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fizzle

 [fiz-uhl]   Origin

fiz·zle

   [fiz-uhl] verb, -zled, -zling, noun
verb (used without object)
1.
to make a hissing or sputtering sound, especially one that dies out weakly.
2.
Informal. to fail ignominiously after a good start (often followed by out): The reform movement fizzled out because of poor leadership.
noun
3.
a fizzling, hissing, or sputtering.
4.
Informal. a failure; fiasco.

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Fizzle is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
to spend time idly; loaf.
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Origin:
1525–35; earlier fysel to break wind, frequentative of *fise < Old Norse fīsa to break wind; akin to feist

Synonyms
2. miscarry, collapse, founder.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
fizzle (ˈfɪzəl)
 
—vb
1.  to make a hissing or bubbling sound
2.  informal (often foll by out) to fail or die out, esp after a promising start
 
—n
3.  a hissing or bubbling sound; fizz
4.  informal an outright failure; fiasco
 
[C16: probably from obsolete fist to break wind]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fizzle
1530s, "to break wind without noise," probably altered from obsolete fist, from M.E. fisten "break wind" (see feisty). Related: Fizzled; fizzling. Noun sense of "failure, fiasco" is from 1846, originally U.S. college slang for "failure in an exam."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

fizzle definition

[ˈfɪzlæ]
  1. n.
    a failure; something that sputters away. : The whole project was a fizzle.
  2. in.
    to fail; to peter out. : The whole plan fizzled, and we had to start over.
  3. F
    a wild card word for words beginning with , such as fuck, fool. (Streets. Also for other words with initial F.) : That dude is such a fizzle!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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