go up in flames

Idioms

Also, go up in smoke. Be utterly destroyed, as in This project will go up in flames if the designer quits, or All our work is going up in smoke. This idiom transfers a fire to other kinds of destruction. [Early 1900s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

go up in flames

But Blue Origin just saw its plans go up in flames during a ground test explosion of its flagship New Glenn rocket, which damaged their launch platform and heralded delays.

From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026

Forecasts say millions of acres could go up in flames this season.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Forest rangers are concerned about forests that haven’t burned in decades, which contain an abundance of downed wood waiting to go up in flames.

From Slate ● Nov. 12, 2024

Copenhagen's Mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen told the BBC it was terrible to see 400 years of Danish history go up in flames.

From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2024

Even if I caught the Butterfly now, this entire ship was going to go up in flames.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023