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Glite Dictionary
💦 To land flat 💥 To fail badly
to belly-flop

to belly-flop

6.9
To fail completely in an embarrassing way
  • verb
  • /ˈbɛliˌflɑp/
  • Informal
translation icon : fracasar estrepitosamente
  • After the harsh reviews, the new play belly-flopped and closed after only two performances.

Examples

  • The product launch was expected to belly-flop because marketing failed to create interest.

  • Don't belly-flop on your presentation!

  • Critics warned the comedian would belly-flop if he relied on tired jokes and predictable gags.

  • The project really belly-flopped after the budget cuts.

  • The movie was supposed to be a blockbuster, but it belly-flopped at the box office after its opening weekend.

  • His attempts to impress the audience belly-flopped when his jokes fell flat.

  • The new restaurant's grand opening belly-flopped due to poor advertising and location.

Synonyms

to fall flat
vsto belly-flop
  • Informal
19 4.9

To fail to get a response or interest from people

is a broader informal disaster not only about failing to amuse
to flop
vsto belly-flop
19 4.0

To end without success, often in public like a show

is informal and adds an embarrassing or disastrous tone to failure
to fall on one's face
vsto belly-flop
  • Informal
6 7.6

To fail badly and embarrass yourself in front of other people

is a general embarrassing failure not limited to personal humiliation
to fall flat on one's face
vsto belly-flop
  • Informal
5 7.1

To fail completely and feel embarrassed in front of others

is often embarrassing but not always public
to be a bomb
vsto belly-flop
  • Slang
5 8.6

Fail completely so people see it does not work

is informal and may be less publicly noticed
to duff
vsto belly-flop
  • UK
1 9.4

To fail at something in a clumsy way

is a total humiliating failure rather than mere clumsy poor performance
to go in the toilet
vsto belly-flop
  • Informal
1 7.9

To fail completely

is an informal embarrassing failure often stressing personal humiliation
to drop a bollock
vsto belly-flop
  • Offensive
9.9

To make a serious, embarrassing mistake by being careless

is a full disastrous failure rather than a single careless mistake

Antonyms

success
∞ 1.0

Getting what you want after working hard

triumph
262 3.3

A great victory or success that brings joy

How Disastrous

to crash
  • Specialized
156 3.2
to belly-flop
  • Informal
6.9
to fail
898 1.0
to misfire
1 4.3
to fizzle
  • Informal
27 5.6

Surface Forms

belly-flop infinitive
belly-flopped past
belly-flopped past participle
belly-flopping present participle
belly-flops third person singular

Morphology

belly-flop = belly + flop (semi-transparent) = belly + flop

Metaphorical extension from the literal embarrassing physical fall to an embarrassing failure; components are recognizable but the figurative shift reduces predictability.

Etymology

Belly-flop is also used to mean a sudden, embarrassing failure because it mixes belly 'stomach' with flop 'a heavy fall'. So when a show, plan, or product 'belly-flops', it fails loudly and visibly, like a dive that lands all wrong.