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Glite Dictionary
to jump the shark

to jump the shark

7 9.4
To start to get worse after a silly or big change, for example in a TV show
  • idiom
  • Slang
: perder calidad
  • In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Post-Secret Wars X-Men kind of jumped the shark.
  • jumped the shark show

I don't want to, as we would say in the business, jump the shark.

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Examples

  • There's nothing worse than when a great television series jumps the shark.

    Blog text (18)

  • But I see no reason to jump the shark just yet.

    Blog text (20)

  • Joe, I agree, it's not time to jump the shark, but time to write, write, write!

    Blog text (20)

  • Let it get to season seven first, like a normal show that jumps the shark.

    Blog text (20)

  • Personally, I think that the whole Black Friday thing has kind of jumped the shark.

    Blog text (15)

  • I'm sorry, but this show has totally jumped the shark.

    Blog text (14)

  • The show has officially jumped the shark with the Season 3 premiere.

    Blog text (25)

  • Did anyone else watch Happy Days after Fonzie jumped the shark?

    Blog text (25)

  • Hasn't the 3D thing jumped the shark by now?

    A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)

  • Many fans believe that the sitcom jumped the shark when it introduced a new character that seemed unnecessary.

Synonyms

to fizzle
vsto jump the shark
  • Informal
24 5.6

To end in a weak or disappointing way after a promising start

is a sudden quality drop usually triggered by one misguided stunt
to turn to shit
vsto jump the shark
  • Offensive
10 9.9

To go very badly and fail completely

is a milder decline that often follows a single misguided flashy act
to fizzle out
vsto jump the shark
  • Informal
9 5.3

To gradually lose energy or interest and end weakly

is a sudden drop in quality caused by one misguided flashy act
to go to the dogs
vsto jump the shark
  • Informal
7 6.1

To become much worse or ruined

is specific to media, marking decline after a misguided stunt
to hit the skids
vsto jump the shark
  • Informal
3 8.4

Start to fail after a time of success

is a sudden decline caused by a misguided or over the top event
to start to fizzle
vsto jump the shark
1 4.8

To lose energy or interest slowly until it fades

is the clear moment quality starts falling after a misguided flashy event

Surface Forms

jump the shark infinitive
jumped the shark past
jumped the shark past participle
jumping the shark present participle
jumps the shark third person singular

Morphology

jump + the + shark

The idiomatic meaning 'to reach a point where a show declines in quality after a gimmicky event' cannot be derived from the literal words 'jump' and 'shark' and depends on a specific cultural reference (the Happy Days stunt). This cultural/historical origin makes the sense unpredictable and not inferable for a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Jump the shark comes from a famous TV stunt where a show's star literally jumped over a shark on water skis to grab attention. So, people now say a show or series has jumped the shark when it uses a silly stunt and begins a 'decline in quality'.