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crash and burn

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crash and burn

 

1. Lit. [for a plane or car] to crash and burst into flames. The small plane crashed and burned just after it took off.

2. Fig. to fail spectacularly. Poor Chuck really crashed and burned when he made his presentation at the sales meeting.

See also: and, burn, crash

crash and burn

to fail suddenly and completely Gil lost his job and his pension when the company crashed and burned. She watched her parents' marriage crash and burn.

Etymology: based on the image of a crash followed by a fire that completely destroys a vehicle or aircraft

See also: and, burn, crash

crash and burn

  (American & Australian informal)

to fail suddenly and completely While the big companies merge, the small companies crash and burn.

See also: and, burn, crash

crash and burn

1. Fail utterly, as in Dale crashed and burned three times before passing the bar exam. This idiom alludes to a car or airplane that has crashed and caught fire. [Slang; 1970s]

2. In skateboarding and other sports, be taken out of competition by a collision, accident, or fall, as in Although she was favored to win the downhill race, she crashed and burned on her first run . [Slang; 1980s]

See also: and, burn, crash

crash and burn

1. in. [for a young man] to fail brilliantly with a romance. (see also go down in flames.) It stands to reason that if Carole hadn’t shot me down, I wouldn’t have crashed and burned.

2. in. to fail spectacularly. I have to be prepared. I don’t want to crash and burn if I don’t have to.

See also: and, burn, crash

crash and burn

Slang

To fail utterly.

See also: and, burn, crash