meeting one's Waterloo
Decisive, crushing loss
Meeting one's Waterloo is suffering a decisive, final defeat after a period of success.
The phrase alludes to Napoleon's catastrophic loss at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, which ended his rule permanently.
It implies not just any setback but the defeat that brings someone down for good: The undefeated champion finally met his Waterloo against the young contender.
- NapoleonFrench emperor, military genius
- failureLack of success
- humiliationLoss of dignity
- reckoningSettlement of accounts
- moment of truthDecisive instant of revelation
hubris · nemesis · idiom · epic fail · overconfidence · Wellington · Battle · regret · miscalculation · downfall · undoing · comeuppance · day of reckoning · metaphor · defeat · ego · turning point · despair
meeting one's Waterloocrowning achievement
Greatest success attained
finest hour · decisive victory · carrying the day · vindication
meeting one's Waterlootriumph
Resounding, celebrated victory
crowning achievement · finest hour · breakthrough · seizing the day · making it