Political insults, mud-slinging and slurs are as old as politics itself.

The use of undiplomatic language has left many a politician red faced either from embarrassment or anger — particularly when the offensive comment was not intended for public ears.

One of the more recent incidents involved Australian Education Minister Christopher Pyne, who allegedly dropped the C-bomb during a session of parliament on Wednesday.

Pyne allegedly said to opposition leader Bill Shorten, "you're such a c-nt," after Shorten interrupted him during question time.

A spokesman for Pyne said the minister used the word "grub," sparking a debate over whether Pyne had called Shorten a c-nt or a grub.

Watch the video and make up your own mind.

Another memorable and recent insult involved two senior US diplomats who were discussing Europe's dithering over the anti-government protests in Ukraine earlier this year.

In a leaked audioclip of the conversation between Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland and US ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, Nuland says: "F-ck the EU."

Apologies quickly followed, but the damage was done.

It reminded us of other cases of political foot-in-mouth. Here are 10 examples GlobalPost dug up from the archives.