crashes and burns
Goes down dramatically
To crash and burn is to fail spectacularly and completely, often after initial promise or momentum.
The phrase evokes a plane or race car meeting a dramatic end: The startup crashed and burned after just six months.
Sometimes used reflexively when someone self-destructs through their own choices: He crashed and burned in the interview when they asked about his qualifications.
- downfallSudden loss of power
- goes down in flamesFails dramatically and completely
- collisionForceful contact between objects
- explosionViolent burst of energy
- despairTotal absence of hope
fiasco · flop · dumpster fire · total disaster · wreckage · career suicide · train wreck · epic fail · impact · miscalculation · flame out · defeat · nosedive · ruin · catastrophe · meltdown · misstep · bankruptcy
crashes and burnssoft landing
Controlled, gradual descent
graceful exit · smooth landing · sticks the landing · winds down · tapers off
crash, crashes, crashed, crashing, crasher, burn, burns, burned, burnt