fell flat
Failed to land
Fell flat describes something that failed to achieve its intended effect, especially an attempt at humor, entertainment, or persuasion that got no response: His joke fell flat—nobody even smiled.
The image is of something landing with a thud rather than taking flight.
A performance, speech, or creative work falls flat when it fails to engage or impress its audience.
- floppedFailed completely
- fiascoHumiliating public failure
- dead on arrivalLifeless upon reaching destination
- bombedFailed spectacularly, utterly
- lead balloonMetaphor for failure
misfire · missed the mark · anticlimax · fizzled · disappointment · crickets · faceplant · egg on face · silence · dud · thud · tanked · underwhelmed · tough crowd · collapse · debacle · abysmal · unpopular