What is a Faux Pas?
Faux pas is a French expression which means “false step.” It is used in English to indicate a social blunder or error, made unintentionally by someone who is unaware of social conventions in the area he or she is visiting. French speakers typically use the word gaffe to describe a similar situation, rather than faux pas, which is used slightly differently by native French speakers. Typically, when someone commits a faux pas, he or she is gently corrected by someone else in the vicinity. When correcting someone because they have made a faux pas, it is conventional to take them aside, rather than embarrass them in front of the entire company, unless the offense was egregious and needs to be corrected immediately. Generally, most people recognize that someone does not commit a faux pas out of malice, especially when an act of attempted kindness accompanies the faux pas.
