| Idiom | Flash in the Pan |
|---|---|
| Example | People thought she was going to be a great concert violinist, but Dana was just a flash in the pan. |
| Meaning | a temporary success which yields no long-term results; a person who fails to live up to earlier potential |
| Origin | In the 1600s there was a popular gun called a flintlock musket. When the trigger was pulled, sparks were supposed to make the gunpowder in a small pan on the gun go off and explode the main charge. But sometimes there was only a flash in the pan and no big explosion. Today a "flash in the pan" is any person who showed great early promise ("sparks") but who never lived up to his or her full potential ("explosion"). |
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