A faux pas is a violation of accepted social norms

Convention (norm)

A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom....

 (for example, standard customs

Norm (sociology)

Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...

 or etiquette

Etiquette

Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...

 rules). Faux pas vary widely from culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

 to culture, and what is considered good manners

Manners

In sociology, manners are the unenforced standards of conduct which demonstrate that a person is proper, polite, and refined. They are like laws in that they codify or set a standard for human behavior, but they are unlike laws in that there is no formal system for punishing transgressions, the...

 in one culture can be considered a faux pas in another. The term comes originally from French, and literally means "misstep" or "false step".

This expression is usually used in social and diplomatic contexts. The term has been in use in English for some time and is no longer italicised when written. In French, it is employed literally to describe a physical loss of balance as well as figuratively, in which case the meaning is roughly the same as in English. Other familiar synonyms include gaffe and bourde (bourde, unlike faux pas, can designate any type of mistake). A "fashion faux pas

Fashion faux pas

A faux pas is defined as "a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion." More specifically, a fashion faux pas is an unfortunate error in fashion etiquette. Entire decades have been considered a "fashion faux pas"...

" occurs when the error is directly related to a person's appearance or choice of clothing.

"Faux pas" also sounds similar to "Faut pas", which is French for "Must not", which coincidentally has similar meaning.

This expression originated during the time of Louis XIV. During his reign, dance was so important in the royal courts that to make a false step in any one of the many dances could get you thrown out.

See also

• Culture shock
  Culture shock
  Culture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation and anger that may occur when a person is emplaced in a new culture.One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign country. Culture shock can be described as consisting of one or more distinct phases...
  
  
• Eavesdropping
  Eavesdropping
  Eavesdropping is the act of secretly listening to the private conversation of others without their consent, as defined by Black's Law Dictionary...
  
  
• Etiquette
  Etiquette
  Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
  
  
• Etiquette in Africa
  Etiquette in Africa
  As expectations regarding good manners differ from person to person and vary according to each situation, no treatise on the rules of etiquette nor any list of faux pas can ever be complete. As the perception of behaviors and actions vary, intercultural competence is essential...
  
  
• Etiquette in Asia
  Etiquette in Asia
  As expectations regarding good manners differ from person to person and vary according to each situation, no treatise on the rules of etiquette nor any list of faux pas can ever be complete. As the perception of behaviors and actions vary, intercultural competence is essential...
  
  
• Etiquette in Australia and New Zealand
  Etiquette in Australia and New Zealand
  Expectations regarding good manners differ from person to person and vary according to each situation. As the perception of behaviors and actions vary, intercultural competence is essential...
  
  
• Etiquette in Europe
  Etiquette in Europe
  Etiquette in Europe is not uniform. Even within the regions of Europe, etiquette may not be uniform: within a single country there may be differences in customs, especially where there are different linguistic groups, as in Switzerland where there are French, German and Italian speakers.Despite...
  
  
• Etiquette in Latin America
  Etiquette in Latin America
  Etiquette in Latin America varies by country and by region within a given country.-Generalizations:There are several definitions of Latin America, but all of them define a huge expansive of geography with an incalculable amount of different customs, However, some generalizations can be made:*As...
  
  
• Etiquette in the Middle East
  Etiquette in the Middle East
  Many matters of etiquette in the Middle East are connected to Islam as it is written in the Qur'an and how it has been traditionally understood and practiced throughout the centuries...
  
  
• Etiquette in North America
• Intercultural competence
  Intercultural competence
  Intercultural competence is the ability of successful communication with people of other cultures.A person who is interculturally competent captures and understands, in interaction with people from foreign cultures, their specific concepts in perception, thinking, feeling and acting...
  
  
• Social alienation
  Social alienation
  The term social alienation has many discipline-specific uses; Roberts notes how even within the social sciences, it “is used to refer both to a personal psychological state and to a type of social relationship”...