Did you know there's a law of holes? It's basically this: If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.
It's the down-to-earth (pardon the pun) advice the state's Liberal government could have done with over the past week.
Faced with a backlash over the Premier's impetuous defence of Christmas, the Libs doubled down and even tripled down.
There's been no apology for throwing a gagged educator and her school "under the bus", the targets of a modern-day mob.
If anything, senior Liberals have mocked the critical reaction.
Eric Abetz turned to AI to present a truly silly take, only to be met with the brutal response: "This has real 'man makes up imaginary scenario and gets angry about it' energy."
That would almost be a fair assessment of the wider drama.
It would be more accurate, though, to say the government went off half-cocked.
Some would like to think that there was a grand strategy at play, as if the people who bungled the new Spirits are capable of anything of the sort.
Perhaps it was a distraction from the public service cuts, or a lean to the right to bring back those who are favouring One Nation.
No, it really wasn't that deep.
As we reported, Jeremy Rockliff was asked over dinner by a Hobart news publisher to comment about the school ditching Christmas.
His office said a concerned parent emailed earlier that day.
We have no reason to doubt that, but anyone who has ever written to a politician would be impressed with the turnaround.
The next day, the Premier had replied with a letter to the secretary of the education department. The day after, the story blew up.
The truth took time to pull on its boots, but it got there.
If Mr Rockliff had known the full details, he would not have accused schools of making efforts to "remove all references to Christmas".
And if he had known that schoolchildren proposed changing the event's name to be more inclusive of their classmates, he would have thought twice about saying anything.
Supporters will say the social media scoreboard is actually in his favour.
But the Premier is not acting like a winner; his midweek post, "Not here for a pat on the back or a photo in the paper," sounded anything but.
He might have popular opinion on his side, and yet he is on the defensive, copping flak from unfamiliar quarters and failing to answer questions.
Demanding he say sorry, the teachers' union are trying to ban politicians from visiting schools.
Apologising, however, would be seen as weak by those backing the Premier's stance.
It would also be an admission that this was an ill-considered, opportunistic and populist ploy, made without checking the facts.
There is a difference, though, between folding and raising the stakes.
Continuing the "saving Christmas" narrative risks alienating moderate Tasmanians irked by culture wars and angry over the fallout on the school.
Many voted for Rockliff's Liberals, and they wouldn't be liking this behaviour.
The government needs to be careful, in more ways than one.