squib (skwɪb
)
Definitions
noun
- a firework, usually having a tube filled with gunpowder, that burns with a hissing noise and culminates in a small explosion
- a firework that does not explode because of a fault; dud
- a short witty attack; lampoon
- an electric device for firing a rocket engine
- obsolete an insignificant person
- Australian New Zealand slang a coward
- See damp squib
verb
Word forms: squibs, squibbing, squibbed
- (intr) to sound, move, or explode like a squib
- (intr) to let off or shoot a squib
- to write a squib against (someone)
- (intr) to move in a quick irregular fashion
- (intr) Australian slang to behave in a cowardly fashion
Word Origin
C16: probably imitative of a quick light explosionUsage examples
The show could be a rip-roaring success or a damp squib and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.
, Yellow Bird (1993)Damp squib Boeing's new Delta 3 rocket, which blew up on its maiden flight last year (This Week, 5 September 1998, p 5), seems to be jinxed.
New Scientist (1999)This will prevent the awful damp squib that the quarter-finals became last year with three of the ties repeating earlier fixtures.
Irish Times (2002)But the Blues just could not find any spark or inspiration as they produced a damp squib of a performance.
Sun, News of the World (2004){ Wednesday, 11 April } The show went like a damp squib.
, The Kenneth Williams Diaries (1994)