Maybe if I'd let go of his arm, we could have avoided the rest, but I made the classic mistake.
He had committed the classic mistake of underestimating his enemy.
Day made the classic mistake here of asking for permission rather than forgiveness.
To experienced hands in the marina, it was a classic mistake.
You've made the classic mistake of bothering to read the question.
It is the classic narrative mistake: trusting the general over the specific.
The classic mistake is allowing food to stick to the barbecue.
Harry had made the classic mistake of holding the gun too close to the target.
If the catcher's target was outside, then the pitcher made a classic mistake.
