Putting your foot in it
 

I'd like to hear some good 'putting your foot in it' stories.


I do this all the time, so will probably add to this thread twice-weekly, but for now, here's one recent one, and an oldie I love.

Recently, one of my sons joined the cub scouts, and got his shirt and some badges. Last night my wife was pinning it up ready to sew the new badges on, and she said to him 'you could learn to sew them on, then you'll earn your needlework badge', to which I said, 'Nah, you don't wanna do that, needlework is for...'

The word 'girls' turned to ashes in my brain as I got a withering look from my wife.

I searched desperately for a good, plausible alternative, and coughed up '...those that are good at fiddly stuff. There's other badges you need to get first'.

The pause was too long - the freeze already set in for the night. Oh well.


Favourite 'put your foot in it story':

Guy I worked with had to go to a board meeting, and the CEO was a big woman. I mean BIG.

Anyway, he was talking to the board - about 14 people - and he was talking about not giving up on a lost opportunity, and ended by saying, 'well, it's not over until...'

He stopped. Everyone knew what he was gonna say. They all looked up and stared at him, at one end of the table. Then they all turned in unison to look at her face, at the other end of the table. They back to him. Like watching a tennis match.

He had to finish, so he bleated out '...the fat lady sings.'

What else could he do?


I laughed like drains when he told me afterwards.


Any good stories like that?

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

[ QUOTE ]

Guy I worked with had to go to a board meeting, and the CEO was a big woman. I mean BIG.

Anyway, he was talking to the board - about 14 people - and he was talking about not giving up on a lost opportunity, and ended by saying, 'well, it's not over until...'

He stopped. Everyone knew what he was gonna say. They all looked up and stared at him, at one end of the table. Then they all turned in unison to look at her face, at the other end of the table. They back to him. Like watching a tennis match.

He had to finish, so he bleated out '...the fat lady sings.'



[/ QUOTE ]

Lol. This sounds like something David Brent would do. Can't you picture it?

I don't know if I can add much to your thread DB. I hate when I embarrass myself and try to blank it from my memory immediately . I'll see if I can recall any horribly embarrassing moments for the sake of the forums. (keep in mind it's not as easy for some of us to come up with these things as it is for you. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img])

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

haha it was very Brent-like, but was years before that ever came about.


Come on, people do stupid things all the time. You've never mistaken a woman for a man? Or asked a woman when it's due and she's not pregnant?

It happens to me all the time.

The other day I pulled into a parking space at a shopping park, got out of the car, and some guy calls me over. I just assumed he was trying to say it was his space as he was sorta stationary and looking like he was gonna try and pull in there too, but I'd been waiting 5 minutes to get in there, and was peeved, so I marched over and started haranguing him.

Turns out he wanted to ask me where about the pizza hut was.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

Alright here's one for you. It's something my boyfriend did a couple years ago. He had this habit of calling me during his slow days at work when he was bored and trying to trick me by disguising his voice. (yes I know, very mature, what can I say.)

So one time he calls me and I didn't recognize him because he sounded like an old man from the south, with this deep gravelly voice, like an old timer who had smoked a million cigarettes over a lifetime. When I realized what he was doing I had to laugh because he did sound a lot like this guy he worked with, Mac. Overall it seemed like a silly exercise but I guess he was bored.

Later that evening he confided to me that while he was sitting with his feet on the desk doing his best Mac imitation into the phone he was unaware that Mac had actually walked into the shop and overheard him talking to me. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] He said it was pretty embarrassing and he didn't want to face Mac again.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

freshman year of college, early in the semester

i was asleep in my room one evening when i was woken up by the voice of a girl laughing. i was pretty hungry, so i stumbled to the dining hall still half asleep. my friend asked me if i had just woken up and i responded "yeah. i'd still be asleep but some girl was squealing like a banshee in our common room." he gives me a "nice going, dumb ass" look and then the girl across from him says something (don't remember exactly what) and i immediately recognize her voice as the one that woke me up.


edit: i apologized 3 or 4 times and then walked away w/my tail b/t my legs. somehow we still became friends.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

Lol! Awkward. That's a good one Tarheel.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

hah yeah. needless to say i was VERY nice to her throughout college. she turned out to be such a sweetheart, which made it even worse.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

I'm in Egypt on a peacekeeping mission in 86. Right on the Red Sea. You used to have to pull Company and Battalion runner duty...ans phones sweep floors, etc. My buddy Curtis has Co, I have Battalion. To pass the time, we play chess over the phone, call with move, hang up. About 2AM, I'm tired as hell, I answer the phone and the guy Tells me he has a sheep. I figure its my buddy Curtis screwin around so I play along. I ask him what type of sheep. (He is speaking in an Italian accent BTW) He tells me he has a big sheep. I'm crackin up now. I say, tell me more. He tells me the sheep has guns-Im pissin myself. He tells me the sheep has a da guns and isa in the Red Sea-I swear to God I'm cryin now-picturing a sheep with a gun holster swimmin in the Red Sea. This goes on for like 3 minutes- then the guy says he is with CPU. CPU is the Coastal Patrol Unit manned by the Italians, the radios to the TOC(Tactical Ops Ctr) were out, he called HQ to report. After I empty my bladder I run to the TOC and tell the OIC(Officer in Charge) Crazy

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

I was at a software conference in DC where I ran into an old colleague from another company. We chatted while waiting at the registration table. They didn't have this guy's registration info so I suggested that he should call our old boss and stick him with the bill. I then asked him how the old boss was doing and how things at the old firm were going. My colleague gave me a confused look.

"You do realize that I've been working at the same plant as you [at my new firm] for the past four months, and that we've been on the same project for six weeks, right?"

Doh.

Names confound the heck out of me. One week ago tonight I was at a political fundraiser. A familiar looking fellow approached, called me by name, asked after my wife by name, and I could not for the life of me recall who the [censored] he was. Another acquaintance approached the two of us, and I couldn't remember his name either. After an agonizing two minutes I excused myself by saying, "I'm sorry, gents, The Warden is giving me the eye." I'm an ass.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

[ QUOTE ]
Recently, one of my sons joined the cub scouts, and got his shirt and some badges. Last night my wife was pinning it up ready to sew the new badges on, and she said to him 'you could learn to sew them on, then you'll earn your needlework badge', to which I said, 'Nah, you don't wanna do that, needlework is for...'

The word 'girls' turned to ashes in my brain as I got a withering look from my wife.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure why this is putting your foot in it. Needlework...is for women.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

This summer my older sister, her husband and I were sitting around talking about her their new baby and life in general. My sister turns the conversation to herself and makes some comment about being overweight and ugly. Completely not thinking, I look my sister dead in the eyes and say "You are not ugly". Of course, she takes this to be me admitting that she is in fact fat and starts bawling. I felt like [censored].

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

On a school trip when I was 16, a guy in my crowd of friends, David, tells me he is thinking of dumping his long-term girlfriend and first love, Julie.

When I get back, I tell this to another friend, Mark.

At a party a few days later that I don't go to, Mark goes up to Julie and says "So, how does it feel now that David's dumped you?" She burst into tears. David hadn't told her yet, and was maybe having second thoughts. But this broke them up.

She phoned me at home screaming at me for repeating her boyfriend's confidence (is it my fault he wants to dump you?). I'm in my parent's front room, they are sitting watching TV while I try to get this crazy girl off the phone. My mother asks if I'm having "friendship problems".

It was very, very embarrassing.

Thirteen years later, David and Julie are happily married, while Mark and I haven't had a serious girlfriend between us.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

Recently a friend of a wife asked me what I'd go as to a fancy dress. I replied 'A catholic priest, cos then I could lust after the little boys and people would think I was in character'.

