Useful English Word or Phrase to Boost Your English: A Flash in the Pan

What does it mean?

A flash in the pan means something or someone that succeeds only once or for a short time, then fades away. It describes brief, unsustainable success.

Is it positive or negative?

It's usually negative, implying disappointment after early promise.

When do you use it?

Use it when describing someone, a business, or a product that looked successful but quickly failed or was forgotten.

Examples

Example 1: That one-hit wonder musician was just a flash in the pan; nobody remembers their song now.

Example 2: The product sold really well for the first month, but that was a flash in the pan - sales have plummeted.

Question for you

Can you think of a celebrity or product that turned out to be a flash in the pan?

Are you looking for English speaking practice online?

Are you looking for English speaking practice online? Don't let your progress be a flash in the pan! If you want consistent, long-term fluency, you've found the right website. I offer online English lessons using Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom for my high-quality classes. My English speaking lessons are perfect if you are not getting enough speaking practice and want to improve your spoken fluency, accuracy, and learn nice, natural vocabulary and expressions directly from a British native speaker. If you want to study English with a British native speaker online, you can find out more about lessons here. For another useful word, see dont get your knickers in a twist.