Blooper
A blooper usually refers to a faux pas made by an actor while filming a television show or movie. These bloopers, or out-takes as they are also called, are often the subject of television shows or are sometimes revealed during the closing title sequence of movies. Compilations of bloopers are known as gag reels.
Specific examples include: uncontrollable laughter, unanticipated incidents (i.e. a prop falling or breaking), forgotten lines, or deliberate sabotage of an actor's performance by a fellow actor (to evoke laughter).
The term "blooper" was coined by TV producer Kermit Schaefer, who produced many record albums in the 1950s and 1960s collecting actual and recreated bloopers taken from radio, film and television.
The term blooper is sometimes used in the game of baseball to refer to a weakly hit ball that carries just beyond the infield, or a high pitch that is lobbed to the batter. Also, it can be used in any sport to refer to a particularly funny mistake or other incident (e.g., tripping over another player's shoe, attempting to slide into the home plate in baseball but falling considerably short), similar to the film/television sense. This sense is often expanded to "sports blooper".
Blooper is also the nickname of the M-79 grenade launcher, a weapon used extensively by American infantry forces during the Vietnam War. The Blooper served as a close support weapon bridging the gap between hand thrown grenade range and mortar fire.
External link:
