clanger

Obvious public gaffe

A clanger is a glaring mistake, especially one that causes embarrassment: She dropped a clanger by mentioning his ex-wife at dinner.

The word is primarily British.

The image is of something that clangs—a bell, a dropped pan—drawing unwanted attention to itself.

To drop a clanger is the standard phrase.

blunder

gaffe

Clumsy social error

blooperEmbarrassing recorded mistake
howlerEmbarrassingly obvious mistake
boobFoolish person

boo-boo · slip-up · misstep · flub · botch · fumble · mishap · bungle · snafu · goof

noise

clash

Violent disagreement or collision

bangSudden loud noise
clunkDull, heavy sound
dinSustained unpleasant noise

racket · reverberation · echo · crash · clatter · clanking · jarring · discordant · cacophony

bell

peal

Resonant ringing burst

chimeMelodic bell sound
tollFee for passage
knellSolemn bell stroke

ring · resonance · reverberation · carillon · belfry · steeple · tocsin · handbell

Categories

oopsoops, whoops, whoopsie, oopsie, woopsie
Australian footballAFL, handball, mark, specky, torpedo
errorserror, mistake, blunder, blunders, fault
mistakesmistake, mistakes, slip, error, errors

Opposites

correctness and accuracy

clangeraccuracy

Degree of correctness

precision · correctness · perfection · exactness · exactitude

social grace and appropriateness

clangertactfulness

Skill in sensitive situations

diplomacy · discretion · savoir-faire · finesse · delicacy

conspicuousness of error

clangernear miss

Narrowly averted incident

Phrases

drop a clangerMake embarrassing verbal mistake
dropped a clangerMade tactless blunder

Family

clang, clanging, clangs, clanged, clangor, clangers

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Timeless · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G