gone up in flames
Destroyed by fire
Gone up in flames means destroyed by fire, or more often, ruined completely and dramatically.
Plans, relationships, careers, and investments go up in flames when they fail spectacularly: His political career went up in flames after the scandal broke.
The image suggests sudden, total destruction—something consumed quickly and irreversibly.
- burned downDestroyed by fire
- crash and burnFail completely and visibly
- caught on fireBegan to burn
- caught fireBegan to burn
- up in smokeDestroyed, wasted, ruined
burned to the ground · ruin · bite the dust · blaze · burn · wreckage · crash landing · disaster · train wreck · fall apart · devastation · catastrophe · flameout · total loss · downfall · inferno · fiasco · ashes