Experiencing Failure: English Vocabulary List

to barely manage to survive or succeed

"He hung on by fingernails."

"The small business was hanging on by its fingernails during the economic crisis."

in a difficult, desperate, or vulnerable situation where help or intervention may be needed

"He was on his knees."

"The small business owner found himself on his knees, desperately seeking a loan to avoid bankruptcy."

to proceed in a way that causes a bad outcome

"Everything went pear-shaped."

"Our holiday plans went pear shaped when our flight was cancelled because of the unexpected snowstorm."

to fail or encounter difficulties at the beginning of a task or process, before any significant progress has been made

"Our plan fell at the first hurdle."

"His plan to become a doctor fell at the first hurdle because he failed the entrance exam."

to encounter failure or difficulties just before reaching the end or achieving a goal

"He fell at the last hurdle."

"She trained for months but fell at the final hurdle due to an injury."

used to refer to something that was working or progressing well but suddenly stopped functioning or fell apart

"The plan was working until the wheels came off in the final week."

"Everything looked promising until the wheels fell off during the product launch due to a critical oversight."

(of a joke, remark, event, etc.) to be completely unsuccessful in amusing people or having the desired effect

"The joke fell flat."

"His attempt at humor fell flat, leaving the audience in awkward silence."

to experience a complete failure or defeat, often accompanied by dramatic or disastrous consequences

"The whole project went down in flames."

"His dream of becoming a famous actor went up in flames when he could not get any auditions at all."

to experience an embarrassing failure in an attempt to do something

"The plan fell flat."

"Despite his confident presentation, his proposal to the investors fell flat on his face, resulting in immediate rejection."

to suddenly fall down because of losing one's balance

"He went ass over tit."

"While attempting a daring skateboard trick, the amateur athlete went ass over tit and landed awkwardly on the pavement."

to experience a sudden and significant decline, deterioration, or devaluation, often unexpectedly or rapidly

"The stock went south."

"After the unexpected scandal broke, the company's stock price began to go south at an alarming rate."

to malfunction or stop functioning properly

"My computer went haywire yesterday."

"The old printer went haywire and started printing random pages without stopping."

to repeatedly try to do or achieve something without success

"Stop beating your head against a wall."

"Trying to convince him to recycle is like banging my head against a brick wall because he never listens."

used to convey that one is unable to cope with or handle a particular situation, task, or challenge

"He couldn't hack the job."

"She tried to work in finance but she couldn't hack it because the pressure was too intense."

(of a company, organization, plan, etc.) to experience a complete failure

"The small shop went belly up."

"Many small shops went belly up when the large supermarket opened nearby and stole all their customers."

to completely fail to be effective

"Her old suitcase fell to pieces."

"After the founder died the company fell to pieces and was eventually sold to a competitor."

in a desperate, weakened, or declining condition; on the verge of collapse or ruin

"The company is on one's knees."

"After years of mismanagement, the once-great empire was finally on one's knees, facing imminent collapse."

to experience a sudden and significant decline, deterioration, or devaluation, often unexpectedly or rapidly

"The stocks will go south."

"Despite initial optimism, the company's financial performance began to go south rapidly due to unforeseen market challenges."

an issue causing progress to slow down or stop entirely

"This is a black eye."

"The unexpected scandal cast a significant black eye on the organization's carefully cultivated reputation."

to completely fail to be effective

"The plan will fall to pieces."

"Without proper funding and leadership, the ambitious project was destined to fall to pieces before completion."