slip of the lip

slip of the lip

An unintentional mistake made while one is speaking, such as incorrect pronunciation, word choice, or meaning. The news anchor's innocent slip of the lip has gone viral, of course.
See also: lip, of, slip
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

slip of the lip

Also, slip of the tongue or pen . An inadvertent mistake in speaking (or writing), as in It was just a slip of the lip that made me say the wrong name, or She didn't mean it; it was a slip of the tongue, or He intended to write "the honorable" but a slip of the pen turned it into "reverend." The usage with pen dates from the mid-1600s; the others are a century or so younger.
See also: lip, of, slip
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • a slip of the tongue
  • slip of the tongue
  • a slip of the tongue/pen
  • a slip of the pen
  • slip of the pen
  • curl (one's) lip
  • curl your lip
  • suite
  • tout de suite
  • tout suite
References in periodicals archive
This year a silver award was earned by the October Nostalgia column, “A Slip of the Lip Will Sink a Ship,” by Dorothy Stanaitis in the Article category in the Community Organizations Division.
In presenting their guidelines, Defense Department flacks insist that the censorship is necessary for security reasons: A slip of the lip will sink a ship, and all that.