slip on a banana skin/peel
idiom
: fail in an embarrassing way
The director has slipped on a banana skin in her latest film.
Examples of slip on a banana skin/peel in a Sentence
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Policymakers may stride confidently past their first victory, only to slip on a banana peel.
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Harold James, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2021
Nagy had to answer for all that went wrong as the Bears — on the doorstep of a relieving victory — again found a way to slip on a banana peel, fall into a pit of quicksand and get stuck directly under a cloud of falling anvils.
—Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, 22 Nov. 2021
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Harold James, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2021
Nagy had to answer for all that went wrong as the Bears — on the doorstep of a relieving victory — again found a way to slip on a banana peel, fall into a pit of quicksand and get stuck directly under a cloud of falling anvils.
—Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, 22 Nov. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Slip on a banana skin/peel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slip%20on%20a%20banana%20skin%2Fpeel. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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