rake-stepping

Etymology
Popularised by a gag in the 1993 episode "" of , in which, already injured, accidentally steps on several rakes, causing the handles to hit him in the face.

Noun

 * 1)  The act of repeatedly making damaging and avoidable mistakes.
 * 2) * 2019, Tina Nguyen, "Biden Advisers Worry the Gaffes Are Becoming a Problem", Vanity Fair, 13 August 2019:
 * But the rake-stepping won’t stop, and the attacks won’t go away, raising the question of whether there will come a tipping point for Biden.
 * 1) * 2023, Mark Gongloff, "FEMA Isn’t Ready for Our New Age of Climate Disasters", Bloomberg, 12 September 2023:
 * And despite occasional attempts at reform, usually in response to some epic rake-stepping by the agency, federal disaster relief has gotten no simpler or more effective.
 * 1) * 2024, Tom E. Curran, "Five burning questions the Patriots need to answer this summer", NBC Sports Boston, 19 June 2024:
 * VP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf oozes with, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing …” and has deftly escaped any blame for the personnel rake-stepping of the past few seasons.