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Failure - Defeat

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

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English idioms related to Failure
dead loss
[noun]

a situation or activity that is not productive

Ex: The project was dead loss from the beginning , with no clear goals or direction .
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to have an undesirable, unfortunate, or disappointing outcome

Ex: Their business coming to grief because of the pandemic .
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with no chance of succeeding in a competition

Ex: They out of the running for the award after they received negative reviews from the judges .
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far from the correct or expected result

Ex: The prediction about the stock market wide off the mark.
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a situation or series of events that is marked by a sequence of humorous mistakes, mishaps, or misunderstandings

Ex: The project was comedy of errors from the beginning , with missed deadlines and incorrect information .
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dog days
[noun]

a period of hardship, struggle, or adversity

Ex: We're in the dog days of the pandemic, struggling with the new variant and rising cases.
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to lose the chance to take advantage of something, particularly a good opportunity

Ex: They're working hard to meet the deadline, as they don't want to miss the bus for the new project.
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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.
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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 dead duck.
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to suddenly fail at something

Ex: The project is running behind schedule , and it looks like they 're come a cropper.
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dead end
[noun]

a situation that shows no signs of progress or improvement

Ex: The negotiations have reached dead end, with no progress made on either side .
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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 dead in the water without proper funding and support .
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to be no longer effective or of much use

Ex: The company 's products are becoming irrelevant , and they 're in danger passing their sell-by date in the market .
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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.
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to experience a fall in social or financial status

Ex: The family 's financial troubles have caused them come down in the world, and they 're selling their assets to survive .
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someone who was once significant or important but is now considered outdated or no longer influential

Ex: The product line is becoming yesterday's man in the market, and sales are declining rapidly.
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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.
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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: The writing is on the wall and the warnings steadily become more obvious.
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to defeat a person or a group thoroughly, often in a very humiliating manner

Ex: The skilled debater convincingly won the debate, taking his opponent to the cleaners.
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an imaginary or symbolic prize given to the person who finishes in last place or performs poorly in a competition or event

Ex: They finished with wooden spoon after losing a penalty shoot-out .
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to overwhelm or defeat someone completely and unexpectedly

Ex: The talented underdog knocked the reigning champion off their feet in the boxing match, winning the title in a stunning upset.
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