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Waterloo

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meet one's Waterloo

Fig. to meet one's final and insurmountable challenge. (Alludes to the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo.) The boss is being very hard on Bill. It seems that Bill has finally met his Waterloo. John was more than Sally could handle. She has finally met her Waterloo.

See also: meet, Waterloo

meet your Waterloo

if someone who has been successful in the past meets their Waterloo, they are defeated by someone who is too strong for them or by a problem which is too difficult for them

Usage notes: The French leader Napoleon was finally defeated at the battle of Waterloo in 1815.

She finally met her Waterloo when she tried to take on the club champion.

See meet in the flesh, come to a sticky end

See also: meet, Waterloo

meet one's Waterloo

Suffer a major defeat, as in Our team's done well this season but is about to meet its Waterloo. This term alludes to Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, Belgium, in 1815, marking the end of his military domination of Europe. It was being transferred to other kinds of defeat by the mid-1800s.

See also: meet, Waterloo