meter la pata
verbCEFR B1
What does “meter la pata” mean in English?
to put one's foot in it, to blunder socially
to put one's foot in it, to blunder socially (colloquial; intransitive idiom — fully opaque)
Example sentences
Metí la pata cuando mencioné el accidente delante de su hermano sin saber que era un tema muy delicado para la familia.
I put my foot in it when I mentioned the accident in front of his brother, not knowing it was a very sensitive subject for the family.
Creo que metí la pata con lo que dije en la reunión; deberías haberme avisado antes de que hablara.
I think I put my foot in it with what I said in the meeting; you should have warned me before I spoke.
Siempre mete la pata cuando conoce a gente nueva porque habla sin pensar y luego no sabe cómo arreglarlo.
She always puts her foot in it when she meets new people because she speaks without thinking and then doesn't know how to fix it.
How to use it
Meter la pata means 'to put your foot in it', 'to mess up', or 'to blunder'. It is informal/colloquial and should not appear in formal writing. Pata technically means 'paw' (of an animal) or colloquially 'leg/foot' in informal contexts — the idiom is fully opaque. The structure is meter la pata (intransitive — no direct object) or meterla (with clitic substitution). Common contexts: social gaffes, verbal blunders, making tactless comments. The past tense meti la pata is extremely common in narrative storytelling.
Common mistake
Pata in this idiom is not pie (foot). While English 'put your foot in it' uses foot, Spanish uses pata (animal paw/leg). There is no literal translation bridge — this is a pure opaque idiom. Register: very informal/colloquial; not appropriate in formal or academic writing. The idiom does not take a complement: you do not meter la pata en something — just meter la pata.