Success & Failure

Winning, losing, trying, and the language of outcomes

Introduction

The English language has developed a rich vocabulary for describing success and failure—from triumphant victory to spectacular defeat. Whether you've "smashed it," "nailed it," or "come a cropper," these expressions capture the full spectrum of outcomes.

British English tends toward understatement even in triumph. A spectacular success might be described as "not bad" while a failure becomes "a bit of a disaster." Americans are more likely to celebrate openly, while Australians bring their characteristic humor to both victory and defeat.

This chapter explores the language of achievement and setback, from minor mishaps to major triumphs, covering the phrases you need to describe how things turned out.

Themes

All British Slang & Idioms in This Chapter (72)

• Smash it To succeed brilliantly or perform excellently.
• Nail it To do something perfectly or exactly right.
• Come a cropper To fail badly or have an accident.
• Cock-up A mistake or blunder; to make a mess of something.
• Balls-up A complete mess or serious mistake.
• Pull it off To succeed in doing something difficult.
• Fall through To fail to happen or be completed.
• Go pear-shaped To go wrong or fail (British).
• Go tits up To fail completely or go badly wrong.
• Ace it To do something extremely well, especially a test.
• Flop A complete failure, especially of a performance or product.
• Bomb To fail spectacularly (American); to succeed brilliantly (British).
• Tank To fail completely (American).
• Hit the jackpot To have great success or good fortune.
• Strike gold To find or achieve something very valuable.
• Crash and burn To fail completely and spectacularly.
• Hit it out of the park To do something extremely well; to exceed expectations.
• Blow it To ruin an opportunity or fail when success was possible.
• Drop the ball To make a mistake or fail to follow through.
• Back to the drawing board To start again after a failed attempt.
• Make the cut To meet the required standard or qualify.
• Miss the boat To miss an opportunity.
• Win hands down To win easily and decisively.
• Bite the dust To fail, die, or be defeated.
• Down the drain Wasted; lost beyond recovery.
• Fly off the shelves To sell very quickly.
• Sell like hotcakes To sell very quickly and in large quantities.
• Pip at the post To narrowly defeat someone at the last moment.
• On a roll Experiencing a series of successes.
• Come up trumps To succeed unexpectedly or produce a good result.
• Go down a storm To be extremely well-received or popular.
• Land on your feet To emerge from a difficult situation in a good position.
• Have the last laugh To ultimately succeed after initial setbacks or mockery.
• Steal the show To attract the most attention or be the most impressive.
• Take the biscuit To be the most surprising, annoying, or extreme example.
• Runaway success An overwhelming, rapid success.
• Snatch defeat from the jaws of victory To fail when success seemed certain.
• Clutch victory A win achieved under high pressure at a crucial moment.
• Epic fail A spectacular or embarrassing failure.
• Try your luck To make an attempt despite uncertain chances of success.
• Give it a shot To try something; to make an attempt.
• Fall at the first hurdle To fail at the very beginning of an attempt.
• Come out on top To end up as the winner or in the best position.
• No dice No success; it didn't work; request refused.
• Shot in the arm Something that gives encouragement or renewed energy.
• Cut your losses To abandon a failing venture to prevent further loss.
• Down but not out Suffering setbacks but still fighting.
• Saved by the bell Rescued from a difficult situation at the last moment.
• struck gold made a valuable discovery or achievement
• pass with flying colours succeed brilliantly
• home and dry safely successful
• play a blinder perform exceptionally well
• stormer exceptional performance or thing
• clean sweep winning everything in a competition
• knock it out of the park achieve spectacular success
• hit the ground running start successfully without delay
• going gangbusters proceeding with great energy and success
• on fire performing exceptionally well
• smashing it doing brilliantly
• crushing it achieving outstanding success
• at the top of their game performing at peak ability
• the world is your oyster you have every opportunity available
• you've made it achieved success
• ahead of the game in an advantageous position
• gone bust failed financially
• gone pear-shaped gone wrong
• fell flat failed completely
• flunk fail an exam or course
• throw a spanner in the works cause disruption to a plan
• make a dog's dinner of mess something up badly
• make a pig's ear of botch or bungle something
• egg on your face look foolish due to failure