fall on one's face
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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.
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Words nearby fall on one's face
fall off the wagon, Fall of Man, Fall of Rome, fall on, fall on deaf ears, fall on one's face, fall on one's feet, fallopian tube, fallopian tubes, Fallot's tetralogy, fallout
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.