down in flames
Crashed and burned
To go down in flames is to fail spectacularly and publicly, often after high expectations.
The image comes from aircraft crashing in fiery destruction.
The phrase emphasizes not just failure but dramatic, visible collapse: His presidential campaign went down in flames after the scandal.
Someone can also shoot down an idea or proposal in flames—rejecting it decisively and completely.
- disasterSudden ruinous event
- train wreckUtter chaotic disaster
- burnDamage by heat
- debacleSudden, complete failure
- crashSudden violent impact
epic fail · failure · defeat · ruin · ignominious · blaze · flop · fall flat · up in smoke · catastrophe · collapse · humiliation · disgrace · crash and burn · demolition · bankruptcy · go belly up · nosedive
down in flameswith flying colors
With outstanding success
triumphantly · swimmingly · home free · on top of the world · victoriously
down in flamespetered out
Gradually diminished to nothing
wound down · soft landing · quietly · graceful exit · gracefully
down in flamesto the moon
Expressing extreme degree
skyrocketed · soared · took off · on the rise · through the roof
down, downs, downed, downing, downer, downward, downwards, flame, flames