Gauche describes someone or something having or showing a lack of awareness about the proper way to behave. When describing a person or a behavior, gauche can mean “socially awkward” or “tactless”; when describing an object (such as a product with a vulgar image or slogan on it) it can mean “crudely made or done.”

// Some people view giving cash in lieu of a wrapped present to be terribly gauche, but I like knowing that my friends and family will be able to pick out something they truly want.

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“Ignorance of classical music, for many people, is no longer something to be ashamed of, as it was sixty or seventy years ago. If you are indifferent to it, no one will notice; if you hate it, you may even be praised for your lack of snobbery. Almost no one will be so gauche as to tell you that you are missing out on something that could change your life.” — David Denby, The New Yorker, 20 July 2025

Although it doesn’t mean anything sinister, gauche is one of several words (including sinister) with ties to old suspicions and negative associations relating to the left side and use of the left hand. In French, gauche literally means “left,” and it has the extended meanings “awkward” and “clumsy.” These meanings may have come about because left-handed people could appear awkward trying to manage in a mostly right-handed world, or perhaps because right-handed people appear awkward when trying to use their left hand. Regardless, awkwardness is a likely culprit. Fittingly, awkward itself comes from the Middle English awke, meaning “turned the wrong way” or “left-handed.” On the other hand, adroit and dexterity have their roots in words meaning “right” or “on the right side.”