0 a sudden unexpected situation that makes a person appear silly or causes them difficulty:
The new tax has proved to be a banana skin for the government.
I can recommend this as an excellent substitute for a banana skin because it is lethal if stepped on unawares.
I always thought that misadventure is when one slips on a banana skin, or something of the kind.
I hope that he will pick up this banana skin before we slip on it.
Let us, for example, take two men, who fall on a banana skin in the street, with serious consequences.
How many times will an elementary error in judgment by some political party be referred to as "a banana skin"?
He thought that he would be able to make his reputation without slipping on a banana skin.
It has the potential of being a major banana skin for my noble friends.
Another weary old cliche is "the banana skin".
