snatching defeat from the jaws of victory
Blowing certain triumph
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory means losing a contest or endeavor that appeared won, typically through a late blunder or collapse.
The phrase inverts the heroic "snatching victory from the jaws of defeat" to emphasize how improbable and self-inflicted the loss is: They were up by twenty points with five minutes left and still managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
- overconfidenceUnjustified certainty in oneself
- miscalculationError in estimation
- self-sabotageUndermining your own goals
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- tragic ironyForeknown doom, unknown to doomed
overextension · poetic justice · fall from grace · epic fail · momentum shift · panic · mental lapse · unforced error · Achilles' heel · complacency · denial · choking · cutting off one's nose to spite one's face · own goal · self-inflicted wound · shooting oneself in the foot · underestimation · indecision
snatching defeat from the jaws of victorycomeback
Recovery after decline
last-minute save · Hail Mary · coming from behind · against all odds · down but not out
snatching defeat from the jaws of victoryclutch performance
Success under intense pressure
rising to the occasion · grace under pressure · nerves of steel · stepping up
snatching defeat from the jaws of victorycomeback story
Tale of renewed success
redemption arc · Cinderella story · triumph over adversity · underdog victory · against the odds
snatched, snatches, defeated, defeating, defeats, defeatable, undefeated, victory