Failure Idioms and What They Mean
Failure is something everyone experiences. Although it can be frustrating or discouraging, failure is also an important part of learning and personal growth. Below, you’ll find 7 idioms that capture different kinds of disappointment and defeat.
Fall flat
To fail completely; not have the intended effect.
His joke fell flat, and nobody in the room laughed.
The company’s new marketing campaign fell flat with younger audiences.
Crash and burn
To fail suddenly and completely, often after a good start.
The startup looked promising at first, but it crashed and burned within six months.
She tried to multitask too much and ended up crashing and burning before the project was done.
Go down in flames
To fail spectacularly or dramatically.
The politician’s campaign went down in flames after the scandal broke.
Their plan to win the competition went down in flames when their equipment stopped working.
Miss the mark
To fail to achieve the desired result or be inaccurate.
The new policy tried to solve the problem but completely missed the mark.
His explanation missed the mark and only confused the audience more.
Come up short
To fail to reach a goal or expectation, often by a small amount.
We came up short of our fundraising goal by just a few hundred dollars.
Despite training hard, the team came up short in the final match.
Drop the ball
To make a mistake or fail to do something important.
I really dropped the ball when I forgot to send the client the report.
The event would have been perfect if the organizers hadn’t dropped the ball on the catering.
Bite the dust
To fail, stop working, or be defeated.
Another old computer bit the dust today at the office.
Many small businesses bite the dust during tough economic times.
