Kinsley gaffe

English

Etymology

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

Noun

Kinsley gaffe (plural Kinsley gaffes)

1. (US politics) A mistake whereby a politician inadvertently says something truthful which they had not meant to reveal.
   • 2013 October 9, Max Fisher, The Washington Post‎^[1]:

     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.

   • 2018, David A. Graham, “Trump Can Never Go Too Far for Republicans”, in The Atlantic:

     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.