Craig Melvin Stuns ‘Today’ Co-Hosts With Accidental British Expletive Live on Air

Craig Melvin turned an ordinary sports discussion into one of the funniest moments of Friday’s Today broadcast when he confidently repeated a British expression live on air — only to discover almost immediately that he had remembered it very, very wrong.

The unexpected remark during the August 21 episode caught Savannah Guthrie, Carson Daly, Dylan Dreyer and guest Rebecca Lowe off guard, prompting laughter, an embarrassed correction and even a joke about why the NBC morning show might need its seven-second delay.

A Premier League conversation suddenly goes off-script

The moment unfolded as NBC Sports host Rebecca Lowe joined Today live from London to discuss the return of the Premier League.

The conversation initially focused on which English football clubs the hosts supported. Guthrie joked about the team loyalties around the studio before Lowe turned her attention to Melvin, asking whether he was still supporting Liverpool.

Melvin explained that Lowe had encouraged him to choose a team while they were working together during previous Olympic coverage. Faced with several options, he ultimately settled on Liverpool partly because of his familiarity with The Beatles.

That exchange reminded Melvin of something else he had picked up from Lowe: British slang.

And that was when the segment took an unexpected turn.

Craig Melvin confidently gets the phrase wrong

Melvin told his colleagues that Lowe had taught him several British expressions over the years. He then attempted to repeat one of his favorites.

Unfortunately, the version that came out of his mouth wasn’t quite right.

Melvin mistakenly recalled the expression as “give ’em the piss,” immediately sending his colleagues into laughter.

Lowe quickly stepped in to tell him that wasn’t exactly the phrase she had taught him — and suggested that the early hour might not be the ideal time to explore the wording further.

Melvin then realized his mistake and corrected himself: the actual British expression was “take the piss,” commonly used to describe teasing or making fun of someone.

Savannah Guthrie immediately piles on

Rather than allowing Melvin to quietly move past the mistake, his co-hosts seized the opportunity.

Guthrie joked that Melvin was the reason Today now needed a seven-second delay, while Melvin defended himself by pointing out that it was a British expression.

That explanation didn’t save him.

Carson Daly noted that simply being a phrase used in another country didn’t necessarily make it suitable for American morning television. He then jokingly offered deliberately sanitized alternatives, keeping the studio laughing.

Guthrie joined in by adapting the phrase herself to tease Melvin.

By that point, what had begun as a Premier League interview had turned into the hosts joking about whether their broadcast would survive the segment.

Daly eventually wrapped things up with one final gag, thanking Lowe and joking that viewers should stick around — assuming the programme was still on the air.

Rebecca Lowe was discussing the return of Premier League football

Before Melvin’s linguistic mishap took over the segment, Guthrie had praised Lowe’s work covering the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Guthrie described Lowe as one of the tournament’s breakout broadcasting stars and asked whether the enthusiasm generated by the World Cup in North America could translate into increased interest in England’s Premier League.

Lowe said she believed it could, explaining that the tournament had introduced the sport to people she hadn’t necessarily expected it to reach.

She also suggested audiences had rediscovered something particularly important through football: its sense of joy.

Lowe has extensive experience covering English football for American audiences, having become NBC’s lead studio host for its Premier League coverage in 2013.

Another unpredictable live-TV moment for Today

For Melvin, the mistake ultimately became less of an on-air controversy than an instant source of comedy.

His colleagues’ reactions ensured the accidental expletive wasn’t going to disappear unnoticed, while Lowe’s immediate correction made clear that the biggest problem was Melvin’s rather creative recollection of what she had originally taught him.

Instead of derailing the broadcast, the slip produced exactly the kind of spontaneous exchange that live morning television occasionally delivers — with Melvin discovering, in front of his colleagues and viewers, that borrowing British slang can be risky when you don’t quite remember the wording.