She didn't laugh.

EDIT: Thinking back, I think she might be a Catholic.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

When I was 18 I had a job in a factory, assembling wires into switches. Our work station was next to the office. Keep in mind this was a factory office. Low key. Two managers and sometimes a secretary to do bookwork. We were also conveniently located next to the door.

This was the kind of place where 90% of the people who worked there were young and everyone partied.

I'm at my station and some unknown guy walks in. If I remember right, there was no one in the office at the time. So I ask him, "Can I help you with something?"

He gives me a strange look and says no.

Turns out he was one of the owners. I hadn't seen him before because he worked out of a different location.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

A young lady at work was showing off her new tattoo.

I turned to the nearest co-worker, as straight-laced conservative guy as you've ever met, and I say, "Anyone who gets a tattoo is an idiot."

He replied, "Have I ever shown you my tattoo?"

(Fortunately, he knew I was prone to hyperbole, so he let it slide. I still felt about six inches high.)

///

In high school, I got a small part in the senior class play.

A girl named Liz was cast in the second-biggest female part, but she really struggled the first couple of weeks of rehearsal. She just wasn't very good at this.

I swing by the auditorium on a day where I'm not needed at rehearsal. I just dropped by to see some friends. Some kids are on the stage rehearsing, but a different girl is playing Liz's part. Liz is sitting in the front row, with other kids who are waiting for their scenes to be rehearsed.

"Hey Liz, why is Karen up there doing your part?"

Yes, I was that dumb.

Liz ran from the theater, crying. Everyone who heard the "exchange" looked at me in horror.

I had no excuse. Still don't.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

Every year, down here in sunny Orlando, Epcot has a food and wine festival. We get as many friends as we can gather and go on an all out drinking around the world fest, it's a total blast. Well, among my friends, I'm known as that crazy, super lazy poker guy. So far be it from me to dissapoint, every year I rent an electric wheel chair to ride around in as I get crazy drunk.

Out of the thirty or so of us that attended that day, I knew about 20 or so, a few were newcomers, who didn't know my gig. So I meet everybody and off I go to rent my electric wheelchair, a hoveround type of device. Immediately at expected, I'm mocked for being that lazy. Prepared for this, I tell them that we're going to be drinking all day, and within a few hours they'll be begging for rides. So I suggest that they all rent one and we can be a "gang".

Fast forward to a few hours later, of course by this time we're all faced, and one of the newcomers, a guy named Reggie, who I had just met that day, asked me if he could get a ride on my wheelchair. I told him to piss off, I had told him to get one, and he had refused, now he would have to suffer, because there was no way I was giving up mine. By the way, Reggie had burn marks all up and down both his arms, but I didn't ask, and he didn't tell, so no big deal.

So a few more hours pass and a friend of mine Bob approaches me and asks me what I think of Reggie. I reply, he's a solid guy, very funny, and cool all around. Bob then tells me that Reggie is a Desert Storm veteran and was in an IED explosion, where he lost both of his legs. Yes, both of his legs, he's got prostethesis from above the knees. You'd never be able to tell looking at him if you didn't know. [censored], I just turned down a legless vet for a ride in my wheelchair that I don't need. Ummmm yeah, that pretty much makes me the biggest prick on the planet.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

6th Grade, as a fun creative exercise thing we were asked to come up with an excuse to why we didn't do our homework.. so it comes around to me and I said I had to get a kidney removed.. so then the teacher starts to ball (not ball laughing, ball crying) and I'm like hmm wtf.. so then she says that her daughter had a kidney operation not long ago and I'm not sure but I think she sorta berated me saying that's not funny.. Anyways so I felt like [censored].. then she went up to me later and said it wasn't my fault I didn't know.. but I still felt like [censored] then I started to cry too.

