(PRAT-fahl)

(n.) 1. A fall upon one's butt 2. A humiliating defeat or failure

The word "pratfall" becomes even more picturesque if you know that since at least the 16th century, "prat" (also spelled "pratt") has been slang for "buttocks." (Actually, at times "prat" has been used to denote just one buttock, as in this line from a 1641 work: "First set me down here on both my prats.")

"Pratfall," on the other hand, as it were, is of relatively recent vintage, first appearing in the 1930s in the world of theater. There "pratfall" denoted such a fall taken for comic effect. More recently, this word has taken on a metaphorical meaning as well, such as when Ray Bradbury wrote in Fahrenheit 451:

"Life becomes one big pratfall."