damp squib
damp squib noun: a firework that has been wet and therefore fails to go off correctly.
Noun
damp squib (plural damp squibs)
- A firework that has been wet and therefore fails to go off correctly.
- Anything that does not work properly, or fails to come up to expectations; a dud.
- The anonymous oracle, the author of this pamphlet, is an example of entertaining dullness. He has manufactured a very damp squib; he is a serious man in motley; and practical ideas occasionally drop in among his fantastic vaticinations.1858 May 29, The Launceston Examiner, Tasmania, page 6, column 2
- It sounds very token, another damp squib which will probably end up benefiting more bureaucrats than artists or scientists.1999 June 30, Fiachra Gibbons, quoting John Calder, “Arts and science ‘damp squib’”, in The Guardian
damp squib meaning in Tamil and Kannada
damp squib in Tamil
- வெடிக்காத பட்டாசு, வெற்றுவேட்டு
damp squib in Kannada
- ನಿರುತ್ಸಾಹಿ, ಟುಸ್ಪಟಾಕಿ, ಒದ್ದೆ ಪಟಾಸು
Examples of damp squib in a sentence
- A third collection of David Foster Wallace's essays contains genius and damp squibs[.]2012 December 30, Mark O'Connell, “Both Flesh and Not by David Foster Wallace – review”, in The Observer, →ISSN:
- How did Kamala Harris go from being a rising star to a damp squib? [title]2024 April 16, Arwa Mahdawi, “‘How did Kamala Harris go from being a rising star to a damp squib?”, in The Guardian:
Synonyms of damp squib
Forms of damp squib
| plural | damp squibs |
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Questions about damp squib
- What does damp squib mean?
- Damp squib means a firework that has been wet and therefore fails to go off correctly.
- What is damp squib in Tamil?
- Damp squib in Tamil is வெடிக்காத பட்டாசு, வெற்றுவேட்டு. See Damp squib meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use damp squib in a sentence?
- A third collection of David Foster Wallace's essays contains genius and damp squibs[.]
- What part of speech is damp squib?
- Damp squib is a noun.
- What is the plural of damp squib?
- The plural of damp squib is damp squibs.
Words near damp squib in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: damp squib (page history and authors); damp squib (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); damp squib (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-damp squib.ogg.
Cite this entry: “damp squib.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/damp_squib. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.