"Faux pas" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... attempt, abortive attempt, abortive efforts; flash in the pan, lame and impotent conclusion [Othello]; frustration; slip 'twixt cup and lip &c (disappointment) 509. blunder &c (mistake) 495; fault, omission, miss, oversight, slip, trip, stumble, claudication^, footfall; false step, wrong step; faux pas [Fr.], titubation^, bevue [Fr.], faute [Fr.], lurch; botchery &c (want of skill) 699 [Obs.]; scrape, mess, fiasco, breakdown; flunk [U.S.]. mishap &c (misfortune) 735; split, collapse, smash, blow, explosion. repulse, rebuff, defeat, rout, overthrow, discomfiture; beating, drubbing; quietus, ...
— Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases: Body • Roget
... be more complex than that at a symphony concert. This is a distinct advantage, for it gives you a splendid opportunity to catch some wretch applauding before the music is really finished. Nothing is quite comparable to the satisfaction of smiling knowingly at your neighbors when this faux pas is committed, unless it be the joy of being the first to applaud at the REAL conclusion. This latter course, however, is fraught with danger for the beginner; the chances for errors in judgment are many, and the only sure way to avoid anachronistic applause ...
— Perfect Behavior - A Guide for Ladies and Gentlemen in all Social Crises • Donald Ogden Stewart
... diplomatic faux pas was the disaster which befell the United States battleship Maine: On January 24, 1898, the Government had announced its intention of sending a warship on a friendly visit to Havana; with the desire of impressing the local Cuban authorities with the imminence of American power. Not ...
— The Path of Empire - A Chronicle of the United States as a World Power, Volume - 46 in The Chronicles of America Series • Carl Russell Fish
... knew that the reactionary platform was not only an unsafe one, but an impossible one for the empire to stand upon in Mexico; and they were endeavoring to extricate themselves from the consequences of their faux pas with as much dignity and consistency as circumstances would admit. The awkwardness of the situation was, therefore, only added to by this demonstration of piety and filial obedience on the part of the new Mexican rulers. Yet it had the effect of rallying the clergy for the time being, who ...
— Maximilian in Mexico - A Woman's Reminiscences of the French Intervention 1862-1867 • Sara Yorke Stevenson
... in this new field, with some applause, He clear'd hedge, ditch, and double post, and rail, And never craned, and made but few 'faux pas,' And only fretted when the scent 'gan fail. He broke, 't is true, some statutes of the laws Of hunting—for the sagest youth is frail; Rode o'er the hounds, it may be, now and then, And once o'er ...
— Don Juan • Lord Byron |
