1. Home
2. Idioms
3. shoot down in flames

shoot down in flames

---

---

shoot someone down in flames

Fig. to ruin someone; to bring about someone's downfall. (See also go down in flames.) It was a bad idea, okay, but you didn't have to shoot me down in flames at the meeting. I didn't mean to shoot you down in flames.

See also: down, flame, shoot

shoot something/somebody down in flames

  (informal)

to strongly criticize an idea or plan, or to refuse to accept it Several months ago this highly impractical idea would have been shot down in flames. I thought I'd made a sensible suggestion, but they just shot me down in flames.

See also: down, flame, shoot