Trying to think of a more recent one, I'm sure it happens all the time but can't think of anything specific right now.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

[ QUOTE ]

among my friends, I'm known as that crazy, super lazy poker guy. So far be it from me to dissapoint, every year I rent an electric wheel chair to ride around in as I get crazy drunk.

[/ QUOTE ]

lolol! You sound just like my friend crazy John. This is something he would do.



[ QUOTE ]


So a few more hours pass and a friend of mine Bob approaches me and asks me what I think of Reggie. I reply, he's a solid guy, very funny, and cool all around. Bob then tells me that Reggie is a Desert Storm veteran and was in an IED explosion, where he lost both of his legs. Yes, both of his legs, he's got prostethesis from above the knees. You'd never be able to tell looking at him if you didn't know. [censored], I just turned down a legless vet for a ride in my wheelchair that I don't need. Ummmm yeah, that pretty much makes me the biggest prick on the planet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Geez Runkmud this story just kills me. It's just cringe-inducing. I think you win this thread! Your story makes the one I was going to tell about the cheese pizza seem really lame.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

[ QUOTE ]
Your story makes the one I was going to tell about the cheese pizza seem really lame.

[/ QUOTE ]

spill it, Peg.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

Well it pales in comparison to what Runkmud did but ok this is all i could come up with.

Every now and then our boss holds a staff meeting where lunch is provided. Usually she delegates the food selection to one of her managers, or she goes around and takes a poll. But she has a budget for this type of thing so sometimes we get a really sweet lunch.

Anyway, the last lunch meeting we had I was pretty excited because I happened to be starving. I go into the conference room and get in line behind everyone else. When I finally get up to the counter where our lunch is all laid out before us I see that it is 5 extra large cheese pizzas. (Now you have to know me but I really love pizza, just not cheese pizza. I say put a topping on that damn pie! anything at all...an onion, a piece of green pepper...I really don't care).

So anyway there are about 4 of us standing at the counter eying our selection (if you can call it that) and I say "Geez, who's the Bozo who ordered 5 cheese pizzas for a staff meeting! I hate cheese pizza." only to get a frozen smile and the eyeball movement from my friend who was standing next to me. Apparently the bozo who ordered the pizza was standing up there with us. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

2nd semester of high school chemistry. I'm having a conversation with A and B who sit near me during a lab. B says "she" in reference to A. We've been together in this class for months, so I'm quite sure A is a guy. I correct B with "he". B says "she" again quietly. I'm not backing down. This insult to A will not stand. I break out my advanced debating techniques. I talk louder. "A is a guy." I state unequivocally. B narrows her gaze and stares me down. While I wonder what B's problem is, A bursts into tears and runs out of the class.

Oops. I apologize to B, for all that's worth. I felt awful. Being in high school is tough enough, I didn't want to make an innocent girl miserable.

I can forgive myself for being an idiot. I can't forgive myself for not tracking down A and trying to make things right. I didn't try because it would have been uncomfortable for me. How bad was it for her?

I don't remember if she ever attended that class again. That was 20 years ago. Sorry A.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

I posted this a while back in another thread...

I was in the 11th hour of a 12 hour shift this last weekend and had a patient that was a paraplegic.
She is in her 2nd trimester and there for evaluation of abdominal pain. As part of my usual assesmment I ask if she has felt her baby kicking or moving around.
She replies, "She is moving constantly, never stops"
I then(stupidly) say, "Well, she will keep you on your toes."
A moment of uncomfortable silence and I move right along to the next question.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

[ QUOTE ]
freshman year of college, early in the semester

i was asleep in my room one evening when i was woken up by the voice of a girl laughing. i was pretty hungry, so i stumbled to the dining hall still half asleep. my friend asked me if i had just woken up and i responded "yeah. i'd still be asleep but some girl was squealing like a banshee in our common room." he gives me a "nice going, dumb ass" look and then the girl across from him says something (don't remember exactly what) and i immediately recognize her voice as the one that woke me up.


edit: i apologized 3 or 4 times and then walked away w/my tail b/t my legs. somehow we still became friends.

