| Sayings Fact File |
| Phrase |
Flash In The Pan |
| Variations |
none |
| Meaning |
Something which disappoints by failing to deliver anything of value, despite a showy beginning. |
| Origin |
From the days of flintlock firearms, where the main charge was intended to be fired by a small charge of gunpowder in the priming pan.
If the resultant fire did not pass through the touch-hole and ignite the main charge, it produced noise and smoke, but no substantial effect, and was termed a “flash in the pan”. |
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