flash in the pan

flash in the pan
a flash in the pan
Fig. someone or something that draws a lot of attention for a very brief time. •

I'm afraid that my success as a painter was just a flash in the pan.

Tom had hoped to be a major film star, but his career was only a flash in the pan.

* * *
{n. phr.}, {slang} A person or thing that starts out well but does not continue. * /The new quarterback was a flash in the pan./ * /Mary got 100 on the first test in arithmetic but it was just a flash in the pan because she failed in arithmetic./

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • flash in the pan — Flash Flash (fl[a^]sh), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Flashed} (fl[a^]sht); p. pr. & vb. n. {Flashing}.] [Cf. OE. flaskien, vlaskien to pour, sprinkle, dial. Sw. flasa to blaze, E. flush, flare.] 1. To burst or break forth with a sudden and transient… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Flash and the Pan — was an Australian New Wave group (essentially an ongoing studio project) formed in the late 1970s by Harry Vanda and George Young, both former members of the Easybeats. George Young is also an older brother to Angus Young and Malcolm Young of… …   Wikipedia

  • Flash And The Pan — war eine australische Band, die im Kern auf The Easybeats zurückging. Die beiden hauptsächlichen Songschreiber der Easybeats, George Young und Harry Vanda, blieben nach dem Ende der Band 1969 zusammen, um weiter als Team zu arbeiten. Sie wurden… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Flash and the Pan — war eine australische Band, die im Kern auf The Easybeats zurückging. Die beiden hauptsächlichen Songschreiber der Easybeats, George Young und Harry Vanda, blieben nach dem Ende der Band 1969 zusammen, um weiter als Team zu arbeiten. Sie wurden… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Flash in the pan — Flash Flash, n.; pl. {Flashes}. 1. A sudden burst of light; a flood of light instantaneously appearing and disappearing; a momentary blaze; as, a flash of lightning. [1913 Webster] 2. A sudden and brilliant burst, as of wit or genius; a momentary …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Flash in the pan — Pan Pan, n. [OE. panne, AS. panne; cf. D. pan, G. pfanne, OHG. pfanna, Icel., Sw., LL., & Ir. panna, of uncertain origin; cf. L. patina, E. paten.] 1. A shallow, open dish or vessel, usually of metal, employed for many domestic uses, as for… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • flash in the pan — If something is a flash in the pan, it is very noticeable but doesn t last long, like most singers, who are very successful for a while, then forgotten …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • flash in the pan — ► flash in the pan a sudden but brief success. [ORIGIN: with allusion to the priming of a firearm, the flash arising from an explosion of gunpowder within the lock.] Main Entry: ↑flash …   English terms dictionary

  • Flash and the Pan — est un groupe de musique australien fondé à la fin des années 1970. Il est connu entre autres pour la chanson Midnight Man sortie au milieu des années 1980. Portail de l’Australie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • flash in the pan — noun someone who enjoys transient success but then fails • Hypernyms: ↑failure, ↑loser, ↑nonstarter, ↑unsuccessful person * * * 1. : the firing of the priming in the pan of a flintlock musket without discharging the piece 2 …   Useful english dictionary

  • flash in the pan — {n. phr.}, {slang} A person or thing that starts out well but does not continue. * /The new quarterback was a flash in the pan./ * /Mary got 100 on the first test in arithmetic but it was just a flash in the pan because she failed in arithmetic./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

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