damp squib
noun
British
: something that is disappointing because it is not as exciting or effective as expected
The company's stock turned out to be something of a damp squib.
Examples of damp squib in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
People have always made overblown promises for AI, which have inevitably ended in a damp squib.
—
Ravi Mayuram, Forbes, 27 Jan. 2022
If the Moonlight–La La Land mix-up was the ultimate Hollywood ending, this was the opposite: a damp squib of an anticlimax and a colossal own goal on the part of Soderbergh and his team.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 26 Apr. 2021
Whether President Biden’s moonshot lifts off or turns out to be a damp squib will hinge largely on how the administration engages private landowners.
—Brian Yablonski, National Review, 15 Mar. 2021
This political backdrop raises the possibility that his low-energy announcement speech may be a damp squib.
—The Editors, National Review, 15 Nov. 2022
It cannot be avoided, however, that after the giddy sugar rush of season one, season two was a bit of a damp squib overall.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 22 Sep. 2022
Not even the buzziest stars could stop the result from looking like a damp squib: an empty shell of clichéd American references (the varsity jacket!
—Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2022
But as a celebration of the return of cinema, Berlin 2022 was a bit of a damp squib.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2022
In an era crying out for radical thinking, Packer offers the damp squib of incrementalism.
—Aaron Timms, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2021
Ravi Mayuram, Forbes, 27 Jan. 2022
If the Moonlight–La La Land mix-up was the ultimate Hollywood ending, this was the opposite: a damp squib of an anticlimax and a colossal own goal on the part of Soderbergh and his team.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 26 Apr. 2021
Whether President Biden’s moonshot lifts off or turns out to be a damp squib will hinge largely on how the administration engages private landowners.
—Brian Yablonski, National Review, 15 Mar. 2021
This political backdrop raises the possibility that his low-energy announcement speech may be a damp squib.
—The Editors, National Review, 15 Nov. 2022
It cannot be avoided, however, that after the giddy sugar rush of season one, season two was a bit of a damp squib overall.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 22 Sep. 2022
Not even the buzziest stars could stop the result from looking like a damp squib: an empty shell of clichéd American references (the varsity jacket!
—Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2022
But as a celebration of the return of cinema, Berlin 2022 was a bit of a damp squib.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2022
In an era crying out for radical thinking, Packer offers the damp squib of incrementalism.
—Aaron Timms, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'damp squib.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near damp squib
Cite this Entry
“Damp squib.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/damp%20squib. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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