damp squib

/dˈamp skwˈɪb/

/dˈæmp skwˈɪb/

[phrase]

damp squib

[PHRASE]

something that fails to be what everyone expected

Examples

1. So, maybe you go to a restaurant and the food isn't very good, and you say: 'Oh, that restaurant was a bit of a damp squib.'

2. Can you think of an example of a 'damp squib'?

3. One other thing to point out about this expression 'damp squib': a lot of people get confused because the word 'squib' is not used in modern English very often, and they think it's 'squid'.

4. We say, 'damp squib' with a 'b'.