Idiom idiom
damp squib
Meaning
Anything that does not work properly, or fails to come up to expectations; a dud.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The expensive new movie was a total damp squib.”
“Everyone expected the grand opening to be exciting, but it turned out to be a damp squib.”
“Despite the massive marketing campaign and high expectations, the product launch proved to be a damp squib that failed to capture the public imagination.”
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Last updated August 10, 2026