flash in the pan

Meaning

1. A transient occurrence with no long-term impact.
2. A career notable for early success not followed by significant accomplishment.

Translations

feu de paille

fogo de palha

Strohfeuer

fuoco di paglia

êxito efêmero

Etymology

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, it 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 that dies in the attempt, such as an explosion of priming in the lockpan of a gun while the gun itself does not go off.