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fizzle out

 - 4 dictionary results

fiz⋅zle

  [fiz-uhl] verb, -zled, -zling, noun
Use fizzle out in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to make a hissing or sputtering sound, esp. one that dies out weakly.
2. Informal. to fail ignominiously after a good start (often fol. by out): The reform movement fizzled out because of poor leadership.
–noun
3. a fizzling, hissing, or sputtering.
4. Informal. a failure; fiasco.
Origin:
1525–35; earlier fysel to break wind, freq. of *fise < ON fīsa to break wind; akin to feist

Synonyms:
2. miscarry, collapse, founder.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
fizzle [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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Word Origin & History

fizzle 
c.1532, "to break wind without noise," probably altered from obsolete fist, from M.E. fisten "break wind" (see feisty). Sense of "failure, fiasco" is from 1846, originally U.S. college slang for "failure in an exam."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

fizzle out

Fail, end weakly, especially after a hopeful beginning. For example, The enthusiasm for reform has fizzled out in this state. The word fizzle dates from the early 1500s and meant "to break wind without making noise." Later it was applied to hissing noises, such as those made by wet fireworks, and then to any endeavor that ends in disappointment. [Colloquial; mid-1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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