Flash-in-the-pan Definition
noun
(idiomatic) A transient occurrence with no long-term effect.
The concept turned out to be merely a flash in the pan, and is no longer used.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
Other Word Forms of Flash-in-the-pan
Noun
Singular:
flash-in-the-pan
Plural:
flashes in the panOrigin of Flash-in-the-pan
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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, the momentary coruscation produced noise and smoke, but no substantial effect, and was termed a “flash in the pan”. Sometimes called "fluff in the pan", the term refers to any ineffectual, short, spasmodic effort which dies in the attempt, such as an explosion of priming in the lockpan of a gun, while the gun itself does not go off.
From Wiktionary
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