[/ QUOTE ]

Awkward, but you didn't have much if anything to apologize for. It sounds more like she was the one caught out.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

[ QUOTE ]
This summer my older sister, her husband and I were sitting around talking about her their new baby and life in general. My sister turns the conversation to herself and makes some comment about being overweight and ugly. Completely not thinking, I look my sister dead in the eyes and say "You are not ugly". Of course, she takes this to be me admitting that she is in fact fat and starts bawling. I felt like [censored].

[/ QUOTE ]

Hahaha, women are professionals at this. Don't try to compete as an amateur!

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

There's a sort of goofy one I remember. It was kind of a reverse putting your foot in it.

Some guy came by a place I used to work at many years ago, fixing some wiring somewhere. We talked a bit, and he seemed like a nice guy. Then he asked me a casual question, and I responded, "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

He looked shocked and not one more word came out. After a bit more of him working, and talking in the process to others in the office, I realized what had happened and told him, and we both breathed a sigh of relief. He thought I had suddenly put on huge airs and put him in his place, which was down down down. "I thought you were the owner or something," he said. Actually, he had been asking for an authorization or something and what I had meant to get across was that I was so low on the totem pole that my stapler probably had more authority than I did.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

[ QUOTE ]
Every year, down here in sunny Orlando, Epcot has a food and wine festival. We get as many friends as we can gather and go on an all out drinking around the world fest, it's a total blast. Well, among my friends, I'm known as that crazy, super lazy poker guy. So far be it from me to dissapoint, every year I rent an electric wheel chair to ride around in as I get crazy drunk.

Out of the thirty or so of us that attended that day, I knew about 20 or so, a few were newcomers, who didn't know my gig. So I meet everybody and off I go to rent my electric wheelchair, a hoveround type of device. Immediately at expected, I'm mocked for being that lazy. Prepared for this, I tell them that we're going to be drinking all day, and within a few hours they'll be begging for rides. So I suggest that they all rent one and we can be a "gang".

Fast forward to a few hours later, of course by this time we're all faced, and one of the newcomers, a guy named Reggie, who I had just met that day, asked me if he could get a ride on my wheelchair. I told him to piss off, I had told him to get one, and he had refused, now he would have to suffer, because there was no way I was giving up mine. By the way, Reggie had burn marks all up and down both his arms, but I didn't ask, and he didn't tell, so no big deal.

So a few more hours pass and a friend of mine Bob approaches me and asks me what I think of Reggie. I reply, he's a solid guy, very funny, and cool all around. Bob then tells me that Reggie is a Desert Storm veteran and was in an IED explosion, where he lost both of his legs. Yes, both of his legs, he's got prostethesis from above the knees. You'd never be able to tell looking at him if you didn't know. [censored], I just turned down a legless vet for a ride in my wheelchair that I don't need. Ummmm yeah, that pretty much makes me the biggest prick on the planet.

[/ QUOTE ]

sorry, but this is funny as hell. Plus, you get a pass because you didn't know! How could you?

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

I'm racking my brain for a story, but I really can't think of anything the slight bit mortifying.

Either I'm a saint or just so vain my ego chooses not to remember the times I've made a fool of myself.

I'm guessing the latter.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
freshman year of college, early in the semester

i was asleep in my room one evening when i was woken up by the voice of a girl laughing. i was pretty hungry, so i stumbled to the dining hall still half asleep. my friend asked me if i had just woken up and i responded "yeah. i'd still be asleep but some girl was squealing like a banshee in our common room." he gives me a "nice going, dumb ass" look and then the girl across from him says something (don't remember exactly what) and i immediately recognize her voice as the one that woke me up.


edit: i apologized 3 or 4 times and then walked away w/my tail b/t my legs. somehow we still became friends.

