go up in flames
Be consumed by fire
To go up in flames is to be destroyed by fire, or figuratively, to fail spectacularly and suddenly: The whole project went up in flames when the funding fell through.
Years of work went up in flames in a single afternoon.
The phrase emphasizes rapid, total destruction—whether literal or metaphorical.
- explodeBurst with sudden force
- igniteStart burning something
- combustCatch fire suddenly
- burnDamage by heat
- burning downDestroying by fire
consume · go up in smoke · up in smoke · blaze · destroy · incinerate · reduced to ashes · devastation · ruin · total loss · char · debacle · fiasco · dumpster fire · crash and burn · go belly up · catastrophe · scorch
- fire idiomsplay with fire, fight fire with fire, add fuel to fire, on fire, catch fire
disintegration vs. construction
go up in flamestake shape
Gradually become distinct
come together · materialize · solidify · coalesce · crystallize
goes, going, gone, upward, upwards, flame, flames, flamed, flaming