clanger

Plural: clangers

Noun

• a conspicuous mistake whose effects seem to reverberate
  • "he dropped a clanger"
• Something that clangs; an alarm bell (also figuratively).
• The clapper of a bell, anything that strikes a bell or other metal object to make a ringing sound.
• A very noticeable mistake; an attention-getting faux pas.
• A mistake made by a player; counted in the game statistics in the category "errors including frees against".
• An early hi-hat consisting of cymbals mounted on the rim of a bass drum and struck with an arm on the drum's pedal.
• A cicada, Psaltoda claripennis, of New South Wales and Queensland, having an upper body of green and brown and clear wings with green veins.
• Short for Bedfordshire clanger.

Examples

• "He dropped a real clanger when he criticized the paraplegic for not standing."
• "In his speech, the best man got the bride's name wrong. What a clanger!"

Synonyms

blooper, blunder, boo-boo, faux pas, gaffe, pratfall