pull a boner

Make a silly mistake. Though this phrase seems to possess sexual connotations due to a shift in the meaning of the word "boner", the original phrase actually has racist origins.

From eigozai.com:

The expression "to pull a boner" comes from the old American minstrel shows. There was a man in these shows who was called Mr. Bones because he carried two small sticks of bone that he used as an instrument. He was asked questions by one of the other men in the show, just to get stupid but funny answers. This became known as "pulling boners." But in time, the expression, "to pull a boner," meant something more than getting an answer to make you laugh. It meant a bad blunder a mistake that was costly. And a man who pulled such boners was often described as a "bonehead."

Either put down the Heinie or the hammer drill. Are you trying to pull a boner? Beer and power tools simply don't mix!

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