banana peel on ground, waiting for someone to slip

“Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.”
—Cullen Hightower

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you really live such error-prone lives? Who are you people anyway?
Yep, some of us really do gaffe on a daily basis. The trick, we’ve learned, is to accept our blundering habits and enjoy the benefits the unintentional mirth brings into our lives. (For more on those benefits, check out Our Cheesy Analysis.)

Isn’t it dangerous to be making mistakes so constantly?
It can be. (The Darwin Awards have been honoring
the fatal flubs of the none-too-bright since 1995; the
awards “commemorate those who improve our gene
pool by removing themselves from it.”) But at GaffeaMinute.com we celebrate social gaffes, in which the only casualty is the pride that cometh before the inevitable pratfall.

How do I submit a gaffe?
Simply follow the instructions for Submit Your Gaffe.  It may take us some time to consider your submission. We’re likely off making blunders of our own; please don’t send inquiries about the status of your submission.

What if my gaffe doesn’t fit into any of your categories?
As more gaffes are added, we’ll be including more categories. In the meantime, we’re using An Embarrassment of Glitches as a catchall category.

Why didn’t you accept the gaffe I submitted?
We’ve warned you already: We’re error prone. Please forgive us.

Should I use my real name?
Sure! That’s totally up to you—but no last names will be posted. You may want to offer pseudonyms to protect the innocent bystanders in your story; many people use their middle names.

Why should I include my email address with my submission?
Sometimes the storytelling may need more clarity or detail; when we can email you, we’re more likely to help you tell the story right. Please note that we would never make the mistake of sharing or selling your email address; we will use it only to contact you with any questions we may have about your story.

What if I have questions or suggestions?
Email us at

Don’t you people ever learn from your mistakes?
We do, but by then we’re on to our next blunder.

How did you come up with the idea for this website?
We happened upon it accidentally.

What’s with your terrible puns?
We can’t help it; the revel is in the details.

What is a gaffer anyway?
The chief electrician in charge of lighting a movie or television set. “Gaffer” may also refer to an old man or, in England, a foreman or overseer. Our favorite definition, or course, would be “one who gaffes.”

What TV characters have been the most gaffe-prone?
We’d nominate Lucy Ricardo on “I Love Lucy”; other favorite contenders include Rob Petrie on the “Dick Van Dyke Show,” George Costanza on “Seinfeld,” Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart,” Michael Scott in “The Office,” and Larry David in “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

I made a funny blooper the other day, but it wasn’t really a gaffe. Do you have a category for those?
No—but our sister website does. Missinterpretation.com celebrates mistakes in speech (Slips of the Lip), hearing (Operator Errors), reading (Warp Reads), and understanding (Faulty Transmissions).

We can’t help but wonder—are these gaffes all merely Freudian slips?
Possibly. As the saying goes, “If it’s not one thing, it’s your mother.”

Do you have any advice for those of us who are always flubbing our lines and stubbing our toes?
Slow down, you move too fast. What we’ve learned when our gaffes involve other people: a simple apology, uttered immediately and sincerely, is best, along with self-deprecating humor.  Apologies that claim the blame—“Forgive me, I’m addle brained!” or “Sorry! I’m such a knucklehead!”—often get us out of jams of our own making.


Google
 

The Movie
Gaffers Quiz

And we don’t mean the ones lighting the sets.

Test Your
Gaffe Quotient

Are you having a bad err day? Or are you always good for a gaffe?

Submit Your Gaffe
See your shame in lights!