Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A fall on the buttocks.
- n. A humiliating error, failure, or defeat: "His characters not only survive their snarled problems and pratfalls but learn from their experiences” ( Joyce Carol Oates).
Wiktionary
- n. A fall onto the buttocks.
- n. A humiliating mistake.
- n. A staged trip or fall, often for comedic purposes.
- v. To fall on to the buttocks.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a fall onto your buttocks
- n. an embarrassing mistake
Etymologies
- prat + fall (Wiktionary)
Examples
“True that, somehow, a pratfall is always funnier than a straight walk, even on a high wire.”
“Or consider what psychologists call the "pratfall effect": Attractive people, it turns out, become more attractive if they commit a blunder.”
“If you can’t tell a joke without yelling into the mic or making some kind of pratfall, then I suggest you invest your money well, you’ll need it very soon and for a long time. —”
Can Anyone Explain Dane Cook to Me? - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com
“Comity takes another pratfall at the Kirkland household with this compelling argument”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Why Recalls of U.S. Senators Are Unconstitutional
“Moneyrunner: Comity takes another pratfall at the Kirkland household with this compelling argumentArthur then makes the case for partisan posturing rather than principle.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Why Recalls of U.S. Senators Are Unconstitutional
“No 'whatever happened to Spangles' routine – just pratfall after pratfall.”
The Guardian: Wigan Athletic Premier League 2011-12 team guide
“It waits for somebody like you to pratfall and then it jumps.”
The Guardian: Tina Brown left looking for new print partner as Newsweek-Daily Beast talks collapse
“There was more to the joke than just the pratfall or its equivalent.”
The Huffington Post: Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: Due Date
“Not because he's just a dog but because he's the only character in the film who knows how to do a pratfall and that trick is no small feat by any means.”
The Huffington Post: Nancy Chuda: The Artist: A Review With an Extra Big Shout Out to Uggy
“A good pratfall is what turned the silent screen into an audience's roar.”
The Huffington Post: Nancy Chuda: The Artist: A Review With an Extra Big Shout Out to Uggy
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pratfall’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
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EN-HU - important words for a HU inte...
Words only (I left out the expressions) from Geza Kerenyi's EN-HU interpreters' dictionary. Most of them pose some difficulty when interpreted between HU and EN in either or both directions.
abalone, abrasive, abstractionist, abstruse, abysmal, academia, accessibility, accessible, acclimate, accolade, accompanist, achiever and 1469 more...
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My Little Phonies
Names for the next generation of My Little Ponies. Inspired by Star's list.
juggernaught, flamboyant, cuddly maggot, astrobleme, agroof, windburn, poshlost, crucifer, feedbag, dunderwhelp, nebelwerfer, bliss ninny and 453 more...
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Something is wrong here
Spelling mistakes and other verbal blunders
abolishment, aerobic numbers, affidavid, all of the sudden, alphabeticalize, anticlimatic, anchors away, arm's way, artical, ashfault, assumably, baited breath and 176 more...
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Fall
fall, fall in with, fall in love, The Fall, Fallen Angel, fallen angel, nuclear fallout, Things Fall Apart, waterfall, Falling Water, fall apart, falling and 55 more...
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Dean Koontz Life Expectancy
Words I'm learning or investigating that I found by reading Life Expectancy (not all words are in the book).
chutzpah, luminous, torchieres, dunderheaded, inane, lummox, fox-trot, rumba, cha-cha, tango, swing, flub and 37 more...
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Things that fall
words that end in fall
befall, deadfall, dew-fall, dewfall, downfall, evenfall, foot-fall, footfall, free-fall, freefall, icefall, infall and 18 more...
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Potpourri
eponymous, aa, pulchritude, gizmo, macabre, sui generis, solecism, solipsism, eldritch, samizdat, queue, obsequious and 469 more...
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Papageno's Words, Pt. II
cicurate, circumforaneous, codger, comiconomenclaturist, constable, contradistinction, contraindicated, counterpane, coxcomb, decalcomania, decanal, decoction and 307 more...
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MiaLuthien's list ♥
gambit, prehensile, coquetry, impunity, genuflect, ensconce, clavicle, delude, beget, castigate, life caching, convoluted and 478 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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P is for Porch Dog
My P Words
paddington, paddy wagon, paddy whack, paddywhack, paisano, pandemonium, pantaloon, pantaloons, paper tiger, papoose, parachute pants, parcel and 109 more...
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Consider the Lobster
By David Foster Wallace
percussive, discursive, lugubrious, docent, assiduously, berm, wag, bonmot, imbroglio, telegraph, fissile, rube and 220 more...
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vmarinelli's Words
canard, gumption, inexorable, insouciance, inviolable, mordant, euphonious, sawbuck, carpe diem, pay dirt, adipocere, profligate and 496 more...
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word list!!!!
lagniappe
syzygy, bloviate, lagniappe, laconic, condign, umbrage, susurrus, thaumaturgy, capacious, capitulate, glower, repast and 179 more...
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Sugarbuzz's Words
buzz, widget, haiku, manifesto, warble, supernova, attenuate, mania, diabolical, behemoth, beguile, lascivious and 106 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for pratfall.
myth Adding to who knew Apr 12, 2009
oroboros Literally: a fall on your ass. Jan 9, 2007