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Glite Dictionary
to be a bomb

to be a bomb

5 8.6
Fail completely so people see it does not work
  • idiom
  • /bi ə bɑm/
  • Slang
translation icon : ser un fracaso
  • It definitely was a bomb.
  • Ed says it was a bomb

I overheard one of the senior members of staff saying this is going to be a bomb.

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Examples

  • It was a bomb, so in addition to not being able to be used at long range, it couldn't be used at close range either; it needed to be used in a sweet spot in the middle.

    Blog text (33)

  • "When you've got splinters of steel driven right through leather luggage and wreckage strewn across fifty miles of Scotland, it has to be a bomb."

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "It has to be a bomb," Ed says.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The new restaurant really bombed on opening night, with hardly any customers showing up.

  • Her last performance in the school play bombed, leaving her feeling embarrassed.

  • The movie critics said the sequel bombed, and it quickly disappeared from theaters.

Synonyms

to go in the toilet
vsto be a bomb
  • Informal
1 7.9

To fail completely

focuses more on failing in a noticeable or embarrassing manner
to backfire spectacularly
vsto be a bomb
1 7.7

To fail in a way that makes things much worse

highlights an obvious embarrassing failure rather than surprise
to belly-flop
vsto be a bomb
  • Informal
6.9

To fail completely in an embarrassing way

is a total failure that stresses being noticeable and embarrassing

Antonyms

to succeed
846 2.0

To reach a goal after trying hard

to thrive
241 3.2

To grow well and be successful

How Successful

to triumph
60 3.4
to succeed
846 2.0
to fail
898 1.0
to be a bomb
  • Slang
5 8.6

Surface Forms

be a bomb infinitive
was a bomb past
been a bomb past participle
being a bomb present participle
bombs third person singular

Morphology

be + a + bomb

Although the parts 'be' + 'a' + 'bomb' are compositionally simple, the sense 'to fail completely' relies on a metaphorical, slang extension of 'bomb' (from explosive to 'flop') that is not directly derivable from the literal meanings. This idiomatic shift is language-specific and unpredictable for an average B1 learner who only knows the basic meanings of the constituents.

Etymology

Be a bomb may come from the theater world. If a show did very badly, people said it 'bombed', like a bomb destroying the performance, so be a bomb means 'to fail completely'.