verb
to slip up (make a mistake)
“Pero ahí, el ministro pinchó en hueso, porque Yagüe le plantó cara y se negó a ceder el mando.” — But there, the minister slipped up, because Yagüe stood up to him and refused to cede command.
Translated, it means "to pierce the bone". The term originates from bullfighting, in which an estocada is considered failed if it strikes the bull's bone.