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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: The small business is hanging on by its fingernails. 
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on {one's} knees

in a desperate, weakened, or declining condition; on the verge of collapse or ruin

Ex: The country's economy is on its knees. 
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to [go] pear-shaped

to proceed in a way that causes a bad outcome

Ex: Everything went pear-shaped after the manager quit. 
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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 plan fell at the first hurdle when no one approved the budget. 
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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: The team fell at the final hurdle after leading all season. 
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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 team was doing well until the wheels came off in the second half. 
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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: His joke fell flat, and no one laughed. 
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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: The project went up in flames after the main investor pulled out. 
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to [fall] flat on {one's} face

to experience an embarrassing failure in an attempt to do something

Ex: He tried to impress everyone but fell flat on his face. 
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to [go] ass over (tit|tip)

to suddenly fall down because of losing one's balance

Ex: He slipped on the ice 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: The deal went south after the buyer changed his mind. 
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to [go] haywire

to malfunction or stop functioning properly

Ex: The alarm system went haywire during the storm. 
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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: I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall with this problem. 
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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 tried the new job for a month, but 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: The company went belly up after losing its biggest client. 
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black eye
black eye
[noun]

an issue causing progress to slow down or stop entirely

Ex: The funding delay became a black eye for the project. 
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to [fall] to pieces

to completely fail to be effective

Ex: The plan fell to pieces when the team stopped communicating. 
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to [get] off to a rocky start

to begin with problems or difficulties

Ex: The project got off to a rocky start. 
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