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Glite Dictionary
to sink faster than the Titanic

to sink faster than the Titanic

9.2
To fail very quickly and completely with no chance to get better
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : hundir como el Titanic
  • The company's profits sank faster than the Titanic this quarter.

Examples

  • Plans to reform the system sank faster than the Titanic once the funding was withdrawn.

  • The movie's reputation sank faster than the Titanic when critics saw the poor reviews.

  • After just a week, his new business idea began to sink faster than the Titanic.

  • Don't let your project sink faster than the Titanic!

  • His attempts to launch the app sank faster than the Titanic after a scandal broke.

  • Without proper management, the startup's chances of success sank faster than the Titanic.

  • When the funding was cut, the nonprofit's plan to help the community sank faster than the Titanic.

Synonyms

to go under
vsto sink faster than the Titanic
43 4.4

Fail because of money problems

is faster and more sudden than this broader failure term
to sink like a stone
vsto sink faster than the Titanic
  • Informal
2 6.7

Fall or fail very quickly and completely

is dramatic and leaves little chance of recovery

Antonyms

to succeed
846 2.0

To reach a goal after trying hard

How Fast

to sink faster than the Titanic
  • Informal
9.2
flame-out
  • Literature
7.9
to collapse
579 3.9
to fall apart
155 2.8
to fail
898 1.0

Surface Forms

sink faster than the Titanic infinitive
sinking faster than the Titanic present participle
sinks faster than the Titanic third person singular
sank faster than the Titanic past
sunk faster than the Titanic past participle

Morphology

sink + faster + than + the + Titanic

The phrase combines the literal verb 'sink' with a comparative 'faster than the Titanic' referencing the well-known catastrophic sinking, so a learner who knows the constituents (including the Titanic reference) can compositionally infer a rapid, dramatic failure. This is a culturally grounded simile rather than an idiosyncratic idiom, so its meaning is transparently derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Sink faster than the Titanic comes from the famous ship the Titanic, which hit an iceberg and sank very quickly. That strong image of a sudden disaster is why the phrase means 'to fail very quickly and dramatically'.