critical fail
Worst possible outcome
A critical fail is a catastrophic blunder, especially one with consequences far worse than ordinary failure.
The term comes from tabletop gaming, where rolling the lowest possible number on a die means not just missing your target but something disastrous—your sword flies from your hand, your spell backfires.
Outside gaming, it describes spectacular screwups: That job interview was a critical fail—I called the CEO by the wrong name twice.
Often shortened to crit fail.
- fumbleHandle with clumsy fingers
- botchSpoil through incompetence
- disasterSudden ruinous event
- blunderFoolish, costly mistake
- catastropheDevastating, large-scale misfortune
flop · misfire · trainwreck · choke · bungle · fiasco · whiff · faceplant · face first · d20 · dice roll · saving throw · skill check · tabletop · roll · dice · embarrassment · mishap
- tabletop RPGsD&D, sourcebook, dungeon master, game master, DM
critical failcritical success
Praised by professional reviewers
critical hit · natural 20 · perfect score · flawless victory · crit
critical failvirtuoso performance
Display of exceptional skill
peak performance · critical success · flawless execution · perfect run · tour de force
critical, fail, critic, critics, critique, critiques, criticized, criticize, criticizing