no joy
Search came empty
No joy is a way of reporting failure or negative results, originally from military and aviation radio communications: Any sign of the missing hiker? No joy.
The phrase has spread to general use for indicating that an attempt was unsuccessful or a search came up empty: I checked three stores for that part—no joy.
Victory over another
- setbackReverse in progress
- fiascoHumiliating public failure
- bustFailure or sculpture
- nonstarterDoomed proposal from outset
washout · flop · dead end · futility · fruitless · unsuccessful · negative result · strikeout
Failure to satisfy expectations
- heartacheDeep emotional distress
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- dismayDistressed loss of courage
- dejectionState of lowness
sadness · melancholy · despondency · crestfallen · downheartedness · glumness · woe · disheartened
Opposite of affirmative
- radarRadio-wave object detection
- contactCommunication or physical touch
- sightingInstance of perceiving something
- targetObject of pursuit
visual · radio · transmission · pilot · cockpit · ATC · communication · acknowledgment
defeat
Victory over another
nonstarter · washout · flop · dead end · futility · fruitless · unsuccessful · negative result · strikeout · miss
letdown
Failure to satisfy expectations
dejection · sadness · melancholy · despondency · crestfallen · downheartedness · glumness · woe · disheartened · unsuccessful
negative
Opposite of affirmative
- radarRadio-wave object detection
- contactCommunication or physical touch
- sightingInstance of perceiving something
target · visual · radio · transmission · pilot · cockpit · ATC · communication · acknowledgment · clearance
- Aviation Slangroger, mayday, pan-pan, squawk, affirmative