Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

flash in the pan

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.12 in modern English

Syllables: flash in the -pan
IPA

24

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

2

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A transient occurrence with no long-term impact.

noun

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

Example Sentences

"The concept turned out to be merely a flash in the pan and is no longer used."
"The new dinner lady: 10 years on, can an Ottolenghi chef prove Jamie Oliver's revolution wasn't a flash in the pan? [title]"
"For quotations using this term, see Citations:flash in the pan."
"He was named Best New Director of 1940, but his career was a flash in the pan."

Etymology

From the days of flintlock firearms, where the main charge was intended to be fired by a small charge of gunpowder in the flash 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.

Inflected Forms

flashes in the pan (plural) flash in the pans (plural)

Phrases

flash pan burst someone's bubble damp squib go off half-cocked lightning in a bottle lock, stock and barrel much ado about nothing one-hit wonder

Frequently Paired Words

flash pan burst someone's bubble damp squib go off half-cocked lightning in a bottle lock, stock and barrel much ado about nothing one-hit wonder

Questions

What does flash in the pan mean?: A transient occurrence with no long-term impact.
Where does flash in the pan come from?: From the days of flintlock firearms, where the main charge was intended to be fired by a small charge of gunpowder in the flash 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.

How to pronounce flash in the pan

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