flash in the pan

短语

[体]昙花一现人物

发音

AU

词形变化

flashes in the pan 复数 flashes in the pan flash in the pans flash in the pans 复数

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    A transient occurrence with no long-term impact.

    昙花一现

    The concept turned out to be merely a flash in the pan and is no longer used.

    For quotations using this term, see Citations:flash in the pan.

  2. 2.

    A career notable for early success not followed by significant accomplishment.

    He was named Best New Director of 1940, but his career was a flash in the pan.

词汇关系

名词

上位词 3

loser failure nonstarter

词源

From the days of flintlock firearms, where the main charge was intended to be fired by a small charge of gunpowder in the priming pan. If the resultant fire did not pass through the touch hole and ignite the main charge, it produced noise and smoke, but no substantial effect, and was termed a flash in the pan. Sometimes called fluff in the pan, the term refers to any ineffectual, short, spasmodic effort that dies in the attempt, such as an explosion of priming in the lockpan of a gun while the gun itself does not go off.

来源：wiktionary