fall from grace

Idioms & Phrases

fall from grace

Experience reduced status or prestige, cease to be held in favor, as in The whole department has fallen from grace and may well be dissolved entirely. This expression originally alluded to losing the favor of God. Today it is also used more loosely, as in the example. [Late 1300s]

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