pattern

Failure - Experiencing Failure

Explore English idioms that regard experiencing failure with examples like "go up in flames" and "fall flat".

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English idioms related to Failure
to [hang] on by {one's} fingernails

to barely manage to survive or succeed

Ex: She was hanging on by her fingernails until she finally found a job.
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on {one's} knees

in a difficult, desperate, or vulnerable situation where help or intervention may be needed

Ex: Years of mismanagement left the school system on its knees.
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to [go] pear-shaped

to proceed in a way that causes a bad outcome

Ex: Things can go pear-shaped very quickly in business.
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to [fall] at the first (hurdle|fence)

to fail or encounter difficulties at the beginning of a task or process, before any significant progress has been made

Ex: The proposal fell at the first fence when the committee rejected it.
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to [fall] at the (final|last) (hurdle|fence)

to encounter failure or difficulties just before reaching the end or achieving a goal

Ex: They almost won the contract but fell at the final fence.
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the wheels [fall off|come off]

used to refer to something that was working or progressing well but suddenly stopped functioning or fell apart

Ex: The company grew fast, but the wheels came off when costs doubled.
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to [fall] flat
to fall flat
[phrase]

(of a joke, remark, event, etc.) to be completely unsuccessful in amusing people or having the desired effect

Ex: Her sarcastic comment fell flat in the meeting.
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to [go] (up|down) in flames

to experience a complete failure or defeat, often accompanied by dramatic or disastrous consequences

Ex: Without a backup plan, the whole launch could go up in flames.
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to [fall] flat on {one's} face

to experience an embarrassing failure in an attempt to do something

Ex: If we don't prepare, we'll fall flat on our faces.
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to [go] ass over (tit|tip)

to suddenly fall down because of losing one's balance

Ex: He ran too fast, slipped, and went ass over tit.
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to [go] south
to go south
[phrase]

to experience a sudden and significant decline, deterioration, or devaluation, often unexpectedly or rapidly

Ex: Everything went south once the server crashed.
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to [go] haywire

to malfunction or stop functioning properly

Ex: The app went haywire and deleted my settings.
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to [beat|bang|hit] {one's} head against (a|the) (brick|) wall

to repeatedly try to do or achieve something without success

Ex: Trying to fix the old system felt like hitting my head against a brick wall.
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{sb} [can't|couldn't] hack it

used to convey that one is unable to cope with or handle a particular situation, task, or challenge

Ex: He left the program because he couldn't hack it.
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to [go] belly up

(of a company, organization, plan, etc.) to experience a complete failure

Ex: Without new customers, the business could go belly up.
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black eye
black eye
[noun]

an issue causing progress to slow down or stop entirely

Ex: Poor communication was a black eye that stopped progress for weeks .
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to [fall] to pieces

to completely fail to be effective

Ex: The proposal fell to pieces once the costs were revealed.
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