🗓️ Idiom: To Bomb (v)
💬 Meaning
- To fail badly or be received very poorly.
- Often used when a speech, presentation, or performance does not go well.
🧠 Example Sentences
- His pitch totally bombed. The audience looked confused and bored.
- I was nervous about bombing during my keynote speech.
- The product launch presentation bombed and didn’t generate any interest.
🏛️ Origin
The idiom “to bomb,” meaning to fail badly, comes from American slang in the mid-20th century. It was first used in the theatre and film industries, where a show or movie that did very poorly at the box office was said to have “bombed.”
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
She had high hopes for her TED talk, but unfortunately, it __________.
Answer
bombed
2. Choose the correct meaning of “to bomb”:
A) To give a flawless presentation
B) To speak too quickly
C) To fail or perform very badly
Answer
C) To fail or perform very badly
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“Her speech was a total failure.”
Answer
Her speech totally bombed.
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