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Go down in flames

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To fail spectacularly or catastrophically, often with dramatic visibility.

Detailed Definition
Aviation origin—planes crashing in fire—but rooted in older fiery demise imagery. In poetry, it conveys tragic ambition, hubris, or public collapse. Romantic heroes (Icarus) and modern antiheroes embody it. The visual drama (flames, descent) suits epic or cinematic verse, where failure is aestheticized. Yet poets may subvert it: flames as purification, not just ruin. Its intensity makes it ideal for climactic stanzas exploring legacy, where how one falls matters as much as the fall—transforming defeat into mythic resonance.
Example
Example in poetry:
Icarus myth retold: “He flew too high—went down in flames, wax tears on sunlit sea”; Rockstar elegy: “Fame burned bright—he went down in flames at twenty-seven”; In startup culture: “Venture failed spectacularly—he went down in flames, investors fled”; Tragic hero: “Her rebellion went down in flames, but lit torches for others”.
Additional Notes
Aviation origin—planes crashing in fire—but rooted in older fiery demise imagery. In poetry, it conveys tragic ambition or public collapse. Romantic heroes (Icarus) and modern antiheroes embody it. The visual drama suits epic verse, where failure is aestheticized. Yet poets may subvert it: flames as purification. Its intensity makes it ideal for climactic stanzas exploring legacy, where how one falls matters as much as the fall—transforming defeat into mythic resonance through controlled spectacularity.
Also Known As
Crash and burn
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