go over like a lead balloon
go over like a lead balloon verb: to fail to gain acceptance: to be received poorly.
Verb
go over like a lead balloon (third-person singular simple present goes over like a lead balloon, present participle going over like a lead balloon, simple past went over like a lead balloon, past participle gone over like a lead balloon)
- To fail to gain acceptance: to be received poorly.
- Synonyms:
- go down like a cup of cold sick
Synonyms of go over like a lead balloon
Forms of go over like a lead balloon
| third-person singular present | goes over like a lead balloon |
|---|---|
| present participle | going over like a lead balloon |
| past | went over like a lead balloon |
| past participle | gone over like a lead balloon |
| alternative form | go down like a lead balloon |
Origin of go over like a lead balloon
Presumably from go over (“to be received”), used as if literally (“to travel above”): a lead balloon would not travel well through the air.
Questions about go over like a lead balloon
- What does go over like a lead balloon mean?
- Go over like a lead balloon means to fail to gain acceptance: to be received poorly.
- What part of speech is go over like a lead balloon?
- Go over like a lead balloon is a verb.
- What is the past tense of go over like a lead balloon?
- The past tense of go over like a lead balloon is went over like a lead balloon.
Words near go over like a lead balloon in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: go over like a lead balloon (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.
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Cite this entry: “go over like a lead balloon.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/go_over_like_a_lead_balloon. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.