falls flat on one's face
Bombs in public
To fall flat on one's face is to fail completely and publicly, often after confident effort.
The image is of someone pitching forward in an undignified sprawl: He predicted victory but fell flat on his face when the results came in.
The phrase emphasizes humiliation—not just failure, but failure that others witness.
- ridiculeContemptuous mocking treatment
- egg on faceEmbarrassment from error
- humiliationLoss of dignity
- lose facebecome publicly shamed
- stumbleLose footing momentarily
defeat · trip · blunder · epic fail · downfall · fall from grace · flop · faceplant · wipe out · crash · crash and burn · mistake · disaster · fiasco · pratfall · mockery · skid · collapse
falls flat on one's facetriumphs
Overwhelming victories
nails it · exceeds expectations · delivers · shines · excels
falls flat on one's facesticks the landing
Finishes flawlessly, no wobble
falls, fallen, falling, faller, flats, flatly, flatten, flattens, flattened