banana skin

• Expression britannique informelle désignant un obstacle inattendu, une erreur embarrassante ou une situation qui fait trébucher ou échouer quelqu'un, souvent en public ou de manière humiliante.

An informal British expression referring to an unexpected obstacle, embarrassing mistake, or a situation that causes someone to slip up or fail, often in a public or humiliating way.

1. Literal meaningA1formal

   The outer yellow peel of a banana fruit.

   Peau de banane

   • He slipped on a banana skin left on the floor.
   • Please throw the banana skin in the compost bin.
   • The monkey peeled the banana skin with its teeth.

2. Figurative: cause of embarrassmentB2informalbritish

   An unexpected problem or situation that causes embarrassment or failure.

   écueil imprévu

   • The politician's comment was a real banana skin for his campaign.
   • The unexpected question was a banana skin for the unprepared speaker.
   • He stepped on a banana skin when he forgot his lines during the play.