Failure - Defeat

Master English idioms regarding defeat, like "out of the running" and "dead in the water".

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dead loss [noun]

a situation or activity that is not productive

Ex: The investment turned out to be a dead loss , with no return on the money spent .

to [come] to grief [phrase]

to have an undesirable, unfortunate, or disappointing outcome

Ex: If you do n't start studying seriously , you will come to grief in your exams .

out of the running [phrase]

with no chance of succeeding in a competition

Ex: They are out of the running for the championship this year , as they have lost all their matches so far .

wide (of|off) the mark [phrase]

far from the correct or expected result

Ex: She has been consistently wide off the mark in her sales forecasts .

comedy of errors [phrase]

a situation or series of events that is marked by a sequence of humorous mistakes, mishaps, or misunderstandings

Ex: The project was a comedy of errors from the beginning , with missed deadlines and incorrect information .

dog days [noun]

a period of hardship, struggle, or adversity

Ex: The company is going through the dog days of a financial crisis , with layoffs and budget cuts .

to [miss] the (boat|bus) [phrase]

to lose the chance to take advantage of something, particularly a good opportunity

Ex: She missed the bus for the concert tickets , as they sold out within minutes .

dead man walking [phrase]

someone who is prone to lose something that is of great value or importance to them, such as their position, job, title, etc.

Ex: The scandal has been leaked to the press , and now the politician is a dead man walking .

dead duck [noun]

someone or something that has never succeeded or is very unlikely to succeed in the future

Ex: The project is behind schedule and over budget , and it 's becoming a dead duck .

to [come] a cropper [phrase]

to suddenly fail at something

Ex: The project is running behind schedule , and it looks like they 're going to come a cropper .

dead end [noun]

a situation that shows no signs of progress or improvement

Ex: The negotiations have reached a dead end , with no progress made on either side .

dead in the water [phrase]

used to describe a situation or plan that has come to a complete halt or has become unproductive, with little to no chance of progress or success

Ex: The project is dead in the water without proper funding and support .

to [pass] {one's} sell-by date [phrase]

to be no longer effective or of much use

Ex: The company 's products are becoming irrelevant , and they 're in danger of passing their sell-by date in the market .

down for the count [phrase]

having failed in doing or achieving something and unable to continue

Ex: The team is down for the count after losing their star player to an injury .

to [go|come] down in the world [phrase]

to experience a fall in social or financial status

Ex: The family 's financial troubles have caused them to come down in the world , and they 're selling their assets to survive .

yesterday's (man|woman) [phrase]

someone who was once significant or important but is now considered outdated or no longer influential

Ex: The marketing campaign is becoming yesterday 's woman in the market , and it 's failing to attract new customers .

to [draw] a blank [phrase]

to be unable to come up with ideas or solutions to a problem

Ex: The team searched for hours , but they drew a blank in finding the missing item .

the writing [is] on the wall [sentence]

used to say that there are clear indications or signals that something negative or disastrous is going to happen soon, and that it is likely to be unavoidable

Ex: I had to give up on the project. I mean the writing was on the wall man.

to [take] {sb} to the cleaners [phrase]

to defeat a person or a group thoroughly, often in a very humiliating manner

Ex:

wooden spoon [noun]

a mock prize, usually a wooden spoon, given to the person or team that finishes last in a competition

Ex: The quiz 's wooden spoon went to the lowest-scoring group .

to [knock] {sb} off {one's} feet [phrase]

to overwhelm or defeat someone completely and unexpectedly

Ex:

Failure
Resulting in Failure	Experiencing Failure	Lost in the Game	Wastefulness
Fruitlessness	Deterioration	Defamation & Unpopularity	Defeat
Game Over	Lose or Win	Mistakes & Poor Performance