[/ QUOTE ]

Awkward, but you didn't have much if anything to apologize for. It sounds more like she was the one caught out.

[/ QUOTE ]

interesting. i insulted someone to their face, albeit unknowingly, so i apologized w/o even thinking about it. the fact that i called her out in front of a group of people, some of whom she didn't know, makes it even more appropriate.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

Well, you didn't call her out, because that's something you can't do unknowingly. You lacked the intent to call anyone out. You didn't even have the intent to so much as hurt anyone's feelings or address anything that you knew someone in the room did. What you did was make a simple statement. Whether the statement was fair or not is all that's at issue. Did she indeed howl like a banshee? If so, you may rest your case.

It seems like one of those awkward situations where nobody is really at fault, but if you want to apologize, it can't hurt. Doing it over and over and feeling it's still not adequate, and carrying guilt and shame around for years because of it, seems like overkill to me, but to each their own.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

So I'm meeting with a couple(husband and wife) of customers at work. I'm doing a satisfaction survey with them to make sure that everyone was polite with them on their visit to our resort. I'm friendly and like making friends. The man is wearing a pair of Persol sunglasses. I genuinely like Persols so I say, "Hey great sunglasses." He replies yeah they're OK and takes them off and puts them on the table. I start explaining to him how Persols have world class lenses. I talk about the history of the company and how they were first designed for Italian fighter pilots in WW I. I point out to him the the Persol insignia on the side of the glasses. He says that he just likes them because they're comfortable, and seems generally disinterested in conversing about the subject.(This doesn't slow me down though) I respond that of course they are comfortable because of the way the temples of the glasses are designed, but the true greatness of the Persol sunglasses is the world class lenses. At this point he is making no eye contact with me, and just staring off into space. I feel like I'm talking to myself. I finally give up on the conversation. I finish up the survey with them and ask him to sign his credit card receipt. At this point his wife takes the pen and places it in his hand and then guides his hand to the paper to sign. Yes he is blind. Of course he doesn't give a [censored] about the lenses, he just likes them because they're comfortable.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

LOL. Oops. Well, you had no bad intent at least. It would have nice of the lady to cut you off before you made a fool of yourself.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

[ QUOTE ]
2nd semester of high school chemistry. I'm having a conversation with A and B who sit near me during a lab. B says "she" in reference to A. We've been together in this class for months, so I'm quite sure A is a guy. I correct B with "he". B says "she" again quietly. I'm not backing down. This insult to A will not stand. I break out my advanced debating techniques. I talk louder. "A is a guy." I state unequivocally. B narrows her gaze and stares me down. While I wonder what B's problem is, A bursts into tears and runs out of the class.

Oops. I apologize to B, for all that's worth. I felt awful. Being in high school is tough enough, I didn't want to make an innocent girl miserable.

I can forgive myself for being an idiot. I can't forgive myself for not tracking down A and trying to make things right. I didn't try because it would have been uncomfortable for me. How bad was it for her?

I don't remember if she ever attended that class again. That was 20 years ago. Sorry A.

[/ QUOTE ]
Heh, I witnessed a very similar situation this summer. But this time there was no crying or running; we all just stood there and baked in the awkwardness for what seemed like two minutes.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

While in a chemistry laboratory, I spent some time making fun of a certain group known as the Promise Keepers. The guy next to me, who I sometimes studied with, I believe, was wearing a shirt for said organization. Oops.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

Thanks Katy, and thanks Dom, yeah, sadly they don't give awards for this [censored]. I really kind of screwed myself, I actually have a ton of these stories, as it's kind of one of my superpowers, but unfortunately I brought up the latest and greatest and it overshadows my previous acomplishments. However, I also believe there's a great deal of freedom in setting oneself up to take falls like this. Honesty is one of the rare seen beauties of our humanity, for better or worse. It's what makes reality television the most watched television of today. We, are the unknown variable, and one of the few species on the earth that have a sense of humor, which, while alone guaranees us no place on the upper food chain, should anyway.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

Wednesday I had to go this meeting at work. It was long, boring, and freezing cold in the room, and when I got out all I wanted to do was go outside where it was warm and smoke a cigarette.

