busted flush
Promise without payoff
A busted flush is a poker hand that failed to become a flush—four cards of the same suit that never got the fifth.
The term extends to anything that showed promise but didn't deliver: a project, a career, a person.
He was going to be the next big thing, but he turned out to be a busted flush.
Sadness from unmet expectations
- letdownFailure to satisfy expectations
- washoutComplete failure or cancellation
- dudFailed device or effort
- flopComplete commercial failure
nonstarter · has-been · false promise · empty threat · paper tiger · dead end · lost cause · anticlimax
Create with pencil
- straightNot curved or crooked
- full houseTriplet and pair combined
- riverLarge flowing watercourse
- foldBend onto itself
bluff · pot · hole cards · community cards · odds · outs · hold'em · chasing
disappointment
Sadness from unmet expectations
- letdownFailure to satisfy expectations
- washoutComplete failure or cancellation
- dudFailed device or effort
flop · nonstarter · has-been · false promise · empty threat · paper tiger · dead end · lost cause · anticlimax · hollow victory
draw
Create with pencil
- straightNot curved or crooked
- full houseTriplet and pair combined
- riverLarge flowing watercourse
fold · bluff · pot · hole cards · community cards · odds · outs · hold'em · chasing · bad beat
busted flushroyal flush
Top-ranking poker hand
straight flush · winning hand · flush · full house · four of a kind
busted flushroaring success
Overwhelming, celebrated achievement
success story · winner · sure thing · triumph · rising star
busted flushsure bet
Guaranteed winning wager
safe pair of hands · solid gold · dark horse · late bloomer · hidden gem
bust, busted, busts, busting, buster, busters, flush, flushes, flushed