come to grief
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come to grief
To fail or otherwise suffer a problem or setback. The project came to grief after we lost our funding.
come to grief
Fig. to experience something unpleasant or damaging. In the end, he came to grief because he did not follow instructions.
come to grief
Meet with disaster or failure. For example, The icy runway caused at least one light plane to come to grief. [Mid-1800s]
come to grief
have an accident; meet with disaster. 2000 R. W. Holden Taunton Cider & Langdons The historian…will see no trace of the battlefield where Charles's grandson, the Duke of Monmouth, came to grief.
come to ˈgrief
(informal) be destroyed or ruined; have an accident and hurt yourself: His plans came to grief due to poor organization and insufficient financing. ♢ A lot of ships have come to grief along this coast.come to grief
To meet with disaster; fail.
come to grief, to
To fail or to falter; to experience a misfortune. A common locution in the early nineteenth century, it rapidly reached cliché status. “We were nearly coming to grief,” wrote Thackeray (The Newcomes, 1854).
See also: come