fall on one's face
Stumble and collapse
To fall on one's face is to fail conspicuously, especially after confident expectations of success.
The image is of someone stumbling forward and landing face-first—public, embarrassing, hard to recover from gracefully: The product launch fell on its face when nobody showed up.
Less commonly, the literal meaning: to trip and land face-down.
- tripPlanned travel somewhere
- take a tumbleFall down suddenly
- blunderFoolish, costly mistake
- bite the dustFail or perish utterly
- shamePainful awareness of failure
stumble · crash and burn · go down in flames · drop the ball · come up short · misstep · screw up · regret · mortification · collapse · faux pas · faceplant · pratfall · fiasco · mess up · frustration · humiliation · disappointment
fall on one's facesucceed
Achieve a desired aim
triumph · nail it · stick the landing · ace it · pull it off
fall on one's faceland on one's feet
Recover despite adversity
stick the landing · sail through · breeze through · smooth landing · stick it
fall on one's facesave face
Protect one's reputation
come up roses · have the last laugh · prove oneself · redeem oneself · hold one's head high
fall, falls, fallen, falling, faller, downfall, rainfall, waterfall, ones