rake-stepping
nounEtymology Popularized by a gag in the 1993 episode "Cape Feare" of The Simpsons, in which Sideshow Bob, already injured, accidentally steps on several rakes, causing the handles to hit him in the face.
1
Slang The act of repeatedly making damaging and avoidable mistakes.
- But the rake-stepping won’t stop, and the attacks won’t go away, raising the question of whether there will come a tipping point for Biden.2019 August 13, Tina Nguyen, “Biden Advisers Worry the Gaffes Are Becoming a Problem”, in Vanity Fair:
- And despite occasional attempts at reform, usually in response to some epic rake-stepping by the agency, federal disaster relief has gotten no simpler or more effective.2023 September 12, Mark Gongloff, FEMA Isn’t Ready for Our New Age of Climate Disasters, Bloomberg:
1 more example
- VP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf oozes with, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing …” and has deftly escaped any blame for the personnel rake-stepping of the past few seasons.2024 June 19, Tom E. Curran, “Five burning questions the Patriots need to answer this summer”, in NBC Sports Boston:
- Related terms
- step on a rake, fuck around and find out, Leopards Eating People's Faces Party, make one's bed and lie in it, play stupid games, win stupid prizes, reap what one sows