Foot就是一只脚，disease就是病。Foot in mouth disease从字面上来解释，它的意思就是，把脚放在嘴巴里的病。当一个小娃娃把自己的小脚放到嘴巴里去的时候，人们会觉得很好玩。但是，要是一个大人想这么做的话，他就会显得很傻，很愚蠢，就像你意识到自己说错了话一样。下面是一个典型的出言不当的例子。

Pete did it again! He asked Mister Jones what his wife was doing these days. I guess he'd forgotten Missus Jones died last fall. Poor Pete！I have never seen a worse case of foot in mouth disease.

皮特又犯了同样的毛病 。他问琼斯先生他的太太最近在干什么。我想他把琼斯太太去年秋天去世的事给忘了。可伶的比德。我从来没有见过比这样出语不当更严重的了。" 更多信息请访问：http://www.engbus.cn/

从某种程度上来说，每个人都有说错话的可能。下面我们要举的例子也很有趣。一个丈夫由于对妻子不忠诚而闹得家庭不和，他正在设法弥补跟妻子的关系。下面是他们的一个朋友在跟自己的太太说话:

David is trying very hard to make up with his wife. But his sister said at the party last night that she would never live under the same roof with her husband if he had an affair like David. She has a real case of foot in mouth disease!

戴维德正在努力和他太太弥补关系。但是，他的妹妹昨晚在聚会上说，要是她的丈夫像戴维德那样有外遇的话，她是绝对不会再跟她的丈夫住在一起的。她真是有毛病，说话说得那么不恰当。