Meter la pata

Meaning: To make a blunder or put your foot in it.

Language: Spanish

Literally: To put the paw in

Category: Animals

Origin: The most widely accepted theory points to hunting: an animal that stepped into a hidden trap — metiendo la pata, literally putting its paw or leg in — was caught, its own misstep the direct cause of its trouble. That image transferred naturally to a person's own carelessness leading to an embarrassing or damaging mistake. A second, more speculative theory reaches for "Pateta," a once-common regional Spanish nickname for the devil, suggesting the phrase may have been worn down through generations of oral transmission from some now-obscured devil-related saying — considerably less well-supported than the hunting-trap theory. The 19th-century novelist Benito Pérez Galdós used the phrase in his writing to describe social and etiquette blunders, helping popularize it in something close to its modern sense.