Meeting your significant other's parents for the first time is about as nerve-wracking as it gets.
With plenty of opportunities for mishaps and mayhem, such meetings have been the fodder of rom-com films since the beginning of time.
But one man's real-life story takes the cake if his tale is to be believed.
The stuff of Reddit legend, his tale about a potato prank that hilariously backfired was originally shared several years ago but his embarrassing faux pas is making the rounds again after Reddit users were asked: "What's something you assumed everyone was aware of and shocked that they aren't?"
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While there were plenty of shocking answers, from tins of baked beans to Beyoncé, none stood out more than a sarcastic reference to the man who pretended not to know what a potato is.
And as the nervous suitor came to find out, he made a "bad mistake".
In his original post, NotKnowPotato explained he was meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time when his nervous attempts to impress her family "backfired".
Even before the big dinner, he was feeling "aghast, nervous, and bashful."
So like many before him, he tried "a comic bit, to make a good impression."
But his attempt at humour went seriously wrong when his joke failed to impress the rest of the dinner table.
"When I saw that baked potatoes were served I got the idea that it would be very good if I pretended I did not know what potatoes was. That would be funny," he claimed.
"So first when the potato became on my plate, I acted very interesting. I showed an expression on my face so as to seem that I was confused, astounded but in a restrained way, curious, and interested. They did notice, and seemed confused, but did not remark. So I asked 'This looks very interesting. What is this?'"
The boyfriend added: "They stared at me and the mother said 'It's a baked potato.' And I was saying 'Oh, interesting, a baked....what is it again?'"
"And she was like 'A potato.'"
"And I was like 'A "potato", oh interesting. Never heard of a potato, looks pretty good.'"
"And then they didn't see I was clowning but thought I really did not know what is a potato. So I knew I would be very ashamed, humiliated, depressed, and disgusted if I admitted to making a bad joke."
Fearing he had taken the joke too far to back out, he then "committed to the act of pretending." And as you can imagine, his girlfriend's family were "incredulous".
But things quickly turned from bad to worse, as the post continued: "When I would not admit to knowing what a potato was, the father especially began to get annoyed. At one point he said something like 'Enough is enough. You're f*cking with us. Admit it.' And I said 'Sir, before today I never heard of a potato. I still don't know what a potato is, other than some kind of food. I don't know what to tell you.'
"Well let me tell you he got very annoyed. I decided to take a bite of the potato, and when I did I made a high-pitched noise and said 'Taste's very strange!'
"That is when the father started yelling at me, and the mother kept saying 'What are you doing?' and my girlfriend went to some other room.
"Finally the father said I should 'Get the f*ck out of his house' and I said it was irrational to treat me like this just because I never heard of a potato before. Well let me tell you he didn't take that kindly."
Following the tense evening, the man said he had been left with no choice but to keep up his charade.
"I wish I never started it but I can't go back. I think she will break up with me anyway," his post concluded.
And Reddit users gobbled up the story, though they did not offer particularly helpful advice.
One commenter said: "When confronted about this horrible joke, insist it never happened with the same level of commitment."
Another joked: "Send them a bouquet of potatoes as an apology."
And another simply wrote: "What's taters".
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