Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A fall on the buttocks.
- noun A humiliating error, failure, or defeat.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
fall onto thebuttocks . - noun A
humiliating mistake . - noun A
staged trip orfall , often forcomedic purposes. - verb To fall on to the buttocks.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a fall onto your buttocks
- noun an embarrassing mistake
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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True that, somehow, a pratfall is always funnier than a straight walk, even on a high wire.
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Or consider what psychologists call the "pratfall effect": Attractive people, it turns out, become more attractive if they commit a blunder.
In Fiction, Opposites Attract Jennifer Vanderbes 2011
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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 2007
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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.
Nancy Chuda: The Artist: A Review With an Extra Big Shout Out to Uggy Nancy Chuda 2012
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There was more to the joke than just the pratfall or its equivalent.
Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: Due Date Marshall Fine 2010
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Comity takes another pratfall at the Kirkland household with this compelling argument
The Volokh Conspiracy » Why Recalls of U.S. Senators Are Unconstitutional 2010
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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 2010
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A good pratfall is what turned the silent screen into an audience's roar.
Nancy Chuda: The Artist: A Review With an Extra Big Shout Out to Uggy Nancy Chuda 2012
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No 'whatever happened to Spangles' routine – just pratfall after pratfall.
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It waits for somebody like you to pratfall and then it jumps.
Tina Brown left looking for new print partner as Newsweek-Daily Beast talks collapse < 2010
oroboros commented on the word pratfall
Literally: a fall on your ass.
January 9, 2007
myth commented on the word pratfall
Adding to who knew
April 12, 2009