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Reference : Idioms : Food : a flash in the pan

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a flash in the pan

Meaning: You can say something or someone is a flash in the pan if they're popular or effective for a short time only.

For example:

  • Her first song was a big hit, but when Debbie's next song didn't do so well people started calling her a flash in the pan.

  • Dave says he doesn't mind being called a flash in the pan because he still gets money for the book he wrote, even though he never wrote another one.

Quick Quiz:

The company hopes that their new computer game won't just be a flash in the pan, but that it'll
  1. be popular for a long time
  2. be unpopular for a very long time
  3. be very popular for a short time

Discuss: a flash in the pan

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