fall (flat) on (one's)/its face
1. Literally, to fall and land on one's face. I slipped on the banana peel, fell flat on my face, and nearly broke my nose. Poor Heather fell on her face during recess today, but she only has a few scrapes on her forehead. Are you OK? I saw you slip on that ice and fall flat on your face.
2. To fail thoroughly or in a spectacular or embarrassing way. I'll never forget my first comedy routine. I got out there under the bright lights and fell flat on my face—not a single person laughed. Unfortunately the advertising campaign just kind of fell on its face and never gained any traction with consumers. I'm afraid that translation will fall flat on its face in this language, since we have no such idiom.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
fall on one's face
Also, fall flat on one's face. Make a blunder or error of judgment, as in Holly fell on her face whenever she forecast earnings, or That weatherman keeps falling flat on his face with his predictions. This term, first recorded in 1614, originally had the literal meaning of "prostrate oneself in reverence." The present colloquial usage, however, transfers a physical fall to various kinds of bungling.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.