crash and burn

Slang definitions & phrases for crash and burn

crash and burn

verb phrase

(also crash in flames) To fail entirely; blow it: You'd think his presidency had already crashed in flames

verb

To collapse from exhaustion; poop out: I was just about to crash and burn (1970s+)

crash and burn in Technology

jargon
A spectacular crash, in the mode of the conclusion of the car-chase scene in the movie "Bullitt" and many subsequent imitators (compare die horribly). A Sun-3 display screen losing the flyback transformer and lightning strikes on VAX-11/780 backplanes are notable crash and burn generators.
The construction "crash-and-burn machine" is reported for a computer used exclusively for alpha or beta testing, or reproducing bugs (i.e. not for development). The implication is that it wouldn't be such a disaster if that machine crashed, since only the testers would be inconvenienced.
[Jargon File]
(1996-02-22)

Idioms and Phrases with crash and burn

crash and burn

Fail utterly, as in Dale crashed and burned three times before passing the bar exam. This idiom alludes to a car or airplane that has crashed and caught fire. [ ; 1970s ]

In skateboarding and other sports, be taken out of competition by a collision, accident, or fall, as in Although she was favored to win the downhill race, she crashed and burned on her first run. [ ; 1980s ]