Kinsley gaffe

noun

A mistake whereby a politician inadvertently says something truthful which they had not meant to reveal.

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Meanings

nounKinsley gaffe (plural Kinsley gaffes)

plural Kinsley gaffes

  1. USgovernmentA mistake whereby a politician inadvertently says something truthful which they had not meant to reveal.

    Give Thune credit for candor, or at least for a Kinsley gaffe: Intentionally or not, he made clear that the game was getting the best available walk-back and moving on.

    2018, David A. Graham, “Trump Can Never Go Too Far for Republicans”, in The Atlantic
    1 more example

    They said it had been only a trial run, posted in error, showing hypothetical results from one small electoral district. You might call this a sort of Kinsley gaffe on a national scale.

    2013 October 9, Max Fisher, The Washington Post

Origin

Named after American journalist Michael Kinsley (b. 1951), who drew attention to the phenomenon.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Kinsley gaffe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kinsley%20gaffe

MLA

“Kinsley gaffe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kinsley%20gaffe. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Kinsley gaffe,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Kinsley%20gaffe.

Source: Kinsley gaffe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.