless speech or acts rather than all mistakes
to stick one's foot in it
vsto put foot in it
  • UK
1 8.5

To say or do something embarrassing by accident

is the same idea but expressed with different wording
to put one's foot in one's mouth
vsto put foot in it
  • Informal
8.2

To say something embarrassing without meaning to

expresses the same accidental embarrassment but with another phrasing
to blunder out
vsto put foot in it
  • Informal
7.4

To say something quickly and carelessly without thinking

is similar but focuses on accidental awkward speech rather than actions
to drop a bollock
vsto put foot in it
  • Offensive
9.9

To make a serious, embarrassing mistake by being careless

is similar but usually implies accidental awkward speech or behavior
to make an oopsy
vsto put foot in it
  • Informal
8.2

To do something small and silly by accident

is more about accidental embarrassing or tactless acts with greater impact
to show one's butt
vsto put foot in it
  • Informal
9.9

To embarrass yourself by doing something awkward in front of other people

focuses more narrowly on accidental spoken tactlessness rather than revealing acts

How Embarrassing

to humiliate
  • Offensive
414 6.1
to put foot in it
  • UK
3 7.7
to slip up
  • Informal
27 4.1

Surface Forms

put foot in it infinitive
put foot in it past
put foot in it past participle
putting foot in it present participle
puts foot in it third person singular

Morphology

put + foot + in + it

The meaning 'to say or do something embarrassing' cannot be predicted from the literal constituents 'put' + 'foot' + 'in' + 'it' — physically putting a foot somewhere has no semantic link to making a verbal blunder. This is a conventional idiom (usually 'put one's foot in it') and is language-specific/idiomatic, so a B1 learner who only knows the individual words would not reliably infer the idiomatic meaning.

Etymology

The idiom put foot in it may come from the image of literally putting your foot in a puddle or a pile of mud and making a messy scene in front of others. So it means 'to say or do something embarrassing'.