On the way to do this I ran into a student here at the college that I'm pretty good friends with and he started grabbing my shoulder and being really hyperactive. I look at him and I said "Can you quit [censored] touching me now?" He was a little taken aback, but calmed down and we go outside to smoke together.

Anyway we are talking about it, and I said I just don't like being touched which isn't necessarily true (it just was at that moment). I decided to make a joke that you shouldn't and said it was a direct result of my being sexually assaulted as a child. He seemed responsive to this explanation, and then I let him know that I was joking. I then found out that he was sexually assaulted by his crack-head biological father as a child.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

When I was at school there was a history teacher who was basically a midget, like 4'11 or so, and he was a guy, so everyone ripped him for it.

One day he came into our class as he needed some textbooks from my teacher, he took a handful and then came back 5 minutes later.

My teacher asks 'Did you have enough books?'

Midget replies 'No, I'm two short'


He proceeded to go red after everyone laughed at him, poor fella, I'm sure he was a nice guy.

I seem to be quite good at not putting my foot in things. (touch wood)

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

My gf of three years (I'm 23) was moving to a different city to go to law school. Right before she left, we planned a big romantic last-night celebration. A night at the W hotel, reservations at a nice French restaurant, champagne and strawberries, the works.

When we check into the hotel, there's a wedding group occupying most of the lobby, and we sign-in just as the bride is descending the big, majestic staircase. On the way to dinner, we pass three girls on their way to a bachelorette party, including one girl with a tiara and a sash that says, "I'm the bride!" When we get to the restaurant, there's a wedding party at the restaurant. Right as they're toasting the bride and groom, I look over the candlelit table into her beautiful brown eyes and say, "Boy, talk about ominous!"

*forehead slap*

She immediately got up and went to the bathroom for ten minutes.

What I meant was, "we're clearly too young to get married, we've even TALKED EXPLICITLY about being too young and not being ready, not to mention one of the points of you going to law school and me staying here so that we could both grow as people and live our lives and potentially meet other people so we don't get too close to each other and worry about 'what might have been', so now that we're clearly established that we are absolutely no where in the vicinity of talking about marriage at this juncture, it is interesting and noteworthy that there has been a lot of matrimonial imagery surrounding us on this exceedingly romantic night of nights. Also I love you very much."

When she got back, I hemmed and hawed through a less-eloquent version of the above paragraph. She was not amused. Fortunately the champagne was very good and I think she eventually understood what I meant and the night was pretty wonderful nevertheless.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

I'm not sure if this qualifies, but it was certainly an embarrassment.

One summer, I was "working" as a music counselor for a summer camp. I was more like a CIT (counselor in training) because I wasn't quite old enough to get paid, perhaps 15.

Anyway, I managed to get my hands on some pot, from an older counselor. Then I talked some of my peers into going into a wooded area, which I though was out of the way enough to be safe.

What seemed like the PRECISE moment that I was passing a joint to another person and was reassuring them - "don't worry, there's no way they could be looking out here right this second" -- a few security people came down upon us. I was really astonished by their timing. It was like they were waiting for me to make some wise ass comment before they seized us.

And now that I think about this, what made the whole thing worse was the subsequent interrogation, when I basically cracked and disclosed my source. I don't know why I did that, but somehow I was convinced they already knew, which perhaps they did. Also, my recollection is that I was up for several hours, in the middle of the night, before I gave in. Still, to this day, I'm still somewhat ashamed of the whole episode.

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

Haha you cracked and disclosed your source? God Wynton. You can't disclose your source. So what happened to you? Did you stay on as a counselor?

Re: Putting your foot in it
 

wynton: stop snitchin