Words: gaffe, gaff [AHED]

NOUN: 1. A clumsy social error; a faux pas: “The excursion had in his eyes been a monstrous gaffe, a breach of sensibility and good taste” (Mary McCarthy). 2. A blatant mistake or misjudgment.
ETYMOLOGY: French, from Old French, hook. See gaff.

NOUN: 1. A large iron hook attached to a pole or handle and used to land large fish. 2. Nautical A spar attached to the mast and used to extend the upper edge of a fore-and-aft sail. 3a. A sharp metal spur or spike fastened to the leg of a gamecock. b. A climbing hook used by telephone and electric line workers. 4. Slang A trick or gimmick, especially one used in a swindle or to rig a game. 5. Slang Harshness of treatment; abuse.
TRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: gaffed, gaf·fing, gaffs
1. To hook or land (a fish) using a gaff. 2. To equip (a gamecock) with a gaff. 3. Slang a. To take in or defraud; swindle. b. To rig or fix in order to cheat: knew that the carnival games had been gaffed.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English gaffe, from Old French, from Old Provençal gaf, from gafar, to seize, of Germanic origin. See kap- in Appendix I.