fizzle

fizzle
fizzle (v.) 1530s, "to break wind without noise," probably altered from obsolete fist, from M.E. fisten "break wind" (see FEISTY (Cf. feisty)) + frequentative suffix -le. Related: Fizzled; fizzling. Noun sense of "failure, fiasco" is from 1846, originally U.S. college slang for "failure in an exam." Barnhart says it is "not considered as derived from the verb." The verb in this sense is from 1847.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • fizzle — fiz zle (f[i^]z z l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {fizzled} (f[i^]z z ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {fizzling} (f[i^]z zl[i^]ng).] [See {Fizz}.] 1. To make a hissing sound. [1913 Webster] It is the easiest thing, sir, to be done, As plain as fizzling. B. Jonson.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fizzle — ► VERB 1) make a feeble hissing or spluttering sound. 2) (fizzle out) end or fail in a weak or disappointing way. ► NOUN ▪ an instance of fizzling. ORIGIN probably imitative …   English terms dictionary

  • fizzle — fiz zle, n. A failure or abortive effort; a fiasco. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fizzle — [v] collapse, fall through abort, be a fiasco*, come to nothing*, die, end, end in defeat*, end in disappointment*, fail, fold, miscarry, misfire, miss the mark*, peter out*, wane; concept 699 Ant. build, develop, progress …   New thesaurus

  • fizzle — [fiz′əl] vi. fizzled, fizzling [ME fesilen, to break wind silently, akin to fisten: see FEIST] 1. to make a hissing or sputtering sound 2. Informal to fail, esp. after a successful beginning: often with out n. ☆ Informal an attempt that ends in… …   English World dictionary

  • fizzle — I = fizzle out fizzle UK [ˈfɪz(ə)l] / US or fizzle out UK / US verb [intransitive] Word forms fizzle : present tense I/you/we/they fizzle he/she/it fizzles present participle fizzling past tense fizzled past participle fizzled Word forms fizzle… …   English dictionary

  • fizzle — 1. verb the loudspeaker fizzled Syn: crackle, buzz, hiss, fizz, crepitate 2. noun 1) electric fizzle See fizz 2. 3) 2) the whole thing turned out to be a fizzle Syn: failure …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • fizzle — [“fizl] 1. n. a failure; something that sputters away. □ The whole project was a fizzle. □ Her first play was no fizzle. 2. n. to fail; to peter out. □ The whole plan fizzled, and we had to start over. □ …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • fizzle — fiz|zle1 [ fızl ] or ,fizzle out verb intransitive to gradually fail, become less enthusiastic, or disappear, especially after starting successfully: The group s efforts at reform fizzled out after their leader left. fizzle fiz|zle 2 [ fızl ]… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • fizzle — [16] Originally, fizzle meant ‘fart silently or unobtrusively’: ‘And then in court they poisoned one another with their fizzles’, Benjamin Walsh’s translation of Aristophanes’ Knights 1837. Then in the mid 19th century it started to be used for a …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

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